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If your favorite baseball team's manager is producing foodstuffs from his pocket in the middle of the game, it is likely that things are going well for your squad.

Milwaukee Brewers fans learned that firsthand Friday during their team's game against the Washington Nationals.

During the game, Brewers manager Pat Murphy stopped for an in-game interview with Apple TV's Tricia Whitaker. Murphy told Whitaker he liked to eat during games, and proved it.

"I like a lot of different things during the game," Murphy said. "There's a pancake—actually, I got a little pocket pancake right here that I munch on."

He then bit into said pancake to Whitaker's delight—even offering her a bite, which she accepted.

"What else do you keep in your pocket?" Whitaker asked.

"Whatever fits," Murphy replied.

It must be working, as Milwaukee opened up a 9–2 lead on the Nationals through five innings. The Brewers lead the National League Central with a 64-44 record this season.

The New York Yankees are weighing what adjustments will need to be made when Giancarlo Stanton returns to the lineup in the near future. Stanton missed the first two months of the season while dealing with tendinitis in both elbows, but he's started a rehab assignment as he approaches his return.

When the 35-year-old is activated from the injured list, he figures to take over his spot as the Yankees designated hitter. That means Ben Rice, who has been in the DH role 39 times this season, will likely have to return to the field. Manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday that it's possible Rice spends some time at catcher, according to Jack Curry of the YES Network.

Rice hasn't started a single game at catcher this season, but he played the position for the majority of his time in the minor leagues, making a total of 121 catching appearances. He's served there sparingly this season, logging a total of 6 2/3 innings behind the plate, but he could potentially be utilized at catcher when Austin Wells needs a day off.

New York hasn't hesitated from shifting the defense around this season, having already moved Jazz Chisholm Jr. from second base to third. Now, with Stanton's return looming, the Yankees could slot in Rice at catcher to regularly keep his bat in the lineup.

This season, Rice, 26, is slashing .240/.326/.495 with 12 home runs and 25 RBIs.

Neymar has reportedly suffered another injury setback as his bid to be part of Brazil's 2026 World Cup squad hangs in the balance. The 33-year-old had recently returned from a hamstring injury and just when he was settling in to playing again for Santos, the former Barcelona star is now set to miss their crucial clash with Internacional because of a new issue.

• Hype over Neymar move wearing off

  There was a huge sense of excitement when news circulated that Neymar could return to his boyhood club at the start of 2025 following the cancellation of his Al-Hilal contract. Sure enough, the ex-Paris Saint-Germain star was unveiled by the Brazilian giants in late January, with the attacker eager to regain top form and get himself back into the international picture. While a return of seven goals and three assists in 25 matches in all competitions does not make for bad reading, Neymar has repeatedly been out injured. That has coincided with the veteran missing many games, with Santos currently hovering just above the relegation zone. Now, BeIN Sports are reporting that he has been dealing with knee discomfort throughout the week and therefore he will miss Monday's clash with fellow strugglers Internacional in a battle between 17th and 15th in Brasileiro Serie A, respectively. They add that there is no structural damage but Neymar's pain has been enough to sideline him and raise concern within the club. 

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  Question marks over Neymar's Santos future

  Neymar's contract at Santos expires at the end of this year, meaning he could be a free agent in early 2026, with a World Cup half a year away. So far, there has been no contract breakthrough, although club president Marcelo Teixeira appears confident a deal can be struck. 

  He said earlier this month: "Neymar's project is the 2026 World Cup. If there's consensus, he will extend. There is great trust between him and the club, and I believe we'll find a solution at the right moment."

  However, there is no guarantee he will stay, but a move to rivals, Fluminense, has been ruled out by club president Mario Bittencourt.

  He tweeted: "Regarding Neymar, I clarify that there has been no recent contact between Fluminense and the player, or his staff. Fluminense has immense respect for Santos and, obviously, the club and the player are 100% dedicated to winning the remaining games in the Brazilian Championship."

• Ancelotti not giving up on Neymar

  Despite not picking him in recent Brazil squads, former Real Madrid manager and current Selecao boss Carlo Ancelotti has issued an ultimatum to Neymar: Stay fit and perform well, and you may go to the 2026 World Cup.

