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Wicketkeeper Polly Inglis has received a maiden call-up to New Zealand’s squad for the three-match ODI series against India starting later this week. Inglis, 28, plays for Otago Sparks in the Women’s Super Smash and earned her first New Zealand Cricket (NZC) central contract earlier this year.Batter Lauren Down has also made been included in the 15-member squad after she made her return from maternity break in July. The pair’s inclusion is the only change to the squad that helped New Zealand win their maiden Women’s T20 World Cup title.From the victorious squad, fast bowler Rosemary Mair has been rested, keeping in mind her workload management following her return from a serious back injury, while offspinner Leigh Kasperek has been left out.Related

• Lauren Down back on NZC's central-contracts list

The core of the T20 World Cup-winning team, including the senior trio of Sophie Devine, Suzie Bates and Lea Tahuhu are part of the touring party. Devine will continue to lead them in the ODIs following her decision to step down as the T20I captain after the World Cup.Inglis’ strong performances in domestic cricket first helped her earn a contract and then a spot in the national squad. She scored 324 runs – the second-most in the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield 2023-24, the 50-over competition – at an average of 54 and a strike rate close to 80, largely batting the middle order. She also scored 103 in the three-match one-day series between New Zealand A and England A that they won 2-1.”We’re really excited to introduce Polly for her first tour,” Ben Sawyer said in a NZC statement. “She put her hand up in last season’s Hallyburton Johnstone Shield one-day competition and throughout the New Zealand A series against England, so it’s a great next step for her.”Touring India is one of the great experiences in world cricket. It’s such a special place to come and I know everyone is looking forward to the challenge ahead.”The three ODIs, to be played in Ahmedabad, are part of the Women’s Championship. New Zealand are currently placed sixth on the table with a three-match series against Australia to follow. The top five teams plus hosts India qualify directly for the Women’s ODI World Cup next year.

New Zealand squad for the women’s ODIs against India

Sophie Devine (capt), Suzie Bates, Eden Carson, Lauren Down, Izzy Gaze (wk), Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Polly Inglis (wk), Fran Jonas, Jess Kerr, Amelia Kerr, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe, Lea Tahuhu

da 888： West Bromwich Albion supporters won’t have to wait too much longer to see who their beloved Baggies will play in the opening matches of the new Championship season.

da poker： Indeed, the always hotly anticipated fixture list will be released next week, with Ryan Mason hopeful that whatever selection of fixtures is thrust his side’s way, they can start the fresh second-tier campaign with a bang, instead of a whimper.

One figure that definitely won’t feature under Mason’s early tenure is Grady Diangana, with the Congolese forward reportedly edging ever closer to a Hawthorns departure, after failing to seal an extended contract this summer.

Diangana's current situation

Mason’s arrival on the scene might well have contributed to the former West Ham United man wanting to leave, knowing that the 33-year-old boss would want to stamp his mark onto proceedings from the get-go.

It is a sad severing of the ties, however, with Diangana once viewed as an electric menace donning Baggies blue and white in both the Premier League and in the EFL.

In total, the 27-year-old would collect an impressive combined tally of 48 goals and assists from 202 appearances in the West Midlands, with Diangana often having the Hawthorns masses in the palm of his hand when pulling off unbelievable finishes like the one above.

But, the output on Diangana’s end had begun to dry up – as seen in just four goals and three assists coming his way last season – with a reported reunion now on the cards for him to uproot to Valencia to link up with ex-Baggies boss Carlos Corberan to try and recapture his best.

Whilst Diangana looks forward to his possible moment in the sun in Spain, West Brom will no doubt be on the hunt for a replacement to bolster their options in attack.

West Brom's "fabulous" Diangana replacement

After all, the long-standing servant’s exit will be felt in terms of the personnel Mason can select from.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

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Jed Wallace is the only other recognisable right winger in the depleted Baggies camp currently in the wake of Diangana moving on, whilst the rookie manager has even fewer faces to call upon in the number ten spot – another position that the 27-year-old was comfortable playing in – with John Swift also heading out of the building on a free transfer.

Therefore, in hunting down an immediate fix to Diangana’s exit, West Brom will need to win themselves a versatile and flexible presence who can play all over the attacking positions.

