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Pundit Jamie Carragher has issued an apology to Eberechi Eze after seeing the Arsenal star bag a hat-trick for the Gunners in a 4-1 north London derby victory over Tottenham. The Liverpool legend admits he has "undervalued" the transfer and now feels the former Crystal Palace man has the ability to make a real impact for Mikel Arteta's side as they bid to land the Premier League title.

• Eze steals show in north London derby win

  Eze was the hero for Arsenal in a 4-1 win over Tottenham at the Emirates on Sunday, scoring three times and taking home the match ball as the Gunners extended their lead at the top of the table to six points. The England international, who came close to joining Spurs in the summer before making the switch to Arsenal instead, admitted after the game it was "special" to score his first professional hat-trick as he became just the fourth player to net three times in a north London derby. His performance also ensured Carragher has been forced to change his mind about the forward after initially being sceptical of his big-money move to the Gunners from Crystal Palace.

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• Carragher apologises to Arsenal and Eze

  Carragher apologised to Eze after the game and explained why he was initially unimpressed with the transfer. He told Sky Sports: "I must be honest, I think in the summer when Arsenal signed him and I had my Liverpool hat on and I looked at the signings Arsenal made and besides [Victor] Gyokeres, it felt a lot of them were to strengthen the squad really. So where Arsenal had problems the year before was when Saka was out, so they bought Madueke. Odegaard was out, they got Eze. One of the centre-backs was missing so they got another couple of centre-backs. It was only really Gyokeres you felt was going to go into the team and if I’m being honest, I think if Havertz was 100 per cent fit, Havertz would have probably been the centre-forward in this team.  

  "So when Eze came in, I thought 'OK maybe it’s not a game-changer' and Les [Ferdinand] knows him a lot better than me and he still said earlier in the show that there’s still more to come. But we are still seeing some of his highlights this season, a few great goals in there and then he goes and gets a hat-trick. So, apologies. I’ve certainly undervalued the importance of that signing because he looks like he could make the real difference for Arsenal this season and going on to win the title."

• Eze 'could have scored four or five'

  Arsenal boss Arteta was full of praise for Eze after the win and felt his summer signing could have scored even more goals against Thomas Frank's side. He told BBC Sport: "That tells you about the difficulty and what he's done today. To be fair he could have scored four or five. He's a big player who can create magic moments which unbalance a team. We dominated every part of the game. We created massive chances and had a lot of actions that we were very close to scoring. We stayed patient. Whoever we put in there they do the jobs for us. This squad has the belief and quality to deliver consistently. We have really good momentum but you can see how difficult every game in the Premier League is. It's a long run, let's go game by game. Let's enjoy tonight, then we have Bayern here and Chelsea away. We have a tough week."

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  Arsenal up against Kane and Bayern next

  Arsenal and Eze will now switch focus to the Champions League and a visit from Harry Kane's Bayern Munich next. The former Tottenham man heads to the Emirates in prolific form, having scored 14 goals in just 11 Bundesliga outings and five goals in four Champions League matches for Bayern so far this season. Both teams go into the match with perfect records in the competition so far in 2025-26, meaning something will have to give at the Emirates on Wednesday night.

Explosive TNPL batter eyes IPL breakthrough with fearless batting and consistency