  He said just under a fortnight ago: "Neymar is on the list of players who can go to the World Cup. He has six months to make the final list. Neymar has recovered, but he needs to show performance. When the Brazilian league ends, he’ll have some vacation time, and then he must show his quality and physical condition again."

  The former AC Milan boss also offered some words of advice for the Brazilian great in his bid to play at next year's iconic tournament in North America. 

  "The truth is that soccer today asks for many things, not just talent. Also physical condition, intensity. hopefully Neymar can be at his best level," Ancelotti said. "He needs to play more centrally, not as a winger. Wingers in today’s soccer are players you need to help also defensively. When you play a little bit more inside the defensive work is much less than if you play as a winger."

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  What comes next for Neymar and Santos?

  A Neymar-less Santos travel to Internacional on Monday night, hoping to ease their relegation fears. They sit one place and three points above the drop zone ahead of their final four fixtures of the season. After this encounter, they take on Sport Recife, Juventude RS, and Cruzeiro as they attempt to maintain their top-flight status. Whether Neymar will play a part in that remains to be seen.

Liverpool are a team with distinct flaws, and yet they are also breathtaking and brilliant when firing on all cylinders.

Too often this season, Arne Slot’s side have failed to get going, outthought and outfought across the past few months, losing six of seven matches across all competitions before a controlled win over Aston Villa in the Premier League stopped the rot.

The 1-0 victory over European nemeses Real Madrid was something different, though. Anfield roared and cheered Virgil van Dijk and his Redmen, bayed and bellowed at Los Blancos and ex-Liverpool man Trent Alexander-Arnold, who received a frosty reception when welcomed after 80 minutes.

This is the Liverpool we know. Energy and intensity and purpose across every area of the field. However, while Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate stood firm against Kylian Mbappe, with the full-backs excelling too, the plain truth remains of the Merseysiders’ desperate need for reinforcements in central defence.

Liverpool searching for a centre-back

Of course, Liverpool did sign a centre-back this summer, adding Giovanni Leoni to their ranks for a £26m fee. The 18-year-old is worth his wait in gold, but ruptured his ACL on his debut against Southampton and now sits sidelined for around a year.

The inability to prise Marc Guehi away from Crystal Palace, however, is surely the bigger blow. A deal was almost in place on deadline day, but the Eagles had not found a suitable replacement, and with such little time to pull out the stops, the move disintegrated, with the player having been permitted to carry out a medical with the Anfield side.

It still could come together. Guehi, 25, has entered the final year of his contract at Selhurst Park and has no desire to pen a fresh deal. The issue now is that a host of Europe’s top outfits want his signature, though Spanish paper AS have confirmed with week that, alongside Bayern Munich, the Reds are still leading the race, ahead of the likes of Real Madrid.

Liverpool will hope to snap Guehi up on a Bosman by the end of the campaign, but if they fall short in that race, sporting director Richard Hughes has lined up the perfect alternative in Inter Milan’s Alessandro Bastoni.

As per further Spanish sources, Liverpool have been named as potential suitors for Italian defender Bastoni, with FSG considering making a €100m (£87m) bid this January.

The veracity of this developing story is uncertain at this stage, but the 26-year-old is undoubtedly talented enough to stand out under Slot’s wing, with the style and experience to make a marked difference as Van Dijk inches ever closer to the autumn of his illustrious Anfield career.

What Bastoni would offer Liverpool

Liverpool need a centre-back; they’ve needed one for some time. While Guehi was the first-choice option this summer, Bastoni might actually prove a more compelling option for the Anfield side, having been hailed for his “world-class” ability by commentator Matteo Bonetti.

This is a defender who is at the top of their game, one of the most important cogs in an I Nerazzurri machine that has won two Scudettos and two Coppa Italia titles in five recent seasons, winner of the 2021 European Championship with Italy besides.

And, aged 26, he falls into a similar bracket as Guehi: a centre-back with the talent to make an instant impact and the prime years still ahead to grow deeper into their role in Slot’s squad and reach entirely new levels of performance.