Who could that be? Well, former Derby County captain Tom Lawrence is perhaps their man. It has been reported by TEAMtalk this week that West Brom are interested in landing the now free agent forward.

Away from his ability to be adaptable making him a worthwhile candidate to replace Diangana, the 31-year-old also boasts a vast collection of goals and assists in the Championship himself, with a mighty 50 goals and 40 assists tallied up from 264 career appearances in the second-tier.

Staggeringly, that’s 42 more goal contributions than the Valencia-linked star managed during his entire Hawthorns spell, albeit from 62 fewer clashes.

Lawrence in the Championship by position

Position played in

Games

Goals

Assists

LW

157

30

21

SS

57

9

9

CF

21

5

2

RW

16

2

7

AM

6

2

0

LM

3

2

1

Sourced by Transfermarkt

The similarities don’t just stop here either, with Lawrence also prone to scoring an audacious strike or two during his celebrated Derby stay, much like Diangana at his Baggies peak.

His expertise in this regard even saw ex-Rams boss Gary Rowett label the entertaining Welshman as “fabulous” when the pair were together at Pride Park, as West Brom now pray he can arrive on the scene this summer and roll back the years to fire Mason and Co. to promotion.

Pulling off such a feat would make the managerial newcomer an instant icon at the Hawthorns, with Lawrence also entering into the club’s hall-of-fame no doubt by securing a promotion success Diangana could never get over the line.

Related A Palmer repeat: West Brom's "outstanding" star wanted by PL club

West Bromwich Albion must avoid selling this outstanding star.

Posts ByKelan Sarson Jun 18, 2025

A Madrid journalist has now dropped a significant new update regarding Davide Ancelotti’s chances of becoming Rangers’ next manager this summer.

Rangers manager search rumbles on

A host of candidates have been mentioned as options to take charge at Ibrox at the end of the season, at which point Barry Ferguson’s spell as interim manager is expected to reach its conclusion. Steven Gerrard has long been a front-runner to come in and enjoy a second stint at Rangers, having won the Scottish Premiership title in 2020/21, but Ancelotti has also emerged as an intriguing option recently.

The 36-year-old is currently the assistant manager to his father Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid, going through a disappointing season at the Santiago Bernabeu, with the European giants going trophyless.

He has been hailed by the Madrid boss though, who has said of his son: “Davide is a competent, disciplined, professional and very calm assistant coach. He works alongside Francesco Mauri, who is very young too. Luis works with the goalkeepers, Pintus with his experience on the physical side of things. I have a young and very competent coaching team. We combine their enthusiasm with my experience well.”

It was thought that that the Italian is contemplating moving into management on his own, taking on a head coach role and moving away from his father, but now a significant update has dropped regarding Rangers’ pursuit of him.

Ancelotti set to join Brazil instead of Rangers

Taking to X on Friday morning, Madrid journalist Alberto Pereiro revealed Ancelotti won’t become Rangers’ new manager, instead deciding to follow his father to be his assistant with Brazil’s national team ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

This is an update that will stun Rangers given all signs pointed towards the Italian moving out on his own, with the Madrid assistant standing out as one of the more exciting candidates to be their next manager.

Better than Ancelotti: Rangers to step up move for "amazing" manager

As the 49ers continue their search for the next Rangers manager, they should forget about Davide Ancelotti and hire an “impressive” boss instead.

By
Ben Gray

May 15, 2025

Granted, he hasn’t yet been a head coach in his career, which would make the Gers hiring him a risk, but he will have learned so much from his father and would bring a winning mentality with him, having helped both Bayern Munich and Madrid achieve so much success down the years.

Davide Ancelotti’s 12 trophy wins	Club	Year
Bundesliga	Bayern Munich	2017
German Cup	Bayern Munich	2017
German Cup	Bayern Munich	2018
Champions League	Real Madrid	2022
La Liga	Real Madrid	2022
Spanish Cup	Real Madrid	2022
Club World Cup	Real Madrid	2023
Spanish Cup	Real Madrid	2023
Spanish Super Cup	Real Madrid	2023
Champions League	Real Madrid	2024
La Liga	Real Madrid	2024
Spanish Super Cup	Real Madrid	2024

Now, the Scottish giants will have to look elsewhere at options, however, and it could be that Gerrard ends up being the man to come in, with the Liverpool legend feeling he has unfinished business at Ibrox.

da bet nacional： The wheels came off West Bromwich Albion’s 2024/25 campaign alarmingly quickly.

da poker： It all started when Carlos Corberan left the building at the end of December, leaving the Baggies with the extremely tough task of replacing the Spaniard mid-way through what they hoped would be a promotion-winning season in the Championship.