Deivarayan Muthu16-Aug-2025He has been dominating bowlers, including Varun Chakravarthy and R Ashwin, with his explosive batting over the past two seasons of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). Apart from opening the batting, he can also keep wicket, which makes him an exciting package, especially in T20 cricket. He has also had a brief stint with Tamil Nadu’s white-ball sides and emerged on the IPL’s radar.Meet Tushar Raheja, who has earned the sobriquet ‘Rocket Raheja’ in the TNPL circles. An aggressive left-hand batter, Raheja has a wide variety of shots in his repertoire. The 24-year-old has always been proficient against pace and in TNPL 2025 he levelled up, disrupting both Varun and Ashwin during Tiruppur Tamizhans’ run to their maiden title. His franchise and state captain R Sai Kishore was so impressed with Raheja’s takedown of spin that he came out publicly and said the wicketkeeper-batter was ready for the IPL.Raheja had attended multiple trials before and during IPL 2025, including a mid-season one, but couldn’t break into the big league. He’s taken feedback and learnings from those trials and has strengthened his case for the upcoming auction with a chart-topping 488 runs in nine innings at an average of 61 and strike rate of 185.55, including 77 in the final against Ashwin’s Dindigul Dragons.”I thought I did well at the Delhi trials and then I was called again during the tournament as well,” Raheja recalls, speaking to ESPNcricinfo. “That was again a good experience and that helped me evolve as well. I was amongst people who got picked in this year’s IPL like Priyansh Arya. After the auction, I tried to compare myself to them in terms of seeing what they are doing right and what I’m not.”Seeing them at trials, going back and seeing their videos and seeing them in the IPL – that gave me a lot of learning. Being amongst Hemang Badani, Rahul Dravid and other Indian cricketers gives you a lot of confidence, which I’ve tried to carry into this season.”Tushar Raheja emerged as the player of the tournament in TNPL 2025•TNPL/TNCARaheja has IPL ambitions, but he doesn’t want to look too far ahead. “I would like to focus on the Syed Mushtaq Ali [tournament], which would take me a step closer,” Raheja says. “I’m trying not to think about it but obviously, it’s human tendency again to start thinking about it. I will be lying if I say I’ve not thought about it.”When he was younger, Raheja admits to being carried away by the “adrenaline rush” but now he’s learnt to control his emotions and thoughts with help from Raymun Roy, a mental conditioning coach, who has also worked with India internationals Washington Sundar and B Sai Sudharsan.”Roy has played a big role in this aspect, where basically you are controlling your heartbeat,” Raheja says. “Like, when you are playing a match or when you are under pressure, what brings a lot of thoughts is your heartbeat and at the time, your mind will be running fast. So, I’ve tried to keep that in check and not have too many thoughts.”We do a lot of quantum breathing exercises off the field and some of these are simple exercises that I can do while batting also. So, even when I’m batting in between balls, there are a lot of small exercises that I do, which help me not think, if that makes sense.”

“From last year or even the year before that, after the powerplay, I was slowing down. Most of the time, it is spinners bowling to you after the powerplay. So, I did a lot of drills against spin, getting my bat swing a lot better against spin and trying to pick length a lot better.”Tushar Raheja

Raheja has also expanded his range, and he credits his personal coach TV Ramkumar for it. While the slog-sweep comes naturally to him, he had to spend more time on hitting straight during the off-season in the lead-up to the TNPL.”What I have put in a lot of work into is hitting straight, hitting over covers and mainly hitting straight,” Raheja says, “because if you are able to hit straight, the other things will come with your bat swing. But the hardest thing to do is hit a bowler, especially a spinner, straight. I’m looking to hit them straight on the ground, over long-off and long-on.Related

