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Newcastle United are in a brilliant position under Eddie Howe, though could now be willing to facilitate a surprise departure for one of their strongest performers, according to a recent report.

Newcastle United's summer transfer plans

Eddie Howe is a man who has commanded mass respect from supporters at St James’ Park due to their recent EFL Cup win and Premier League standing, but he will have work to do to retain some of his key stars this summer.

Alexander Isak is a central target for Liverpool heading into the window and they appear to be setting the scene for Darwin Nunez to exit the club, paving the way for a blockbuster replacement.

Keeping hold of the Swede will be the main priority for everyone concerned at Newcastle, but there is also potential that they could add to their exciting pool of talent, especially if they secure Champions League qualification.

According to reports, Brentford star Bryan Mbeumo could be set for a move to the Magpies after claims emerged stating he could be set to leave London for £50 million.

The Geordies are said to be in pole position for his signature, potentially creating a deadly triple-axis with Isak and Anthony Gordon as Howe’s men look to compete for further silverware.

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On the same token, Real Sociedad star John Aramburu is being lined up to strengthen Newcastle’s backline, showing that they are covering all bases in the hunt for quality additions.

However, with PSR and other realities to take into account, don’t be surprised if one or two surprise stories emerge across the market this summer that lead to unexpected departures, something the Magpies won’t be immune to going by recent developments.

Newcastle willing to listen to Tonali offers amid Man City interest

According to CaughtOffside, Newcastle could be willing to accept offers upwards of £68.5 million for Sandro Tonali after it has become apparent that he is open to leaving Tyneside this summer.

Pep Guardiola is reportedly on alert as Manchester City retain an interest in the Italy international, while Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventus, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain remain in pursuit, with the Magpies prepared to accept a large sum after the player indicated he’s open to an exit.

Sandro Tonali key statistics in 2024/25 – Premier League

Pass accuracy

85%

Chances created

13

Tackles won

29

Shots

28

Touches in opposition box

36

Ball recoveries

152

Enjoying a fine campaign, Tonali has registered five goals and three assists in 39 appearances across all competitions as the Toon Army look to edge closer to claiming Champions League qualification.

Manchester City have an obvious void in midfield to fill amid Kevin De Bruyne’s impending departure, though it is hard to believe that Newcastle would be willing to sell one of their star assets directly to a rival.

Nevertheless, his openness to changing projects could throw the cat among the pigeons in that respect, especially given that selling Tonali may negate the need to fund their summer business by cashing in on other first-team players.

Chelsea have now submitted an opening bid of £64m for an “incredible” striker, but they are set to face fierce competition for his signature from their Premier League rivals, according to a report.

Blues ramping up striker pursuit

The Blues looked toothless in front of goal yesterday afternoon, drawing 0-0 away at Brentford, with Christopher Nkunku once again failing to deliver at striker, having scored just three Premier League goals all season.

The performance at the Gtech Community Stadium underlined the need for Enzo Maresca to bring in a top striker in the summer transfer window, and the west Londoners have been ramping up their pursuit over the past few weeks.

There has been a positive update on the move for Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, with the Nigerian now setting his sights on a move to Stamford Bridge, while Maresca’s side are also plotting an approach for Lille striker Jonathan David, who is set to be available on a free transfer.

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Posts ByDominic Lund Apr 6, 2025

A number of Europe’s top strikers are on the shortlist, including Sporting CP’s Viktor Gyokeres, and a report from Spain has now revealed Chelsea have made their first move for the Swedish striker, submitting a €75m (£64m) bid for his services.

However, there may be fierce competition for Gyokeres’ signature, with Manchester United also submitting an offer of the same value, while recent reports have also detailed the Sporting star could be keen on a move to Arsenal following talks with sporting director Andrea Berta.

The Blues believe the forward will be able to adapt to life in the Premier League quickly, which is why they are willing to make a huge offer, and his goal record in Portugal this season indicates he could make an instant impact in Maresca’s side.