Unfortunately, Tony Mowbray came in and depressingly faltered instead, with the 61-year-old subsequently relieved of his duties as his side fell out of the playoff picture.

It can’t all be blamed on the seasoned EFL manager, however.

The likes of Adam Armstrong also struggled in a league he usually shines in, as seen in the Southampton loanee only firing home a limp three strikes from 16 games after a late January swoop.

Armstrong’s West Brom numbers

Stat

Armstrong

Games played

16

Games started

12

Goals scored

3

Assists

0

Big chances missed

4

Goal conversion %

12%

Stats by Sofascore

Therefore, this might make the Baggies think twice about going after Armstrong permanently now his loan deal has expired, with these three strikers perhaps on the West Brom shopping list instead to try and bolster their firepower.

1 Marc Guiu

West Brom could boldly go down the route of exploring the loan market once more with Chelsea hotshot Marc Guiu, irrespective of Armstrong’s poor stint at the Hawthorns.

After all, the Baggies have succeeded in the past when gifting an up-and-coming starlet chances away from Stamford Bridge, with Romelu Lukaku once just a wide-eyed attacker like Guiu before exploding into life in the West Midlands.

Guiu would hope to follow in the deadly Belgian’s footsteps if he is picked up by the promotion-aspiring Baggies this summer, having previously reportedly been on their radar around the time of Armstrong’s move.

The promising 19-year-old managed to bag six goals for Enzo Maresca’s men last season despite limited first-team action, meaning more game-time to come down a division could get even more out of the raw Spaniard.

2 Willem Geubbels

West Brom could be up against it in attempting to land the services of St. Gallen star Willem Geubbels, considering he is being linked with a £4.6m move to Premier League-bound Leeds United.

But, never say never over the Swiss attacker wanting more game-time by relocating to the Hawthorns instead, having been a long-term target on the Baggies’ agenda.

His goalscoring expertise in the Swiss Super League has even resulted in football talent scout Jacek Kulig heralding Geubbels as an “absolute top talent” and for many a valid reason too, considering the 23-year-old has hammered home an impressive 17 strikes this season from 41 overall clashes.

Therefore, the in-demand Frenchman could push a returning Josh Maja for a starting spot next campaign if he were to move to England, away from also allowing West Brom to immediately forget about Armstrong’s frustrating spell.

3 Ali Al-Hamadi

Lastly, away from thinking outside the box by shopping in Europe or snapping up a rising top-flight star, West Brom could go after a centre-forward talent full to the brim with EFL experience in Ali Al-Hamadi.

The Iraq international didn’t set the world alight out on loan with Stoke City this season just gone when registering only two weak goals from 15 games, but he has proven in the past for parent side Ipswich Town in the Championship that he’s a reliable option to call upon when the deadlock needs to be broken.

Al-Hamadi’s league numbers for Ipswich (23/24)

Stat (* = per game)

Al Hamadi

Games played

14

Games started

1

Minutes averaged*

22

Goals scored

4

Assists

0

Scoring frequency*

72 mins

Stats by Sofascore

Staggeringly, despite only starting one league game for Kieran McKenna’s men during their promotion-winning campaign, the former AFC Wimbledon man would still fire home a blistering four strikes, leaving him with a devastatingly effective scoring frequency of every 72 minutes.

It would all just depend on whether the Tractor Boys would want to keep the dangerous 23-year-old around now they’ve slumped back down to the EFL, but if he is available again, West Brom could seriously boost their promotion efforts by landing their failed January target.

Related West Brom could finally replace Palmer in swoop for "exceptional" EFL star

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Posts ByDan Emery May 23, 2025

With three matches left to play in the Premier League this season – on top of an FA Cup final in the middle of May – Manchester City still have a chance to cling onto some crumbs of pride from a sobering campaign.