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“I’ve been training with Mr. Ramkumar for three years now and I’ve understood my game because of him. I feel from last year, every time after the powerplay or even the year before that, after the powerplay, I was slowing down. So, I tried to put in a lot of thought into how I can keep that momentum going. Most of the time, it’s spinners bowling to you after the powerplay. So, I did a lot of drills against spin, getting my bat swing a lot better against spin and trying to pick length a lot better.”When he was six years old, Raheja had enrolled himself into a tennis academy but switched to cricket after watching MS Dhoni lead India to T20 World Cup glory in 2007. Raheja idolises Dhoni and also has fond memories of watching Matthew Hayden bashing bowlers in the IPL at Chepauk. It may not be too long before Raheja himself breaks into the IPL.”I was always a fan of Dhoni,” Raheja says. “When Matthew Hayden used to play for CSK, I used to go to Chepauk to watch a lot of matches. So, I was fascinated by the way he took down fast bowlers. I was also fascinated by Yuvraj Singh but I’ve always idolised Dhoni mainly.”Tushar Raheja asked coach RX Murali to make him open the batting and since then has transformed himself into an intent machine•TNPL/TNCARaheja didn’t start as an opener at Tiruppur but was promoted to the top after coach RX Murali (also the batting coach of RCB Women) saw a spark in him during a practice game. He has since transformed himself into an intent machine.”I was batting in the middle order in the TNPL for a couple of seasons,” Raheja says. “I used to ask him: ‘Sir, give me a shot at opening’. He then gave me an opportunity and he really liked my attacking intent. He has worked with some of the top cricketers in the country. His inputs have been valuable, and it helps working with someone who has so much T20 experience.”While white-ball cricket is his calling card right now, Raheja doesn’t want to be pigeon-holed as a white-ball specialist. He has dreams of representing Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy after playing eight white-ball games for them last season.With Sai Sudharsan likely to be on India or India A duty during this season, Raheja has a chance to stake his claim for a red-ball slot in the upcoming Buchi Babu tournament, which will kick off on August 18 in Chennai. Raheja and TNCA XI will run into a Mumbai side featuring Ayush Mhatre, Sarfaraz Khan and Musheer Khan.”I wish to do a lot better in the red-ball format than I’m [doing] right now,” Raheja says. “I am working hard on my red-ball game as well. I don’t want to be just branded as a white-ball only player. I know I have the game for the red-ball format as well.”I have a lot more work to do, which I am working on in that format. But those ambitions are definitely there, and I want to break into the Ranji side as well. But that will come with more performances in the [first division] league and the Buchi Babu, which is coming up. I’m excited to express myself there.”A big domestic season could propel ‘Rocket Raheja’ into Tamil Nadu’s batting core and the IPL.

Glasgow Rangers officially confirmed that both CEO Patrick Stewart and sporting director Kevin Thelwell left their roles at Ibrox on Monday after the club’s underwhelming start under the new ownership.

Chairman Andrew Cavenagh revealed that the ownership believes that they need different people in those roles in order to bring success back to Ibrox in the months and years to come.

Thelwell was let go by the Gers after he played a key role, as sporting director, in the appointment and firing of Russell Martin, as well as the signings throughout the summer transfer window.

The former Everton chief was given the funds to retool the squad for the head coach in the summer, but after that appointment and the signings he made, Rangers won one of their first eight Scottish Premiership matches.

However, Thelwell would be far from the first sporting director to make some mistakes in the transfer market. Former Gers technical director Nils Koppen, for example, made his fair share.

One signing that officially went through in the summer but was sanctioned before Thelwell’s arrival was the permanent addition of Oscar Cortes.

Why Oscar Cortes has been a waste of money for Rangers so far

The 21-year-old forward initially joined on loan from Lens for the second half of the 2023/24 campaign, and produced one goal and one assist in six games in the Premiership, per Sofascore.

That convinced the Scottish giants to sign him on a season-long loan with an obligation to make it permanent at the end of the season in the summer of 2024, which led to him signing for £4.5m earlier this year.

He is currently the ninth-most expensive signing in the history of the club, with that £4.5m move from Lens, and the Gers have simply not got enough back from him on the pitch to justify that expense.

In the 2024/25 season, the Colombian winger made ten appearances in the Premiership without delivering a single goal or assist for the team, whilst he also missed out on 22 matchday squads and was an unused substitute on six occasions, per Transfermarkt.

Despite his dismal form last term, Rangers had to sign him permanently for a hefty fee of £4.5m because it was an obligation that was put in place in the previous summer. That led to him leaving on loan to Sporting Gijon this season.

As you can see in the table above, Cortes has struggled badly in Spain since his temporary switch to the second division outfit, with more games left sat on the bench than appearances in LaLiga 2.

His lack of goal contributions for the Spanish side means that he still has not provided a goal or an assist since registering one of each in a 5-0 win over Hearts in February 2024.