He’s one of the best players in his position worldwide. In Serie A this season, Bastoni has scored a goal and supplied two assists across nine outings, winning 70% of his aerial duels and averaging 1.8 tackles per game (data provided by Sofascore).

A strong passer and outside-the-box thinker, he could even trump Guehi across ball-playing metrics, with the Palace man renowned for his cool, composed and creative presence on the ball.

As you can see, Guehi has been more active in defensive contributions over the past year. This you would expect from an outfit like Palace in the Premier League when compared to Italian giants like Inter. But Bastoni is slicker and more able on the ball, and that when Guehi shines in that regard.

Sure, Guehi is a free agent come the end of the campaign, and that counts for a lot, but whether Liverpool and FSG would be willing to pass up an opportunity to sign a talent of Bastoni’s ability is another question entirely. After all, the reports suggest that a bid is currently being packaged together.

Here is a fearsome centre-half with the passing range of a maestro. Liverpool could do a lot worse than add Bastoni to their ranks, securing a long-term Van Dijk heir with the perfect skillset to ease the agony of his moving on.

Bastoni. The perfect, elite bastion to secure Liverpool’s backline for many years to come. He has a wealth of experience at the highest level and the hunger to achieve even more.

He is immensely talented, perhaps more so than Guehi, and Slot’s defence would reach frightening levels of security and balance and progression with him added into the mix.

Not Bradley: Liverpool have found the new Trent & he's not even a defender

Arne Slot has now uncovered Liverpool’s next Trent Alexander-Arnold, and it’s not Conor Bradley.

By
Kelan Sarson

Nov 6, 2025

Jake Weatherald will be “well in the mix” for selection in the upcoming Ashes series according to Australia’s chairman of selectors George Bailey despite not being sent on an Australia A tour of India in September where battling incumbent Sam Konstas will be given a chance to further develop his game in different conditions.Weatherald, 30, was the Sheffield Shield’s leading run-scorer last season making 906 runs at 50.33 including three centuries opening the batting in difficult conditions in Hobart. He backed that up with scores of 54 and 183 in two unofficial Tests for Australia A against Sri Lanka A last month in Darwin. For the ‘A’ tour of India, though, Test incumbent Konstas is alongside another Test candidate in Nathan McSweeney and promising 22-year-old Victoria opener Campbell Kellaway.Related

• Green set to bowl in Shield cricket, will 'wait and see' if he's at No. 3 in the Ashes

• Webster happy to scrap for Ashes spot with Green's return to bowling on track

• Boland better prepared for anticipated Bazball blitz in Australia

• Owen earns ODI call-up to face South Africa, Labuschagne retained

• Marsh says 'depth is a privilege' as Australia make T20 statement

But speaking in Darwin on Thursday ahead of Australia’s opening T20I against South Africa on Sunday, Bailey said the Australia A squad was selected with the 2027 Test tour of India in mind and expects the conditions to have little relevance to the upcoming Ashes. Konstas is among a host of players who will miss the white-ball portion of the A tour in order to return for the start of Shield season where Bailey said the first three rounds will be “critical” for Ashes selection. Bailey declared Weatherald as a player firmly in the mix to open the batting in Perth.”He’s doing a lot of things right, isn’t he?” Bailey said. “His performance last year was awesome. His performance in the Australia A matches was great, too.”So that’s the clear message to him, on the back of talking him through the Australia A selections, the clear focus for him is just to continue that and be consistent.”A lot of selection is potentially being in the right place at the right time. So if he starts the year as he had last year, he’ll be well in the mix.”Konstas, 19, has not been ruled out despite averaging 8.33 in the three Tests in the Caribbean. Bailey said he had spoken to Konstas about the disappointing experience and said the youngster was taking some lessons from the Caribbean. He hoped he would add some more experience in India before returning for the start of the Shield summer.”I think he’s dealing with it well,” Bailey said. “I think he deals with most things pretty well. Him being part of the Australia A series is exactly the same. Any player who’s going somewhere new for the first time, take the performance aspect out of it, you want them to leave with a better understanding of: a) their own game, and b) how to play in in different conditions should they face them again. The chat that I’ve had with Sam since we’ve returned is he’s reflected on that, and he’s put a few things into his training, and he’s launched himself back into getting ready for India and then playing for New South Wales.”Sam Konstas had a tough tour of the Caribbean•Associated Press