Indeed, Pep Guardiola’s men are now only three points off being on the same points total as Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal in second, whilst a FA Cup final victory at Wembley versus Crystal Palace would be an impressive hat-trick of successes for the Spaniard in the esteemed competition.

Restoring some pride now could also set City up for a Premier League title chase when the ball gets rolling for the eventual 2025/26 season, with the upcoming transfer window further giving the Citizens apt time to rebuild before going again.

Manchester City's midfield rebuild

Guardiola has already started to add new flavours to his regimented City side, seen in seven-goal hero Omar Marmoush immediately making an impression on the English game after a statement January move.

With Kevin De Bruyne exiting the building this summer, the midfield is in slight need of a revamp too, leading to City now being linked with players like Morgan Gibbs-White and now Barcelona ace Frenkie De Jong to bolster centrally.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

As per reports from Spain, the Dutchman is an in-demand figure from a whole host of Premier League outfits, with Liverpool, Man CIty and Arsenal interested in signing the 27-year-old.

It’s further stated that a £34m bid could be made by Arne Slot’s title-winning Reds to try and tempt De Jong to Anfield, but City and the Gunners are still closely monitoring the Barca star’s situation to see if they can steal his services.

If De Jong can recapture the heights of his Ajax best at the Etihad, picking up such a talent for £34m will go down as a sterling bargain, with the 27-year-old also a potential upgrade on an ageing Gundogan if everything goes swimmingly.

Why De Jong could be a Gundogan upgrade

Before delving deeper into why the Dutchman might well be an inspired pick-up, it’s only right to look back at Gundogan when he was at his unbelievable peak in England.

After all, the German veteran hasn’t just fluked his sensational tally of 62 goals and 43 assists from 351 first-team appearances, but his numbers have been on an unfortunate slide this campaign.

Only five goal contributions have come his way in the Premier League this season, with De Jong amazingly only one off his ex-Borussia Dortmund’s counterpart’s total for the campaign back in La Liga.

This is a surprise considering the Barca number 21 has had many an injury setback to endure in the Camp Nou dressing room of late, but an impressive two goals and two assists have still managed to come his way, even as a mere seven league starts have been handed to him.

De Jong vs Gundogan since 2022/23
Stat (* = per 90 mins)	De Jong	Gundogan
Games played	75	98
Games scored	6	13
Assists	6	18
Pass accuracy *	91.6%	87.3%
Progressive carries	3.37	2.20
Progressive passes	9.56	6.19
Passes into final 3rd	9.73	5.21
Tackles won	1.08	0.64
Aerials won	1.10	0.47
Stats via FBref.

However, it’s over the last few seasons where we can really see the difference between the two players. Described by former Barca boss Xavi as “one of the best midfielders in the world”, he’s notably a more progressive passer and dribbler, with that no doubt a key attribute as Guardiola aims to refresh and rebuild his midfield.

Gundogan has, of course, displayed his class in the past for his current employers, but it does feel as if he’s reaching the end of his playing days now.

Whereas, De Jong – who has amassed 42 goal contributions and counting in Spain – has plenty of room to grow and impress, especially if he’s soon supplying the likes of Marmoush and Haaland with chances galore up top.

Rodri 2.0: Man City make "one of the best CMs in the world" a top target

Man City have earmarked potentially their next Rodri as a top target this summer

By
Ross Kilvington

May 2, 2025

We take a look at the best performances with the ball, with the bat, and in the field