"Incredible" Gyokeres impressing in Portugal

The 26-year-old has been in simply sensational form for Sporting this season, amassing 43 goals and 11 assists in 43 appearances in all competitions, showcasing that he is ready for a big move to one of Europe’s top clubs.

Not only that, but the Sweden international, who has been lauded as “incredible”, ranks highly across a number of other key attacking metrics over the past year, when compared to his positional peers.

Statistic

Average per 90

Shot-creating actions

3.85 (95th percentile)

Progressive carries

4.29 (96th percentile)

Successful take-ons

1.18 (83rd percentile)

Touches (Att pen)

6.07 (86th percentile)

With Nkunku potentially in line to leave this summer, and Nicolas Jackson now without a goal in his last 10 Premier League games, it is clear the Blues will need to bring in a top striker this summer.

Gyokeres’ goal record indicates he could be one of the best options on the market, so it is exciting news that Chelsea have now made the first move by submitting an opening bid.

Australia’s one, two and three smashed quick centuries, the last of them off just 47 balls

Namooh Shah24-Aug-2025276 – Australia’s margin of victory in the third ODI, the biggest defeat for South Africa in ODIs (by runs) going past the 243 runs they lost by in the 2023 World Cup to India. It is also the second-biggest margin of victory for Australia in ODIs, only behind the 309 runs against Netherlands in 2023.It is also the fourth-biggest margin of victory by runs in ODIs among Full Member teams, with the top two spots taken by India followed by New Zealand at three.431 for 2 – Australia’s second-highest total in an ODI, bettered only by the 434 for 4 also against South Africa in Johannesburg in 2006.Australia’s total is also the highest in an ODI in Australia and the second-highest against South Africa behind that 434 for 4.ESPNcricinfo Ltd2 – Australia’s top three of Head (142), Marsh (100) and Green (118*) scored centuries, making it only the second such instance in ODIs. The first was by South Africa against West Indies in Johannesburg in 2015.250 – Head and Marsh’s opening partnership, the fifth-highest in ODIs for Australia. The last Australia pair to stitch a double-century partnership for any wicket was by Maxwell and Pat Cummins for the eighth wicket in Mumbai in 2023.431 – The runs added by the first three Australian wickets is also the second-highest in an ODI, only behind South Africa’s 439 against West Indies in Johannesburg in 2015.47 – Green took 47 balls to complete his maiden ODI century, the second-fastest by an Australia batter behind Glenn Maxwell’s 40-ball effort against Netherlands in Delhi in the 2023 ODI world cup.Green’s 47-ball century is also the fastest against South Africa, bettering the 66-ball hundred by Matthew Hayden by some way.ESPNcricinfo Ltd12.14 – The scoring rate of the Green-Alex Carey partnership of 164 runs for the third wicket, the highest for Australia (min 150 runs), bettering the record of Maxwell and Shane Watson, who scored 160 at a rate of 11.70 against Sri Lanka in 2015.13.28 – Wiaan Mulder’s economy rate – the second-poorest in ODIs (six or more overs), behind Kevin O’Brien’s 13.57 against South Africa in 2015.22y 2d – Cooper Connolly’s age when he took his maiden five-wicket haul, becoming the youngest Australia bowler to do so, going past Craig McDermott, who took a five-for at 22 years and 204 days against Pakistan in 1987.5/22 – Connolly’s are the best bowling figures for an Australia spinner in an ODI, bettering the figures of Brad Hogg (5 for 32) against West Indies in 2005.

Slowing game down and forcing mistake from England’s captain prevents repeat of 2019

Matt Roller02-Jul-2023As Ben Stokes hauled Mitchell Starc over square leg and into the Tavern Stand for back-to-back sixes, the spectre of Headingley loomed over Australia.Four years ago, they were overwhelmed by the moment as Stokes took them on, brawling his way to a magnificent 135 not out to snatch a one-wicket win to square the series at 1-1. For much of Sunday, he threatened a repeat – no more so than when he heaved Starc into the stands, then nudged a single which took him to 149.When Starc wasted the final ball of his 17th over, the 66th, by spraying it past Stuart Broad’s pads and down the leg side, England were 292 for 6 and needed only 80 more runs to win. Australia had been ahead of the game ever since the third morning, when England lost 6 for 46; suddenly, they were behind.Between overs, Pat Cummins pulled his senior players together for a committee meeting: Steven Smith, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja marched over to mid-on, standing in a small huddle. They quickly determined that, with another few overs of bumpers to Stokes, Australia risked handing the game to England.Related