Bailey was asked if Konstas scoring centuries in the two Australia A games against India A in Lucknow would carry any weight ahead of the Ashes.”I think there’s some separation there,” Bailey said. “I don’t think the surface of Lucknow is going to be a great read through to what we’re going to get across the summer. Whilst we’d be thrilled to see that, and that’s a really important tool for us and we’re really interested in the performances of players there, there will be some separation. And I do think performing across the start of the summer is going to be important.”Bailey added that discarded Test batter Marnus Labuschagne, who will return in the three ODIs against South Africa in Cairns and Mackay following the T20I series, remains in the conversation for the Ashes.”I think the Test pitches in Australia have been reasonably consistent across the last couple of years,” Bailey said. “So if we expect and are hoping we get something similar to that this year, I think we know that Marnus at his best can certainly perform in those.”Matt Short is still recovering from a side strain•Getty Images

Short ruled out for first two T20Is

Meanwhile, Bailey revealed that T20I and ODI offspinning allrounder Matt Short will not be fit for the first two T20Is in Darwin as he continues to recover from the side strain that saw him ruled out of the West Indies series.”I think he’ll be back as a batter, probably by the third T20 here, and on the bowling front, probably later in the one-day series,” Bailey said.There is a squeeze on at the top of the order in both of Australia’s white-ball teams with Travis Head returning after missing the Caribbean series while skipper Mitchell Marsh will return for the ODI series after missing the Champions Trophy where Head and Short opened together in two of Australia’s three games before Short missed the semi-final through injury.Bailey suggested Short could transition successfully into the middle-order much like Mitchell Owen did in his debut series.”We’ve seen Shorty at the top and have some success there,” Bailey said. “It’s reasonably cluttered up there.”I think Shorty has had some experience in the middle. I think that’s a capability that, at different times, will try and grow out.”Bailey also confirmed that veteran allrounder Marcus Stoinis remains in the mix for Australia’s T20 World Cup squad despite missing both the Caribbean and top end series while he plays in the Hundred for Trent Rockets.”I think he remains firmly in the plans because of his skill set,” Bailey said. “Trying to pad out your batting as much as you can, and having those power hitters who can also bowl you some really handy overs, which the guys that got that opportunity in the West Indies, I think we saw how valuable that is. So I don’t think that’s going to diminish. So I imagine once we get closer to picking that squad, that his name will be firmly in the mix.”

كشف حسين الشحات لاعب فريق الكرة بـ الأهلي، آخر التطورات الخاصة بـ إصابته وموعد عودته للتدريبات، موضحًا موقفه من تجديد عقده مع القلعة الحمراء خلال الفترة المقبلة.

وقال حسين الشحات في تصريحات تلفزيونية عبر قناة ام بي سي مصر2: “يتبقى أسبوعين وسأعود للتدريبات مع الفريق، وكان الجميع بحاجة إلى هذا الفوز، خاصة أمام نادي الزمالك، لرغبتنا في مصالحة جماهير النادي الأهلي”.

وأضاف: “لا توجد مشاكل في غرفة الملابس، وبالنسبة لمباراة المصري، لو أُعيدت 100 مرة فلن تدخل الكرة، كانت من أفضل المباريات التي لعبناها ولكن الحظ لم يكن معنا”.

طالع | عدلي القيعي: الأهلي فاز على الزمالك بالمنطق.. و”كل الشكر للكارهين” بعد حملة المظلومية

وبسؤاله عن تألق زيزو أمام الزمالك، أجاب: “هو لاعب كبير ولا أحد يستطيع التقليل من إمكانياته، قادر على حمل الفريق بمفرده، وكان يتمتع بثبات انفعالي في مباراة الزمالك”.