Mohammad Isam18-Jan-2020Best spellsMohammad Amir 6 for 17 v Rajshahi Royals
Khulna Tigers needed a big performance from their premier fast bowler in the first qualifier, and Mohammad Amir responded brilliantly. He took 4 for 11 in his first three overs, ripping out the Rajshahi Royals’ top order – he swung one back in to Liton Das’ off-stump, had Afif Hossain and Alok Kapali caught behind, and Andre Russell caught at midwicket after being cramped for room – to leave them at 23 for 5. Amir returned to send back Taijul Islam and Shoaib Malik, who had scored 80 from 50, to finish with the best figures in BPL history. Amir also ensured Khulna were the first team to reach the final.Wahab Riaz 5 for 8 v Rajshahi Royals
Wahab Riaz had Liton and Kapali caught behind, before Shoaib too tickled one down the leg side to the wicketkeeper. All in one over, a maiden. He later wrapped up the innings with the wickets of Nahidul Islam and Kamrul Islam. Interestingly, substitute wicketkeeper Jaker Ali took four of those catches, eventually finishing with six catches in the game. Dhaka Platoon won the game by a whopping 74 runs.Mehedi Hasan Rana 4 for 28 v Cumilla Warriors
Among Mehedi Hasan Rana’s two four-wicket hauls, this was the better show, because often Bangladeshi pace bowlers can’t really follow up one good spell with another. Rana duped Soumya Sarkar with his length before clean bowling Bhanuka Rajapaksa. He also trapped Sabbir Rahman lbw to make it three wickets in his first spell. Then when Dawid Malan had got to 80 and was looking threatening, Rana came back to have him caught at deep midwicket. That gave Chattogram Challengers a 16-run win in a high-scoring game.Najmul Hossain Shanto hit a sparkling century against Dhaka Platoon•Raton Gomes/BCBBest inningsNajmul Hossain Shanto 115* v Dhaka Platoon
Having scored 115 runs in eight innings, the pressure was on Najmul Hossain Shanto to deliver for Khulna. As they chased 206 runs against Dhaka, that pressure became even more. But Shanto finally responded, with a superb maiden T20 century, and doubling his tally in the season’s BPL. Not known as a big-hitter, Shanto mixed slogs with attractive shots around the wicket, including cover drives and late cuts. By the time he reached his century, Khulna were well and truly in a winning position, and eventually got to the top of the points table with an eight-wicket win.Andre Russell 54* v Chattogram Challengers
With a place in the final at stake and with the required rate getting away from them, Rajshahi needed a true Andre Russell special to keep them in the competition. They needed 85 off the last 6.4 overs when Shoaib Malik fell, but Russell slowly took it down, piece by piece. Against the impressive Rana in the 18th over, Russell took the game away from Chattogram altogether. He smashed him for two sixes and a four, and then Rubel Hossain for more in the following over, before smashing the winning six in the last over.Dasun Shanaka 75* v Rangpur Rangers
If this innings had come in a playoff game, Dasun Shanaka would have become an instant hero in Bangladesh. Still, his nine sixes and three fours in an extraordinary unbeaten 31-ball 75 took Cumilla Warriors from a difficult 89 for 6 to an above average 173 for 7. Shanaka got stuck into Lewis Gregory, Mustafizur Rahman and Junaid Khan in the last three overs. One of his sixes, off Mustafizur, landed on the roof the grandstand, probably the only time someone has been able to clear that part of the Shere Bangla National Stadium. Cumilla then bowled out Rangpur for just 68, to win by 105 runs.Ryan Burl moments after pulling off a special catch in the BPL•Chattogram ChallengersBest catchesRyan Burl v Rangpur Rangers
Mohammad Shahzad’s swing of the bat often goes into unpredictable directions, so when he tried to slam Kesrick Williams over mid-off, the splice took it over point. Ryan Burl ran back, positioned himself nicely and then dove to complete the catch. He even managed to keep his sunglass on.Imrul Kayes v Rajshahi Royals
It was a good BPL campaign for Imrul Kayes with the bat, and he topped it off with a brilliant running catch at the long-on boundary in the second qualifier, against Rajshahi. He intercepted a strong drive from Mohammad Nawaz towards the end of the chase, running to his right, and diving full length near the boundary rope. Chattogram went on to lose the game but Imrul’s catch was among the best in the tournament.Rilee Rossouw v Sylhet Thunder
In search of quick runs as he looked to build on Sylhet Thunder’s good start, Mosaddek Hossain threw his bat around, attacking Robiul Haque. But Rilee Rossouw jumped high at cover, and caught the ball one-handed over his head. It was just the start of a superb BPL season for Rossouw, who would go on to take another superb catch in the playoffs, apart from finishing as the tournament’s top run-getter.