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Throughout his innings, Stokes had favoured the same side of the ground, hitting down the slope and towards the slightly shorter leg-side boundary: all nine of his sixes were hit towards the Mound and Tavern Stands, rather than the Grand Stand. With the wind “howling” in the same direction, in Cummins’ words, Australia resolved to cut off that scoring option entirely.”It just felt like we needed to go away from that stand, really; to get him into the off side, and away from that side,” Cummins said. “He’s just too good a player, and it’s too short a boundary. That was the crux of it [the discussion] – and just trying to hang in there. [And] ideally, try to have Broad on strike as much as we could.”Cameron Green was brought on to bowl the following over and produced a rare maiden, cutting off the short side with four straight bouncers before landing two wide yorkers outside off stump. After Broad got off strike with an inside edge, Starc went wide to Stokes, again preventing him hitting towards the short leg-side boundary.With the field still spread, Australia kept England in a holding pattern for the five overs between their meeting and the drinks break. They added only seven runs in that time, without hitting a boundary. Cummins reinforced those plans as his team reconvened, then brought himself on and aimed wide outside Stokes’ off stump to further the point.England had added nine runs in six overs, and Stokes decided it was time to take on the longer boundary when Josh Hazlewood banged one in, back-of-a-length and at his body. He lined up the Grand Stand, but completely mishit his pull; the ball skewed up towards point via the top edge, and Alex Carey settled underneath it.Hazlewood stood Andrew Flintoff-style, arms stretched and soaking in the moment, but this was a collective wicket. It was a moment that showed they had learned from their defeat four years previously – even if, in the fervour of Jonny Bairstow’s dismissal, it had taken them plenty of time to devise a plan to cut down Stokes’ scoring.”The biggest help was that we had an extra few runs on the board.” Cummins said. “He was in pretty formidable form out there… I think we learned a few lessons from Headingley: slowing the game up a bit; trying to get him to hit into areas that we wanted him to, rather than 360 [degrees].Ben Stokes heartbroken, Josh Hazlewood jubilant•Getty ImagesCummins added: “With a wicket like that, the ball was old, soft, and you don’t have too many options really. So you just try to kind of hang in there, hang in there, not let there be too many big overs and yeah: fortunately, he hit one up.”The same plan accounted for Ollie Robinson and Stuart Broad, both men caught in the deep while trying to swing short balls that cramped them for room towards the longer boundary. Across 8.2 boundary-less overs, England had lost three wickets for 10 runs, and the game was effectively Australia’s.This was a triumph for clear-thinking amid chaos. Australia have grown used to playing the bad guys over the last five years, not least when they come to England, but the frenzied Lord’s atmosphere after Alex Carey ran Bairstow out – culminating in MCC members abusing players in the Long Room – still seemed to throw them off course.Their fielding became ragged, epitomised by Smith’s drop off Stokes at deep backward square leg and a very wayward throw from substitute fielder Matt Renshaw, who overcooked an attempt to run him out.Australia initially fed Stokes’ strengths, letting him take on their boundary-riders on the leg side by extending the bumper barrage that emerged as a common tactic. “We felt a hundred-plus runs was a long way away with bouncers,” Cummins said. But when his sixes off Starc brought them to within 80 runs of their target, they were jolted into an alternative.Given the circumstances, this must register as one of the great Ashes victories away from home – certainly of the modern era. Australia lost their second toss of the series and had the worst of conditions by some distance, batting under cloud cover and bowling beneath clear skies.They also had to cope with the loss of Nathan Lyon to injury on the second afternoon, leaving them a bowler down for the rest of the match. “Those kinds of situations, 270-odd [required] on the last day, some big footmarks there, they’re made for Nath,” Cummins said. “He was missed.”It meant a substantial workload for Australia’s seamers – not least Cummins himself, who bowled 41.2 overs in the match, including 25 in the second innings. This was a true team effort: five batters scored between 75 and 150 runs in the match, and the three seamers took between four and six wickets.Two hours after their committee meeting, Australia’s senior players stood in more or less the same spot. This time, they had their families with them, with Warner, Smith and Khawaja basking in what will likely be their last Ashes appearance at this ground. A legacy-defining series win beckons.