وواصل: “كان جميع اللاعبين يدعمونه، وهذا ما يميز الأهلي؛ الجميع على قلب رجل واحد، وكل اللاعبين كانوا يرون مدى تركيز وجاهزية زيزو”.

واختتم تصريحاته قائلاً: “لم أوقع على التجديد للنادي الأهلي حتى الآن، وقد كان لدي عرض من السعودية”.

تغلب فريق مانشستر سيتي على خصمه سوانزي سيتي بثلاثية لهدف، خلال مباراة الفريقين مساء الأربعاء، ببطولة كأس رابطة الأندية الإنجليزية “كأس كاراباو”.

والتقى مانشستر سيتي وسوانزي سيتي ضمن مباريات الجولة السادسة عشر لبطولة كأس كاراباو، وحسم فريق بيب جوارديولا التأهل لدور ربع النهائي.

وتم الإعلان عن الفائز بجائزة رجل مباراة مانشستر سيتي وسوانزي، بحسب ما أوضحت شبكة “سيتي إكسترا”.

وحصل على جائزة رجل المباراة، ريان شرقي، لاعب فريق مانشستر سيتي بعد الأداء الذي قدمه خلال مواجهة الأمس.

اقرأ أيضًا | ردود أفعال جماهير مانشستر سيتي بعد تألق عمر مرموش أمام سوانزي: ذكرنا بـ أجويرو

وسجل شرقي هدفًا لصالح مانشستر سيتي، وساهم بتمريرة حاسمة سجل منها عمر مرموش الهدف الثاني للفريق.

ولمس شرقي الكرة 119 لمسة، وله 74 تمريرة دقيقة، ودقة التمرير بلغت 80%، وله 14 لمسة داخل منطقة جزاء الخصم، و11 تمريرة إلى الثلث الأخير، بالإضافة إلى 6 فرص، وفاز بـ 5 من المواجهات الأرضية.

Fifth-wicket stand of 154 in 77 overs follows 45 for 4 on third evening after Yorkshire set 520 target

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay 12-May-2025Matt Critchley and Michael Pepper knuckled down for a monumental fifth-wicket stand of 154 in 77 overs to steer Essex to the unlikeliest of Rothesay County Championship draws against Yorkshire at Chelmsford.The pair came together in the depths of despair at 45 for 4 on the third evening and batted for four-and-a-half hours together, spanning 458 balls, and looking to have made it through two complete sessions on the final day. Pepper, though, fell to the last ball before tea after a 229-ball 68 that included five fours and two sixes.Critchley followed after the interval for 75 from 246 balls as Yorkshire scented their second win of the season with three wickets in 21 balls. However, last-wicket pair Simon Harmer and Jamie Porter saw out the final 38 minutes and 82 balls to prevent a second successive defeat.George Hill dismissed both batters to return career-best match figures of 9 for 82, supported by Jack White’s season’s best 4 for 43, but to no avail as Yorkshire toiled in vain for one more wicket.The target of 520, with 456 still nominally required at the start of day four, was always going to be beyond Essex’s compass and it became more a case of settling in to save face.As a sign of what had been anticipated, the Essex flag was flying upside down on its pole beside the pavilion as if in surrender. The plans for survival, however, were set out from the start as Pepper and Critchley blocked and blocked with little alarm. It was not until the 20th ball of the day that they moved off their overnight 64 for 4 when Critchley angled a Ben Coad delivery wide of the slips for 10 third boundaries. They were the only runs scored in the first half-an-hour’s play.Indeed, it was only the introduction of Hill after 35 minutes that had the usually flamboyant Pepper opening his morning’s account, turning the ball down to fine leg for a single.The first sign of serious aggression came when Critchley hooked Matty Revis so firmly that the square-leg umpire had to take evasive action as it sped to the boundary. Revis attempted a short-ball barrage at Pepper and it nearly came off when the Essex batter gloved one up and over Jonny Bairstow’s head behind the stumps.Pepper broke out of his self-imposed shackles by sweeping Dom Bess for one six and adding a second over long leg. In between, he survived a difficult chance off an uppish drive past mid-on.Reprieved, Pepper scampered the single soon after lunch that took him to a 155-ball fifty followed quickly by the century stand that ate up 51 overs. Critchley’s fifty was more circumspect, reached with another four guided down to third from his 190th ball faced.Yorkshire’s hopes seemed to hinge on the second new-ball, but they failed to make it count immediately and Bess was recalled to the attack after nine fruitless overs. However, to the final ball of the 13th over with it, on the cusp of tea, Pepper was caught leaning into a Hill delivery and departed lbw.Noah Thain lasted 15 balls before he was bowled through the gate by Bess and Critchley’s marathon innings ended when he got the faintest of tickles to Hill and was caught behind.Shane Snater held out for 32 balls without scoring before he fell lbw to White. Kasun Rajitha’s 21 came off 40 balls before he played down the wrong line and was bowled by Dan Moriarty. But then Porter came in to join Harmer and thwart Yorkshire.