With over three years left on his contract at Ibrox, it remains to be seen whether or not the 21-year-old whiz will make a success of his Rangers career or not, but it is not looking good on current evidence.

With his form for the Gers and out on loan, Cortes currently looks like a big waste of money for the significant fee that the club agreed to pay Lens for him, unfortunately.

Whilst Thelwell did not have any say in that move, it was going through irrespective of anything he did after becoming sporting director in April, one of his own summer signings looks to be an even bigger waste of money than Cortes.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

The former Light Blues chief opted to splash the cash on Portugal U21 international Youssef Chermiti, and the early signs from his Ibrox career are far from promising.

Why Rangers should not have signed Youssef Chermiti

Thelwell agreed a deal with his former club Everton to sign the striker for a fee of £8m. That made him the most expensive signing made by the Gers since they signed Tore Andre Flo for £12m in 2000.

When signing a player for that kind of outlay at Ibrox, it is fair to expect that they should be able to make a relatively immediate impact for Rangers, even if they are not the finished product, because Chermiti is their most expensive signing in 25 years.

Unfortunately, though, the Portuguese marksman has failed to prove his worth to the Light Blues on the pitch with his performances so far in the 2025/26 campaign, with just one goal to his name so far.

The former Premier League flop has produced one goal and one assist in 13 appearances in all competitions for the Scottish giants, per Sofascore, which shows that he has not offered a regular threat at the top end of the pitch.

Chermiti’s form in the Premiership, in particular, has left quite a bit to be desired for a player who is the club’s most expensive signing in 25 years.

As you can see in the table above, the Portugal U21 international ranks poorly in the Gers squad in a host of key metrics, and the only reason that he ranks highly for goals is that only two players in the squad have scored more than one league goal.

Chermiti, who was described as a “nothing player” by Portuguese journalist Kevin Fernandes, has simply not done enough with the game time that he has been given, domestically or on the European stage.

The ex-Everton striker was signed for almost twice as much as Cortes and appears to be heading in the same direction as the winger, as another expensive flop who is unable to make a significant impact on the pitch for Rangers.

Therefore, Chermiti looks on course to be an even bigger waste of money than the Colombian forward because he cost £3.5m more and has been just as underwhelming at the start of his Ibrox career.

"Rotten" Thelwell signing is Rangers' biggest waste of time since Dowell

This summer signing by Kevin Thelwell has been as bad as the deal to bring Kieran Dowell to Rangers.

By
Dan Emery

Nov 26, 2025

India want to give the seam-bowling allrounder game time in home Tests so that he can improve for challenges overseas

Karthik Krishnaswamy08-Oct-20252:05

Is there a role for Nitish Kumar Reddy in home Tests?

Ten years from now, it might be the image you recall most vividly from last week’s Ahmedabad Test: Nitish Kumar Reddy airborne at full stretch, having flung himself to his left at square leg to turn a well-hit pull from Tagenarine Chanderpaul into India’s first wicket in the second innings.You might, however, struggle to recall anything else Reddy did in the Test, because he didn’t get to contribute much to India’s innings victory. He bowled four overs in West Indies’ first innings, didn’t bowl in their second, and didn’t get to bat as India declared first thing in the morning on day three, on their overnight total of 448 for 5, despite there being so much time left in the game.It’s the kind of thing that can happen to a player in such a dominant victory, particularly a player whose skillset can seem surplus to requirements in certain conditions. India want to maximise Reddy’s potential as a seam-bowling allrounder and are hoping to turn him into a player whose presence gives them depth and balance with both bat and ball in overseas conditions. But to help him grow into that player, they recognise he needs game time in red-ball cricket between those tours, which means playing him whenever possible even in home Tests.Related

