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JAMMU: The ground at the Government Gandhi Memorial Science College here wore a carnival look on the eve Jammu & Kashmir's Ranji Trophy quarter-final encounter on Wednesday.

Buntings and canopies were being erected even as the gates got a fresh coat of paint. Amidst all the festivity, it was hard to miss the security personal around. Understandably, Karnataka skipper Karun remarked: "Too close for comfort." However, for the locals here, it is a part of life.

With the political turmoil cutting the valley off from the rest of the country in August last year, cricket and cricketers too were among the sufferers. The match, the first knockout game here, is like soothing balm from the harsh grind.

The whole situation is not lost on the home team. They want to go all out to make the efforts of the people here count. The only way they can do it is by playing a fearless brand of cricket, a challenge they have embraced with zeal.

"After 2014, this is the first time we have reached the quarterfinals and it is a proud moment for all of us. Our progress is the result of all the hard work put in by various stakeholders of the game in the state." pointed out Jammu and Kashmir skipper Parvez Rasool.

"This match is historic for us because we are playing a quarterfinal match at home for the first time," added the 31-year-old all-rounder, who missed the first four games of the season due to injury and tracked the team's performance while undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.

Talking about the impact of the match being held here, the captain said: "It is a big deal for people here when the stars they watch on television come and play in front of them. I'm sure it will have a huge impact and go a long way in helping Jammu cricket grow."

Read the original post:
Ranji Trophy: A soothing balm at testing times in Jammu & Kashmir - Times of India

For most Manchester United supporters, finishing outside the Premier Leagues top-four for a second successive season is an unthinkable prospect.

But with United six points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea and among a hefty contingent of teams vying for the final Champions League spot, it has become a distinct possibility.

The thought of United lining up in the Europa League next season is a repulsive one for the Red Devils faithful and without the allure of elite European competition, the chances of world-class talent being brought to Old Trafford are significantly reduced.

That being said, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will have to do everything in his power to avoid that eventuality but would the best course of action be to abandon Uniteds league endeavours, and turn attentions elsewhere?

When United won the Europa League in the 2016-17 season, it was widely accepted that it was down to then-manager Jose Mourinhos decision to focus primarily on the second-tier European competition, rather than the Premier League.

As United progressed further in the Europa League, it became more and more apparent that their best chance of securing Champions League football would be by winning the competition, rather than finishing in the top-four of the league.

Mourinho played his strongest teams in Europe while downplaying the importance of the Premier League, and was dully rewarded with Champions League football as well as a trophy.

This could be something Soskjaer replicates this season, in the hope that he can tempt top-class players to United in the summer and then potentially challenge for the league next campaign something Mourinho failed to do.

Although it is perhaps a little too early for United to down tools in the race for the top-four, their first knockout game in the Europa League is fast approaching.

Solskjaers side come up against Belgian side Club Brugge who will by no means be a walkover they have lost just once in the league all season.

United cannot afford to take the Brugge game lightly, and their squads strength-in-depth will be tested once again.

Solskjaers options are set to be bolstered however ahead of the round of 32 tie Scott McTominay and Paul Pogba are scheduled to return after long injury lay-offs, while new signings Bruno Fernandes and Odion Ighalo will provide added quality.

When it is considered that United will have four additional, top-class players at their disposal when the Europa League recommences, there is the possibility that they will indeed have the squad to compete on multiple fronts.

United have been dreadfully inconsistent in the league this campaign, yet are still in touching distance of fourth place largely without the influence of those four players.

With the likes of Pogba and Fernandes starting regularly, United could make a real push towards the top-four while squad-players like Ighalo help them maintain a run in the Europa League.

Only time will tell whether Solskajer is either forced into a top-four dogfight after elimination from Europe, or whether he takes a risk by putting all his eggs into the Europa League basket.

The concern for United fans is whether Solskjaer has the tactical nous to win the Europa League Mourinho was renowned for his ability to achieve results, regardless of performance something that is vital in a knockout competition.

Solskjaer would be taking a huge risk if he opts for that route into the Champions League, and anything other than lifting the trophy would be seen as a massive error of judgment.