Manchester United’s wage bill has come into huge question over recent seasons, with their spending on players being way above their league standing from 2024/25.

The Red Devils had the second-highest wage bill in the Premier League last season, spending a staggering £180m on wages alone – with only rivals Manchester City spending more.

Ruben Amorim has been tasked with the challenge of reducing such a figure during the summer – something which he managed to partly achieve on deadline day.

The club agreed to send Jadon Sancho on loan to Aston Villa for the entirety of the 2025/26 season – with Unai Emery’s side agreeing to pay 80% of the winger’s £250k-per-week pay packet.

However, the hierarchy would’ve likely spent some of those funds saved had they agreed a deal for one of the numerous targets who were on their radar during the summer transfer window.

United’s move to land Wharton & Baleba this summer

Throughout the transfer window, United targeted a move for a new midfielder for the squad, resulting in a deal being pursued to land Crystal Palace star Adam Wharton.

It was reported that the Red Devils were keen on a deal for the England international, but a switch became unlikely after Amorim’s side were quoted a fee in the region of £100m.

Another option they considered was Brighton & Hove Albion star Carlos Baleba, even entering talks with the player’s representatives over a switch to Old Trafford.

At one stage, it appeared as though the player himself would be open to a switch to join the Red Devils, but like Wharton, he stayed at his current employers after the Seagulls stated he was not for sale.

Whilst the hierarchy were unable to land a new midfielder for Amorim, they still have a player on the books who desperately needs to be sold in the near future.

The United player who earns more than Wharton and Baleba

United do have numerous top-level talents on their books at present, with academy graduate Kobbie Mainoo just one of the options currently at Amorim’s disposal.

However, the Englishman has found minutes hard to come by over the last couple of months, starting none of the Premier League outings – with his only start coming against Grimsby in the Carabao Cup.

As a result, the 20-year-old made his feelings clear before Monday’s deadline – subsequently asking to leave Old Trafford on a temporary basis to gain valuable game time.

He’s fallen behind Manuel Ugarte and Bruno Fernandes in the pecking order, with Brazilian Casemiro another player whom Amorim clearly trusts instead of Mainoo.

The former Real Madrid star joined in a £60m deal back in the summer of 2022, but has rapidly declined over recent times – as he heads towards the back end of his career at the age of 33.

Despite his age, Casemiro has started all three league outings, but has struggled to impress to date, only completing 80% of the passes he’s attempted in England’s top-flight.

However, despite his recent starts in Amorim’s side, his future appears up in the air, with the player only having one deal left on his contract at Old Trafford.

He probably should’ve been offloaded before now, with his performances last campaign failing to catch the eye – leading to Mark Goldbridge dubbing him as “shocking”.

His current £350k-per-week pay packet is way above what he should be earning – with such a figure making him the highest earner in the squad, taking home a staggering £18.2m per season.

The Brazilian currently earns more than Wharton and Baleba, with the pair currently only earning £35k and £12.5k-per-week respectively – highlighting how much the former Madrid talent is overpaid at present.

Given his mammoth earnings, United desperately need to clear the player off the bill, with a real impetus needing to be put on continuing their cost-cutting operation.

There are so many better and cheaper options currently available in European football, which should see Amorim pursue a move for one of the aforementioned talents once again in the near future.