There is intrigue in the way the BCCI has handled and communicated the removal of Kohli, but that is not new with the board

Sidharth Monga09-Dec-2021India once had a captain, Player A. One of his main batters, Player B, pulled out of a big match at the last moment. India lost the match. Player A, among India’s greatest of all time, then found out from a journalist that he was being sacked as captain. “Whom are they giving it to?” Player A asked, and lost it when told that Player B was going to be the new captain.We haven’t reached that kind of suspected palace intrigue, but it is just a reminder to not get fooled by the MS Dhoni-N Srinivasan blind faith: India’s captaincy has always been a precarious job. You get absolute power when in the job, but you can be dumped just as unceremoniously. It used to be through a journalist earlier – even till the time of Sachin Tendulkar – and it is one line of a postscript in a press release about something else these days.Let us not mistake it: intrigue there is aplenty. India have essentially removed – statistically – one of the most successful captains in ODI cricket, a 33-year-old, who openly and calculatedly made public his desire to keep captaining India in ODIs when he gave up the T20I leadership three months back. The change is not made with long-term future in mind: in fact, the new captain is a year-and-a-half older.Related

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Rohit replaces Kohli as ODI captain, takes over from Rahane as Test vice-captain

It is hard to think of an India captain who achieved full-time captaincy for the first time when older than Rohit Sharma’s 34-and-a-half. Anil Kumble got it at 37, but he was clearly a stop-gap as MS Dhoni found his bearings as the limited-overs captain. That appointment was necessitated by Rahul Dravid’s resignation; this one has been initiated by the BCCI.Any captaincy change in Indian cricket has to be ratified by the board president. So right now, the selectors and the BCCI president clearly believe there is a better captain in Indian cricket than the one under whom India won five matches for every two they lost and under whom they went to the final and the semi-final of the two world events they took part in.However, it is possible too that the selectors and the BCCI have looked beyond the record. Apart from the T20 World Cups, which are a tough format, you expect any Indian team – given the quality of any given side – to make the knockouts of world events because they are designed to discourage upsets. Having said that, it can’t be ignored that India did so comprehensively.Under Virat Kohli, India took the bold step of doing away with two fingerspinners, two of India’s biggest match-winners in the years leading up to it, but they were late to it: India were the only side in the 2017 Champions Trophy without a wristspinner. Now if it was the selectors who didn’t yield or if it was the team management that was caught napping we will probably never know.During the 2019 World Cup, India found themselves with a back-up allrounder with no experience of anchoring ODI innings and then a wicketkeeper-batter whom they didn’t originally want•IDI via Getty ImagesThe 2019 World Cup was more disappointing. At the start of 2018, Ajinkya Rahane was supposed to be India’s No. 4 despite Dhoni’s astute assessment that he struggles once the field is spread and the ball is old. Then Ambati Rayudu came in and proved himself only to be dropped after one ordinary series right before the World Cup. During the event, India found themselves with a back-up allrounder with no prior experience of anchoring ODI innings and then a wicketkeeper-batter whom they didn’t originally want at the World Cup suddenly playing that pivotal role. It was just their luck that it came down to the middle order in a big match.Of course, the selectors and the BCCI need not make any such explanations because Kohli all but decided his fate by giving up the T20I captaincy. It makes more sense to have one man leading both the limited-overs sides than two. It is in that format that Kohli was more vulnerable, given his IPL record and lack of role clarity in the national side. Rohit’s sides have had clearer roles and plans for its players. He is not shy to use data inputs. Kohli runs on emotion; Rohit seeks to take emotion out of it.Yet if these were the arguments, why it took the BCCI two-and-a-half years after the 2019 World Cup is anybody’s guess. Kohli’s lack of runs, for one, makes this call easier and less unpopular. A 2012 Yuvraj Singh advert comes too close to reality: “Till the bat talks, the world is yours.” It was only when Dhoni was struggling with the bat that he received the tap on his shoulder in 2017 and jumped before being pushed. But Kohli, possibly, still believed in himself as the ODI captain and refused to jump.It is never not uncomfortable, though. It is clear now that Kohli didn’t want to move on, which always makes it a little awkward for the new captain for wanting the job and now having to lead the former leader. It is not unnatural either. These are ambitious, competitive men who have come this far because they haven’t acknowledged self-doubt. The success of the team environment that Kohli is proud of building will lie in how maturely they move on from here. That yes, we respect each other’s ambitions, that it is perfectly natural and that we are mature enough to not carry on with this.Coach Dravid has previously been caught in similar crosshairs when the BCCI last sacked an India captain. This is different. Kohli still has the Test captaincy. Kohli still has the record and the fitness. There is no coach whom players see as a threat. Kohli the captain has backed Rohit the batter; there is no reason to suspect Rohit the captain doesn’t feel the same about Kohli the batter. Although purely from the outside, it has always seemed that Kohli and Rohit are one similar batter too many for a T20 top three.Most importantly, India remain a highly successful side in all formats never mind the T20 World Cup exit. Equally importantly, this is done well in time for Rohit to get a certain number of games in so that he can build his own side for the 2023 World Cup. It also gives Kohli more time to work on his batting. It is not appreciated nearly enough how taxing it can be to captain India in three formats and also an IPL side.Yet this is a transition that needs to be handled delicately, but not one that Dravid, Kohli and Rohit can’t see through.