The coming weeks may see Uniteds boss forced into a decision sooner than he would like the Red Devils play Chelsea next in the Premier League as they look to close the gap to fourth place, before heading to Brugge just three days later.

A loss to Chelsea would be a serious blow to Uniteds top-four aspirations, but the game against Brugge could offer a lifeline to their Champions League hopes.

Whatever the results of the two games Solskjaer will be presented with a dilemma, but two wins would make that dilemma far less painful to solve.

Read more:
Should Manchester United give up on a top-four finish? - Soccity

LEIPZIG, Germany About three miles southeast of the center of Leipzig stands the Volkerschlachtdenkmal, a 300-foot high monument commemorating the defeat of Napoleon by a coalition of European powers in 1813. It is a deeply eerie place, in part because of the knowledge that 127,000 soldiers died there and in part because of its awesome scale, which itself hints at two other details: it was constructed in a spirit of nationalistic German militarism on the eve of the First World War, and it was so beloved by Hitler that he held a number of key meetings within its granite walls. But walk another 20 minutes south, past the graveyard, and you come to another monument to the past, subtler and less bombastic, and all the more affecting in its way for still being in use.

When it opened in 1922, the Bruno-Plache-Stadion was the largest owned stadium by a club in Germany, with a capacity of more than 40,000. These days, although it could theoretically hold 15,600, das Bruno has a safety certificate for just 7,000. It is reached down a quiet suburban road that passes through a handful of ramshackle houses that peter out to leave on one side allotments and on the other waste land that is heaped with junk. In front of the gate is a large muddy puddle several inches deep and on the lintel has been daubed the slogan, Lang leben die Ultras.

Long live the ultras.

Waltraud Grubitzsch/EPA/Shutterstock

Apart from the ultras and a wooden stand that is one of the oldest still in use in Europe there isnt much left at Lokomotive Leipzig. It won the German national championship three times before the First World War, was three times runner-up in the East German Oberliga and won the East German Cup four times. In 1987, Lok reached the final of the Cup-Winners Cup, only to lose in the final to an Ajax side managed by Johan Cruyff and featuring the young Marco van Basten, Dennis Bergkamp and Frank Rijkaard.

Lok wasnt even the most successful Leipzig club in the days before German reunification in 1990, at least in league terms. Chemie Leipzig is based in the northeastern suburb of Leutzsch and twice won the Oberliga. Both clubs were once capable of attracting crowds of over 100,000 when matches were played at the Zentralstadion, both clubs suffered severe economic difficulties after reunification and the withdrawal of state support, both saw crowds dwindle, both went into liquidation and both were resurrected by supporters groups.

The Zentralstadion was closed in 1994, although it still exists in a fashion, its shell surrounding the Red Bull Arena. That's where Rasen Ballsport Leipzig now plays, a palimpsest offering a perfect image of how one history is built over the top of another. RB Leipzig was only founded in 2009, but until last week it stood atop the Bundesliga. It will reclaim the top spot on Sunday if it beats the leader and perennial champion, Bayern Munich. The following week RB Leipzig will play Tottenham in its first Champions League knockout game. Lok and Chemie, meanwhile, struggle along in the Regionalliga Nordost, the amateur fourth tier of German football.

Chemie wears the green and white of the state of Saxony.

Lok wears the blue and yellow of the city of Leipzig.

RB wears the red and white of Austrian energy drink Red Bull.

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Kieran McManus/BPI/Shutterstock

Red Bull had already taken over Salzburg when it began looking to expand into Germany. It initially approached Chemie, but the club refused to be bought and so Red Bull took over the playing license of the local fifth-tier side SSV Makranstdt. The club's rise since has been remarkable, but it has also raised serious questions about what a club is and what it should be.

Germany operates the 50+1 rule, which, as a measure to prevent the sort of takeovers common in the Premier League, states that members must hold a majority of voting rights within a club. Only when an investor has been involved with a club for more than 20 years can it seek an exemption, such as those at Leverkusen and Wolfsburg, clubs that grew from what were essentially the works sides of the Bayer pharmaceuticals company and Volkswagen.