Man Utd struck gold on "electrifying" star worth even more than Baleba

After Manchester United failed to sign Carlos Baleba for £100m+, did the Red Devils snap up a bargain worth even more than the Brighton midfielder?

By
Ben Gray

Sep 2, 2025

Who’s playing

Mumbai Indians (MI) vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)
Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai, March 11, 2025

Big picture: RCB look to end on high

Mumbai Indians almost secured a direct spot in the final on Monday. They needed to keep Gujarat Giants to 156 or fewer but a spirited Bharti Fulmali innings did not allow that. The chance was missed but they will not be worrying too much: they not only won the match against Gujarat Giants and kept their perfect record at the Brabourne Stadium intact but also have one more shot at finishing on top of the table. They are on par with table-toppers Delhi Capitals on points. The only point of concern, if at all any, would be that they have to be back within 24 hours to achieve that.Though the move to make Amelia Kerr open hasn’t made much of a difference with the allrounder falling cheaply in both games, MI will be happy Nat Sciver-Brunt did not have to do the heavy lifting once again. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur made a fifty and there were handy contributions from the middle order. Their bowlers were excellent up front and even though they lost the plot in the second half of the chase, they kept their cool to defend 179 on a batting-friendly surface.RCB, meanwhile, will rue what could have been. The defending champions were unlucky with the toss in all four games at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, which meant they had to do the difficult task of batting first on a ground where seven out of eight matches were won by the chasing team. They still had a tiny chance of making the playoffs which they let go of in a high-scoring thriller against UP Warriorz and are now coming into this contest on the back of five consecutive losses.RCB also had similar issues from start to finish, including playing this season with a weakened bowling attack and depending on a couple of players to shoulder the bulk of the responsibility. In their previous match, it was the out-of-contention Warriorz who took RCB down with them, and now RCB will look to ruin MI’s chances of wanting to finish on top.

Form guide

Mumbai Indians WWLWW (last five matches, most recent first)
Royal Challengers Bengaluru LLLLL

Team news

MI are unlikely to change their winning combination.Mumbai Indians (probable): 1 Hayley Matthews, 2 Amelia Kerr, 3 Nat Sciver-Brunt, 4 Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), 5 Amanjot Kaur, 6 Yastika Bhatia (wk), 7 G Kamalini, 8 S Sajana, 9 Sanskriti Gupta, 10 Shabnim Ismail, 11 Parunika SisodiaRCB made two changes for the previous match, bringing in S Meghana and Charlie Dean for Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Ekta Bisht. While Dean had a tough outing, conceding 47 in her four overs of offspin, Meghana got off to a rapid start.Royal Challengers Bengaluru (probable): 1 Smriti Mandhana (capt), 2 S Meghana, 3 Ellyse Perry, 4 Raghvi Bisht, 5 Richa Ghosh (wk), 6 Kanika Ahuja, 7 Georgia Wareham, 8 Sneh Rana, 9 Charlie Dean, 10 Kim Garth, 11 Renuka Singh

Players to watch: Harmanpreet Kaur and Sneh Rana

Harmanpreet Kaur returning to form is great news for MI. Coming into the game against Giants with scores of 4, 22 and 4*, she scored a crucial 54 to power her side to 179. She has three fifties in four innings at the Brabourne Stadium in WPL and will want to make the most of the home advantage to secure a second title for her team.Sneh Rana will be key for RCB•BCCI

Performances like the one she put up against UP Warriorz make one wonder why Sneh Rana isn’t in the T20 scheme of things for India; she last played a T20I for India in 2023. Against UPW, Rana plundered Deepti Sharma for 25 off five balls, giving RCB a chance to hunt down 226. In her first game for RCB this WPL, Rana returned with 3 for 27 but she has been underutilised with the ball in this edition. She has bowled her full quota only once in the four games.

Stats that matter

• This is the second time in the WPL that RCB have lost five matches in a row, the first time being in the 2023 season
• Sciver-Brunt and Kerr, both from MI, occupy the top of the run-getters and wicket-takers charts, respectively