The Houston Astros are calling up their No. 2 prospect Jacob Melton after Zach Dezenzo hit the 15-day injured list. Melton will take over as the center fielder.

The 24-year-old will make his MLB debut on Sunday vs. the Tampa Bay Rays, as he will hit eighth in the lineup. He was drafted in the second round of the 2022 MLB draft.

Through 17 games with the Triple A Sugar Land Space Cowboys this season, Melton has averaged .254/.371/.508 and hit two home runs and stole three bases.

Melton joins the Astros at a crucial time for the team. They currently sit in second place with a 31-27 record in the AL West, just half a game behind the Seattle Mariners.

Injuries have plagued the Astros recently, especially with the latest news regarding Yordan Alvarez's return. He's been out since May 2 and was expected to make a return soon. However, Alvarez underwent new imaging on his right hand and it revealed a small fracture that was previously believed to be a muscle strain. Alvarez's return is unknown, but he isn't likely to make it back to the field very soon.

The Chicago White Sox have been quick to claim Pope Leo XIV as their own.

Leo, born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, was quickly discovered to be a White Sox fan after his elevation to head of the Catholic Church earlier this year. The team has leaned in, with murals of Leo adorning the stadium and fans often showing up to games dressed as His Holiness.

But a recent message from Leo gave fans from the rest of MLB the chance to clown on the White Sox and their new most famous fan a bit. On Sunday, a message on the role of sports in society was shared by the @Pontifex account.

“In our competitive society, where it seems that only the strong and winners deserve to live, sport also teaches us how to lose,” Leo wrote. “It forces us, in learning the art of losing, to confront our fragility, our limitations and our imperfections. It is through the experience of these limits that we open our hearts to hope. Athletes who never make mistakes, who never lose, do not exist.”

On its face, this is a thoughtful message about what we can all learn from sports, win or lose. But baseball fans reading between the lines knew what the Pope was really saying. Learning about how to lose? Sports teaching us about our imperfections? Oh yeah, this guy is a White Sox fan.

The inevitability of losing in sports is a reality that all sports fans are familiar with, but White Sox fans might be a bit more in touch with their feelings on the matter.