RB Leipzig (Rasen Ballsportball sport played on grassis a naked means of circumventing legislation against clubs being named after corporations) obeys the letter of that regulation but not the spirit: it has just 17 members, the majority of whom are Red Bull executives or employees. The result has been regular boycotts and protests staged by other German clubs as Leipzig rose through the divisions.

Pixathlon/Shutterstock

And to an extent that is both understandable and laudable. There is something attractive about the German notion of a club as, well, a club: a group of members who represent a particular area. But it is a notion that runs into certain practical problems. First of all, it has left one giant, Bayern, that dwarfs all others. Bayerns revenue is double than that of the next wealthiest club, Borussia Dortmund, and with the capacity of clubs to attract outside investment limited, it becomes essentially unchallengeable.

But more pertinent is the issue of the East, as what had been state-run bodies suddenly had to adapt to new rules. Every eastern club failed in the years after reunification. Many became rallying points for extreme politics. Lokomotive became a club of the far-right. At one game their ultras unveiled a banner that read, We are Lokists, murderers and fascists. Little wonder many of the fans who hadnt already drifted away stopped going.

Both Chemie and Lok have since made concerted efforts to expel the extremists, but problems remain. Besides which, the damage was done. Once the link between traditional fans and club had been broken, it was never going to be easily repaired, not with Red Bull offering a safe, sanitized experience on the doorstep and playing great football. As numerous fans point out, its not as though either Lok or Chemie are traditional clubs anyway. Both were created by the Communist state, Chemie in 1963 and Lok in 1966, from the foundations of other clubs or former iterations.

Legally, after a technical merger with the long-dead club in 2018, Lok is the successor to VfB Leipzig, which won the first national German championship in 1903, but the actual VfB was dissolved in the aftermath of the Second World War. One entity is written over another as each age yields to the next. Red Bull is simply the incarnation for footballs hyper-capitalist present.

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Jens Meyer/AP/Shutterstock

This Leipzig is slick and good to watch. Julian Nagelsmann, the coach, is, at 32, regarded as one of the most promising coaches in Europe, a hard-presser of the modern German school. His predecessor was Ralf Rangnick, who helped establish that school at a time when pressing was deeply unfashionable in Germany in the 1990s. Rangnick is now head of sport and development at Red Bull, and he has set out clear principles to establish a Red Bull style for all five of the companys teams: Leipzig, Salzburg, New York Red Bulls, Austrian second-division side Liefering and Brazilian side Red Bull Bragantino.

It can be summed up in three points, as Rangnick explained: One, add maximum possibility to the team and act, dont react. So you need to dictate the game with and without the ball, not through individuals. Two, use numerical superiority and let the ball run directly whenever possible, with no unnecessary individual action and with no fouls. Three, use transitions, switch quickly. Try to win back the ball within five seconds with aggressive pressing. After winning the ball back, play quickly straight away, play direct and vertically towards the opponents goal, surprise the disorganized opponent to get into the penalty area and shoot within ten seconds of winning the ball back.

That represents a brisk summation of modern football, and one of the reasons Leipzigs forthcoming series against Jose Mourinhos Tottenham feels like a meeting of the present and the past.

Yet Rangnick has certain traditional values. Leipzig has started poorly after the winter break, losing to Eintracht Frankfurt in both the league and cup, and scraping a 2-2 draw at home to Borussia Monchengladbach after being 2-0 down at halftime. Nagelsmann was publicly critical of his players from a tactical point of view, then Rangnick laid into them for having flown in a celebrity hairdresser at great expense.

Fans seem broadly to be on Rangnicks side. Fan after fan spoke of how Red Bulls investment is necessary for a city of Leipzigs stature (it has a population of 600,000) to compete, and there seems to be an expectation that in time the club will slip away again, but they also made the familiar arguments about players earning far too much and becoming detached from reality.

All of which really is testament to how far RB Leipzig has come in the last decade. Its hard to imagine theres ever been much call for celebrity hairdressers at das Bruno.