Jones, whose place in the T20I side was under scrutiny, said he showed he was “good enough” to play at the highest level

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jun-20243:20

Finch: Jones and Gous fed off each other

USA batter Aaron Jones hoped that his knock in the T20 World Cup 2024 match against Canada “opens eyes of some people around the world” that he is “good enough” to play T20s.Jones struck an unbeaten 94, the second-highest individual score on T20 World Cup debut, after walking in at 42 for 2 in the seventh over, when USA’s target of 195 seemed a step too far. But not only did the co-hosts end up getting there but they did so with seven wickets and 14 balls to spare.”Sometimes as a cricketer, you could go a bit under the radar if you have a few low scores,” Jones said. “I always back myself and know that I am capable of performing at every level. [I am] happy that I came out on top and won the game for USA. Hope it opens the eyes of some people around the world that I am good enough to play T20 cricket.”I believe in myself, I work hard and I just use [criticism] as motivation. I know that I’m good enough to play at the highest level, and whenever given the opportunity, I’ll do my best for sure. When I went out to bat tonight, I just saw it as another game to fight for me and bring my team as close as possible to the line, and if we get as close as possible to the line and over the line, it’s great for the team.”Related

• Aaron Jones gets the big American cricket party started, and how

• Jones, Gous' spectacular show hands USA opening win

• Stats – Aaron Jones second only to Chris Gayle after blitzing Canada

The innings from Jones in front of a buzzing home crowd at the Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas, Texas, came at a crucial time for Jones. He was part of Seattle Orcas in the inaugural Major League Cricket, USA’s T20 league competition, but was released and not selected by any of the teams in the MLC draft earlier this year. An additional draft will be held on June 16 for teams to complete their squads. His place in the T20I side was also under scrutiny.”When I wasn’t selected in the Major League, I just took it as a stepping stone in the journey,” he said. “I would have loved to get drafted, so it goes sometimes. Hopefully tonight’s innings will probably open the eyes of those who don’t know me or USA cricket. We have great players here and that we have a lot of talent here and are willing to play at the highest level for sure.”Jones was involved in a 131-run third-wicket partnership off just 58 balls with Andries Gous, who scored a 46-ball 65. When they got together, the Canada fast bowlers had their tails up; when their partnership ended, USA were in sight of a famous win.Aaron Jones’ innings summed up in a picture•Associated Press

“When I went out to bat, I told Gous, ‘right now we are in a spot of bother’,” Jones said. “If we want to win the game, we got to be aggressive, we got to be positive. Either we go down, die hard and we get bowled out for whatever score, or we try to get the score. We want to be fearless, we want to be positive, we want to play smart cricket. In being fearless, we want to have good shot selection as well. If you know you don’t sweep, don’t sweep. If you know you don’t use your feet, don’t use your feet, but be aggressive regardless.”Is this his best knock for USA?”It’s up there, to be honest,” Jones said. “Probably the best knock for me as a player for USA, or maybe it can come second to the hundred I scored when we gained ODI status. This one is special because it is a World Cup and we know Canada are our rivals, we are playing the first game of the World Cup and everybody’s watching us.”USA next play Pakistan at the same venue on Thursday, and Jones said that they will continue to play fearless cricket against them as well as against India in ten days’ time.”We just want to keep winning as much as possible, of course we can’t win every single game for the rest of our lives,” he said. “I don’t think our plan [for the rest of the tournament] is going to change much. We want to play fearless cricket, we want to play hard cricket, we want to play smart cricket. We are going into the Pakistan game with the same mindset. We want to play fearless cricket, regardless of who we play against.”

The weather in Lauderhill could severely impact the contest between Canada and India

Ashish Pant14-Jun-20241:40

Should India give Kuldeep Yadav a game?