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“I’d say we’re unlikely to change the combination,” India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said two days out from the second Test in Delhi. “One of the sort of medium-term objectives is to develop a seam-bowling allrounder for India, because it’s very important when we go away on tours that we have that position covered.”We didn’t get a very good look at Nitish last week, so I think it’s a very good opportunity to give Nitish another go and not alter the balance of the team.”In his eight Tests so far, Reddy has shown evidence of his high ceiling in Test cricket, particularly with the bat. He top-scored in low India totals with 41, 42 and 42 in three of his first four Test innings, during the 2024-25 tour of Australia, and followed up with a maiden Test hundred at the MCG. His bowling isn’t yet at that level, but he took key top-order wickets both in Australia and during the 2025 tour of England.”We think he’s a fantastic seam-bowling allrounder, a batter who bowls seam,” ten Doeschate said. “I think the biggest limitation to what his ceiling could be is going to be his body. He is not the first allrounder we’ve seen in this country whom that applies to; to be perfectly honest, Hardik [Pandya]’s in the same sort of character of player where we don’t doubt their skills at all but for their bodies to hold up to Test cricket is a different matter.”Nitish, I think he showed everyone in Australia how good he is as a batter; I think the challenge for him is going to be to make sure that he gets game time in between away series. In a series like this, when you look at the combination, it’s more important to look ahead and see how we can fit him in to make sure that he does get game time and time to develop his bowling. We really like him, we think he’s a quality allrounder.”4:20

Ten Doeschate: India unlikely to change combination due to a medium-term objective

As true as that might be, India have three spin-bowling allrounders in their squad against West Indies, and two of them – Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar – played in Ahmedabad and batted ahead of Reddy, with Jadeja scoring an unbeaten century to extend his 2025 purple patch.”The sort of lucky thing for us is Washy and Jaddu and even Axar [Patel] are pretty much the same sort of players,” ten Doeschate said when asked whether batting behind Jadeja and Washington could potentially hold back Reddy’s development. “We feel they can bat anywhere from five all the way through to eight, and on the most recent evidence of Washy getting important runs in the UK, [and] obviously Jaddu’s form in the last six months has been immense, and unfortunately that means when Nitish does come back into the team right after his injury, he fits in right at the back of that list, and hence the reason why he batted at eight.”The only drawback, or the only sort of downer from last week in that first Test was the fact that Nitish didn’t get to compete in any of the departments, but I think it’s also a strong message to the guys who are fighting for that spot that you need to be versatile, you need to be able to bat anywhere from five all the way through to eight, and we feel that’s a good way to develop players, that they can perform in different scenarios and different positions.”If we’re all disappointed that they’re not batting six or seven that means Indian cricket’s in a good space, and long may that continue.

On Sai Sudharsan: ‘We know he’s good enough’

Another player who had a quiet game in Ahmedabad was B Sai Sudharsan. Unlike Reddy, he got the chance to show what he could do, batting at No. 3, but he was the only member of the top six to be dismissed for a single-digit score. On 7, he was lbw attempting an ambitious pull off the offspinner Roston Chase when the ball may not have been short enough for the shot.It continued a frustrating start to Sai Sudharsan’s Test career. In England, he showed why India rate him highly enough to have given him a debut as a No. 3 despite coming to Test cricket with a sub-40 first-class average: he played the ball late, showed excellent judgment outside off stump, and looked unhurried and in control at most times. But he also fell in unusual ways multiple times after getting a start, including more than once to balls angling down the leg side. Now, after that low score at Ahmedabad, Sai Sudharsan averages 21.00 with just one half-century in seven innings.0:49

Chopra: ‘Sai Sudharsan needs runs or the pressure will mount’