In related news, the White Sox lost to the Texas Rangers on Sunday by a score of 2–1.

تحدث إينياكي بينيا حارس إلتشي، بعد انتهاء مباراة فريقه ضد ريال مدريد، بالتعادل الإيجابي بهدفين لكل فريق، في الدوري الاسباني لكرة القدم.

وقال بينيا في تصريحات نشرتها صحيفة “آس” الإسبانية: “نحن سعداء لأننا قدمنا مباراة رائعة، ما رأيتموه في الملعب هو ثمرة كل العمل الجاد الذي بذلناه وكل ما تم طلبه منا”.

وأضاف عن التعادل مع ريال مدريد: “نخرج من هذه المباراة بمرارة لأنهم تعادلوا في الدقائق الأخيرة، لكن هذا الشعور يعبر بوضوح عن طموحنا وما نبنيه معًا”.

وواصل عن الشوط الثاني: “كنا نعلم أنه مع النتيجة ضدنا، سيضغطون بقوة، لديهم لاعبون من الطراز العالمي وقادرون على التغلب عليك واختراق خطوطنا”.

اقرأ أيضًا.. خبير تحكيمي يوضح مدى صحة هدف بيلينجهام المثير للجدل في مباراة ريال مدريد وإلتشي

وتابع: “لقد خططنا للمباراة حتى نحاول اختراقهم، ونغلق جميع المساحات ونبعد الكرة عن مرمانا، لسنا معتادين على ذلك وكان علينا التكيف مع هذا النوع من المباريات، في هذا الجانب لعب الفريق ببراعة”.

وختم عن الهدف الثاني الذي أثيرت حوله الشكوك وتم العودة فيه لتقنية الفار: “سدد فينيسيوس، تصديت له ومع زخم التسديدة، شعرت أن ركبته أصابتني في أنفي، هذا جزء من اللعبة، من المؤسف أن ريال مدريد سجل من الكرة المرتدة، هذا كل ما في الأمر، مجرد جزء من اللعبة”.

Celtic have been meticulously assessing options to succeed Martin O’Neill in the dugout and may now have identified a new figure that could become a serious contender to take the Scottish Premiership champions forward.

At 73 years of age, O’Neill deserves plenty of plaudits for taking a step out of his comfortable stable of punditry work for another spell in charge of his old side, even if he may only be around for a brief period of time.

The victories over Falkirk and Rangers brought back some much-needed morale to the Celtic dressing room. However, the Bhoys’ defeat to FC Midtjylland in midweek prompted the former Republic of Ireland boss to make his stance clear on a longer stay in Glasgow.

He told TNT Sports: “I will be here as long as the football board wants me, it’s as simple as that. That could be at the end of the week, it could be after the Kilmarnock game. I just don’t know.”

Later, he added after being asked if he was in constant discussions with the hierarchy, fuelling speculation that he may not be in charge beyond the international break: “No I’m not and I don’t really want to be. I just want to be told when my time is up.”

Kjetil Knutsen continues to be in the Celtic running as his Bodo/Glimt contract comes to an end. Meanwhile, Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna is a Parkhead candidate due to his sterling work at Portman Road.

With speculation bound to continue over the coming days, a new name has entered the picture as a potential successor to interim coach O’Neill.

Celtic place Brian Barry-Murphy on manager shortlist

According to Alan Nixon on his Patreon, Celtic have shortlisted Cardiff City manager Brian Barry-Murphy as a managerial candidate to take over permanently at Parkhead.

Middlesbrough are also on the hunt for a new head coach as Rob Edwards completes a controversial move to Wolverhampton Wanderers, though the Scottish champions appear ready to throw a spanner in the works amid their links to the City Football Group.

Brian Barry-Murphy at Cardiff City – 2025/26

Wins

13

Draws

2

Losses

6

62% win ratio from 21 matches this season.

Previously, he was head coach at Rochdale before a spell in charge of Manchester City’s elite development squad, and he has also further coaching experience in a technical role at Leicester City.