Match details

Canada vs India
June 15, Lauderhill, Florida, 10.30am local time

Big picture: Rain threat in Florida

Canada are facing their toughest test of the T20 World Cup as India aim to go into the Super 8 stage with a clean sheet, but the fixture is at the mercy of the weather in Florida. Friday’s game between USA and Ireland was washed out at the venue, and there’s an 85% chance of rain on Saturday.If the game does go ahead, India could test out their bench strength. They have played the same XI in their first three group games, but with qualification secure and no points advantage carried forward to the Super Eight, they could give the likes of Kuldeep Yadav or Sanju Samson some game time.Related

• Similar but different India have tough choices to make with their batting order

• Johnson: That was my best international innings

• Hardik hits his rhythm to get rid of the blues

India’s final group game is also Virat Kohli’s last chance to find form before the more competitive Super Eight stage. Of all the batters itching to get out of New York, he is right up there. His move to the top of the order has yielded scores of 4, 1 and 0, and Kohli is not even among the top 150 run-scorers of the tournament. He does not have exceptional numbers in Florida, though: 63 runs in three innings at an average of 21.00.Virat Kohli has not yet fired as an opener in the T20 World Cup•Associated Press

With USA confirming their Super Eight berth from Group A along with India, Canada have been knocked out, having earned only two points from their first three games. They have been competitive at their first T20 World Cup though, having scored 194 in their opening game against USA and then securing a comfortable win against Ireland. They even gave Pakistan a scare, and will hope to sign off at their best against their most high-profile opponents.

Form guide: India on a roll

India WWWWW
Canada LWLLL

In the spotlight: Aaron Johnson and Hardik Pandya

Despite making his T20I debut only in November 2022, Aaron Johnson is already Canada’s second highest run-scorer. He had a tremendous start to his international career, scoring four fifties and one century in his first seven T20I innings, and has sustained his form. No other Canada batter has more runs than Johnson’s 400 in 12 innings since the start of 2023. He is coming into this game on the back of a confident 52 against Pakistan.Hardik Pandya has seven wickets in three games at the T20 World Cup•Associated Press

Hardik Pandya has not had much to do with the bat, but has been an asset with the ball. He is India’s joint highest wicket-taker so far in the competition, with seven wickets in three games, and has stifled batters in the middle overs. Hardik has hit those hard lengths and finished the New York leg with an economy of 5.41.

Team news: Will India give Kuldeep a go?

Canada’s move to bring in Ravinderpal Singh for Dilpreet Bajwa did not work, with Ravinderpal out for a second-ball duck. They might go back to Bajwa against India.Canada (probable XI): 1 Aaron Johnson, 2 Navneet Dhaliwal, 3 Pargat Singh, 4 Nicholas Kirton, 5 Shreyas Movva (wk), 6 Ravinderpal Singh/Dilpreet Bajwa, 7 Dilon Heyliger, 8 Saad Bin Zafar (capt), 9 Kaleem Sana, 10 Junaid Siddiqui, 11 Jeremy GordonIndia could rest one of their fast bowlers and bring in Kuldeep, whose wristspin might be required in the Super Eight stage in the West Indies.India (probable XI): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Virat Kohli, 3 Rishabh Pant (wk), 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Shivam Dube, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Axar Patel, 9, 10, 11 Jasprit Bumrah/Mohammed Siraj/Kuldeep Yadav/Arshdeep SinghFriday morning was extremely wet at the venue•ICC/Getty Images

Pitch and conditions: Rain alert

Thursday was dry but Friday was a washout in Lauderhill. The forecast for Saturday morning is not promising, with scattered thunderstorms predicted throughout the day.

Stats and trivia

• Apart from West Indies, who play some international matches here, India have played the most T20Is (eight) in Lauderhill: five wins, two defeats and one washout.
• Rohit Sharma is the top-scorer in T20Is at this venue: 196 runs, with two half-centuries in in five innings.
• Arshdeep Singh has the second most T20I wickets in Lauderhill: seven in four innings, with an economy of 7.88.
• Arshdeep has bowled six overs in the powerplay at this T20 World Cup and conceded just one boundary.
• Out of the 56 overs India have bowled in the tournament, only nine have been delivered by spinners
• Canada have never faced India in a T20I.

Quotes

“I saw them last month in April. Those guys were working really hard. I am happy for them. It is a motivation for us, going into the next tournament that USA have down, so can we. In that way, we can look at it.”
“Regarding this stadium, we played earlier so we are slightly aware of the conditions, what we get. Yes, the weather is challenging here, you don’t know about when the rain comes and all, but we have been prepared for all these things. So, we are focusing on what we can control and at this point of the time, we can’t control the weather conditions. So, we are trying to prepare ourselves in the best possible way but we want a game to happen.”
India fielding coach T Dilip isn’t bothered about the conditions