“I think he is under no illusion and he can’t hide away from the fact that you do fight for a spot in this environment, where you saw Karun Nair get four Test matches in England [before getting dropped for the West Indies series]. There are a lot of good players fighting up the hill to whoever has possession of that spot,” ten Doeschate said. “So Sai just needs to focus on believing in himself. We’ve obviously got a lot of belief in him to give him that No. 3 spot. He is playing pretty nicely, probably a tactical mistake the other day, which he’ll be aware of – playing back to a ball so early in an innings.”We know he’s good enough; and now he has to find a way of scoring runs and showing the rest of the country and the rest of the team that he’s good enough to hold that spot. But certainly no panic or no worry – particularly in a winning team you can absorb that in a series like this, where he knows he’s going to get four knocks.”The rhythms of the Test calendar, ten Doeschate felt, is another challenge for players like Sai Sudharsan who are still finding their feet in the format. “It’s probably a little bit early to be worried or panic-stricken. Doesn’t help that you have five Test matches in the UK and then you wait six weeks to play the next Test match, and the same thing will happen now after this Test next week – we don’t have another Test match for the next three and a half weeks. There’s no string of fixtures to get your rhythm and to get yourself going, but again that’s the nature of Test cricket in this era, and he has to find a way to do it.”

On Jurel: ‘We were trying to squeeze him into our plans even in Australia and England’

In Ahmedabad, Dhruv Jurel – playing as wicketkeeper in the absence of the injured Rishabh Pant – batted at No. 5, scored his maiden Test hundred, and left a lot of viewers theorising that he could potentially remain in the XI as a specialist batter even after Pant returns.”I’d imagine it does [put pressure on Sai Sudharsan],” ten Doeschate said. “I think Dhruv showed last week just what a good player he is. We’ve known that all along, how well [he could] fit into the middle order, and in addition to that, there are other good players who are fighting for a top-three or top-four spot – obviously Shubman [Gill]’s got four nailed down.2:02

Chopra: Jurel making a strong case for No. 6 spot

“Sai’s aware of that, and look, I don’t think you pursue a career of playing cricket in India if you don’t expect that sort of competition and people clawing at you, the media clawing at you, that’s part and parcel of it, and we know Sai is tough enough to deal with that.”Jurel had already enjoyed an impressive debut series in Test cricket, against England last year, when ten Doeschate joined the coaching staff under new head coach Gautam Gambhir. He has since played one Test in Australia, one in England after Pant suffered his injury, and then in Ahmedabad. He has also been part of the T20I squad as back-up wicketkeeper, and has now been picked in the ODI squad that will tour Australia later this month.”We’re really happy with the way he is tracking,” ten Doeschate said of Jurel. “He’s someone, even in England, even a little bit in Australia, we were trying to squeeze him into the plans because we know how good he is, and obviously, with Rishabh now being injured, it’s worked out quite nicely to get Dhruv some game time.”[In terms of] his development, what we saw at the back end of last year, leading into this year, we were really hoping he would kick on in the IPL, and he maybe didn’t have quite the IPL he would have hoped for and we would have hoped for, but to come into the team now like he has and to score a proper hundred like that, hopefully it gives him a bit of runway, and if you look at it in a positive way, it’s good that he is putting pressure on other players in the top order as well.”

Inter Miami aim to defend home turf against NYCFC, while San Diego visit Vancouver in two finely poised conference finals. GOAL’s writers break down both matchups.

Right then – conference finals time. Zoom out, consider the options, and try to be objective, and maybe we were always headed here. As much as the haters wanted Inter Miami to stumble, the Lionel Messi storyline is simply too rich to ignore. San Diego FC have been good all season and fully merit their spot. Vancouver’s acquisition of Thomas Muller last summer signaled their ambition – and their willingness to spend big to get here.

And then there’s NYCFC. Credit to the Pigeons, who have ticked every “Cinderella story” box imaginable. If they reach the final, the feel-good narrative stays very much alive. But can anyone realistically stop Miami now? And will Vancouver’s massive investment in Muller pay off with an MLS Cup final appearance?

It’s all perfectly poised. GOAL U.S. writers break down two massive matches in another edition of… The Rondo.

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  What's your prediction for Inter Miami-NYCFC?

  Tom Hindle: Is it immensely offensive to NYCFC to say this might not be particularly close? Miami are too good for pretty much anyone at the moment, and if that Messi guy shows up this should really be an unfortunate formality for the Herons. A 3-1 win here.