Celtic could land an alternative manager with a secret release clause

Cardiff City find themselves fourth on 26 points and could go top of the table should they win their game in hand. Predominantly adopting a 4-2-3-1, the Bluebirds have been an attacking force this campaign, scoring the joint-third most goals in League One.

Nevertheless, managing Celtic is a whole different kettle of fish due to the pressures associated with the role. It remains to be seen who will be trusted to lead their bid to retain the Scottish Premiership title.

India’s decision to bat on and not call off the game at the start of the mandatory final 15 overs was a decision left to Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, India captain Shubman Gill said after India secured a hard-fought draw in Manchester to keep the series alive at 1-2.Jadeja was unbeaten on 89 and Washington on 80 at the start of the last hour with India on 386 for 4, when Ben Stokes offered to shake hands for a draw. India, however, decided to bat on. “It was up to the boys,” Gill said when asked whose decision it was to stay on. “I thought they both batted brilliantly, both were in their 90s. We thought they deserved a century there.”The game was called off as soon as both batters brought up their hundreds. This was Jadeja’s second in England and Washington’s first in Tests; the pair put on an unbroken 203-run stand for the fifth wicket to secure a draw.Related

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“Very pleased with the batting effort,” Gill said. “The past couple of days, we’ve been put under a lot of pressure. The way we responded after losing two early wickets, it’s never easy but it was a very brave effort.”India head coach Gautam Gambhir agreed with Gill. “If someone is batting on 90 and the other one is batting on 85, wouldn’t they deserve a hundred? Would they have walked off if someone from England side would’ve been batting on 90 or 85? If someone has the opportunity to get his first Test hundred, wouldn’t you allow him to do it? They weather the storm. It’s up to them. If they want to play that way, that’s up to them. I’ve got nothing more to say. I think both those guys deserve a hundred and fortunately they got it in the end.”Stokes, meanwhile, said that given the quick turnaround between the Tests, he did not want to risk his frontline bowlers getting injured as the reason behind offering to shake hands once the last hour began.”We were willing to take it as far as we possibly could and throw everything at them that we did, but it got to that point where there was obviously only one result left on the table and I wasn’t going to be risking any of my frontline bowlers in a situation like that, especially when we’ve got a quick turnaround,” Stokes told the . “The only other person who actually has any bowling workload in them is Harry Brook.3:12

‘Would they have walked off?’ – Gambhir on Stokes’ draw offer

“He does actually work on that kind of stuff, but I did have to say to him, ‘please don’t do anything stupid’. We’ve been out in the field for 200-and-whatever overs, we’ve got a quick turnaround, so just do what needs to be done. I said don’t do anything daft: don’t pull a side, don’t pull a hamstring. We knew what was going on there.”While appreciating Jadeja’s and Washington’s knocks, Stokes said the “10 more runs” the duo wanted to get for their respective centuries wouldn’t have changed the fact that they got their team out of a tricky situation.”The knock that those two played was very, very good,” he said at the press conference. “The situation that India found themselves in there, with us opening the game slightly, that partnership was massive. You hold your hands up – they played incredibly, incredibly well. And I don’t think there would’ve been too much more satisfaction from walking off a hundred not out, getting your team out of a tricky situation, than walking off at 80, 90 not out. That’s what you’ve done for your team. You know, the 10 more runs or whatever it was ain’t gonna change the fact that you’ve managed to get your team out of a very, very, very tricky situation and almost saved your team from a series defeat before the last game.”India resumed the final day on 174 for 2, still trailing England by 137 runs, with KL Rahul and Gill having got together in the first over on day four with the score reading 0 for 2. Gill said the plan was “about taking the wicket out of the equation.””Day five wicket, something keeps happening, every ball is an event,” he said. “We wanted to play ball by ball, take the game as deep as possible. That’s what we spoke about.”On asked about his learnings as a Test captain four games in, Gill said, he’d learned “a lot of things.””Every match going up until the last session of the last day … so many learnings,” he said. “Each Test match teaches you something different, four matches as a group has also taught a lot. Hopefully, we can draw the series if we win the next match.”