  Ryan Tolmich: If NYCFC were full strength, maybe this would be a bit closer. No disrespect to them, of course, but their injury issues aren't going to help. Miami should cruise through this as a result, giving Messi his first crack at an MLS Cup.

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  How significant of an upset would an NYCFC win be?

  TH: Massive. Atlanta United is obviously the famous MLS playoff one in recent memory, but this would run it close. The Pigeons might have a shot in other circumstances, but they're without their main goalscoring threat. Pascal Jansen has them playing some good stuff, and they won't be embarrassed, but they simply don't have the quality to get it done. 

  RT: Pretty damn significant. Shorthanded, on the road and against the greatest of all time? Good luck with that! Now, Miami have fallen before, and last season's loss to Atlanta was an all-time MLS upset. This, though, would probably be even crazier than that given the circumstances and stakes, even if it is a one-off game.

• Imagn
  

  Should Luis Suarez start for Miami?

  TH: Not even remotely. Javier Mascherano has found a winning combination with Mateo Silvetti in the XI, and it should be enough to carry Miami into the MLS Cup final. Now, if they get there, it might be a different story. But should be on the bench for now. 

  RT: Probably not, at the moment. The club appears to have something going with the pieces around Messi, and that is almost certainly the formula for these playoffs and the next era of Miami soccer. Plus, is it the worst thing to have Suarez off the bench as a "break in case of emergency" supersub?

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  Prediction for Vancouver-San Diego?

  TH: This is a really tough one. The smart pick, though, might just be Vancouver, who beat the (other) best team in the West last weekend. Thomas Muller is a star through and through, and they're good enough at the back, too. San Diego will play some tasty stuff, but it's hard to look past Muller and Co. 

  RT: Whitecaps should cruise here, right? They have momentum and, of course, quality, not to mention the superstar factor of Muller. The Whitecaps, at the moment, seem to have those "team of destiny" vibes. San Diego, too, have some of those vibes given all they've accomplished, but the Whitecaps' run still feels just a bit more real given the talent they've amassed to make it happen.

So far this season, roughly one out of four chances have been put down

Namooh Shah22-Apr-20253:05

IPL 2025 so far: CSK’s Chepauk shocker, Shreyas’ impressive captaincy

Batting standards have been continuously improving in the IPL with more sixes and higher run rates being achieved every year, but the same can’t be said about the fielding standards. After 39 games this season, 103 out of 431 chances have been spilled, resulting in a catching efficiency of just 76.1%, the worst the league has seen at a similar stage in the last five years.In fact, catching efficiency has dropped season-on-season over the last five years. In 2021, 85.5% of total catching chances were taken. That number has now gone down considerably. This season has already seen two matches where nine catches were dropped: in the Rajasthan Royals (RR) vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) game in Jaipur, and the Punjab Kings (PBKS) vs Chennai Super Kings (CSK) match in Mullanpur. According to ESPNcricinfo’s logs, those are the most catches dropped in a match in IPL history. The previous worst was eight, in the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) game at Eden Gardens in 2023.

Which teams have struggled the most?

The teams at the bottom of the points table are also the ones struggling to hold on to their catches. CSK have an abysmal 64.3% catching efficiency, while RR haven’t done much better either. For CSK, some of those missed chances have cost them heavily: PBKS’ Priyansh Arya was dropped second ball and went on to score a hundred, while RCB’s Rajat Patidar was reprieved on 18 and scored a half-century. Both went on to win Player-of-the-Match awards.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The butterfingered fielders

Among those who have had four or more catching chances, Yuzvendra Chahal (PBKS), Vijay Shankar (CSK) have fared the worst. Just below them are Abdul Samad (Lucknow Super Giants) and Vaibhav Arora (KKR). One of the chances Chahal missed was of SRH’s Abhishek Sharma, on 57; he went on to score 141 in a successful chase of 246.