See more here:
RB Leipzig's Controversial Rise and What It Really Means to Be a Club - Sports Illustrated

Our XI: Peter Handscomb, Alex Hales, Callum Ferguson, Usman Khawaja, Marcus Stoinis, Daniel Sams, Chris Morris, Glenn Maxwell, Haris Rauf, Adam Zampa, Jonathan Cook

Captain: Alex Hales

Four fifties and a 47 in his last five BBL games makes Hales the most in-form player going around and an easy choice for captain coming into the game.

Vice-captain: Haris Rauf

Haris Rauf could write a love letter to the MCG when he retires. His hat-trick in the league stage was instrumental in beating the Thunder, and his strike rate this season is the best among bowlers who have bowled at least 25 overs. Need someone special to get your team out of a four-game losing streak? Rauf might be the man.

Hot picks

Marcus Stoinis: Three games without a significant knock, and Stoinis - the leading scorer this season - will have to step up and make things happen for the Stars. He's still value for your money and he smashed a fifty the first time the two teams met this season, so don't ignore him.

Daniel Sams: Thirty wickets in the season at an average of 14.00 is no joke. With a three-for in the last game, Sams comes into the game full of confidence and by looking at the Stars' last two batting collapses (98 and 115), Sams could even be your captain or vice-captain. And he can bat too.

Callum Ferguson: Cometh the crunch game, and you'd back Ferguson to come good. He's not been hot of late, without a 50 in his last ten innings, but he's still only behind Hales on the Thunder's leading run-scorers' list. His big-match experience also cannot be ignored.

Value picks

Jonathan Cook: He was outstanding in the knockout game against the Adelaide Strikers, returning 2 for 16 in his four overs, and was the star of the show against the Hobart Hurricanes in the Eliminator with 4 for 21 in his four overs.

Peter Handscomb: The Stars are searching for their batting heroes with Stoinis and Maxwell not showing up recently, and Handscomb, who has been batting at No. 4, might have a significant role to play in the game.

Point to note

The teams batting first have won the last two games here with the Stars collapsing in the chase both times. So, if the Thunder bat first, you can pick a captain from them and consider Sams as vice-captain. The average first-innings score at the MCG in six matches played in 2020 is 162, so if the batsmen get a good start, expect a high-ish scoring game.

Read more:
Haris Rauf could be the man to end the Stars' losing streak | ESPNcricinfo.com - ESPNcricinfo

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Monster Energy Supercross: The Official Videogame 3 doesn't have the catchiest of titles, but it does describe what it is to a tee. What we've got here is the third official supercross game, once again sponsored by Monster Energy. In fact, we're pretty sure that you could put that collection of words in any order and it would still be as snappy. But from now on we're going to abbreviate it to MES just so we don't kill our word count every time we mention the title.

Milestone has in just three years churned out its third Supercross game. Only in December of last year did the first of this trilogy come to PS plus, and we can honestly say that some things have changed between the first and third game, but perhaps not enough to warrant a second in the middle.

However, we're not going to moan about a game a year, or the differences between the iterations, as it works for other sports and why not Supercross? For starters, the sport is hugely popular in the US, with fans enjoying watching groups of riders bunched up together hitting huge jumps and taking sharp turns on dirt tracks.

One thing MES does really well is to capture the speed and feeling of tension as you whip around these precarious tracks. Even when your speed isn't too high, you still feel like you're going like the clappers. From that angle, the gameplay is solid. On the other hand, however, we seemed to fly off our bike all too easily. The difficulty curve was really tricky to master, and we noticed how the physics have been changed quite a lot since the first incarnation.

While there are options to make it easier, such as reducing the realism of the handling, it still felt all too easy to fall off. One second we'd land a tricky jump, and the next fall off for brushing past a block that marks the track outline. Then, we'd be back on the track and hit a jump a little off and end up flying off again.

This punishing balancing act took a lot of the enjoyment out of the experience for us, and we found the difficulty curve a little frustrating at times, and while the core mechanics worked well to give you the feeling of speed, finicky failures tainted our experience a little. Of course, it did get easier over time as we mastered the racing lines, but we think that a gentler learning curve would have made it a far more enjoyable experience overall.

If you combine those moments of needless frustration with annoyances born of the fact that there are loads of other riders on the narrow tracks, bunched up with you, all of whom can knock you off like you're a feather in the wind - it can all get a bit too tense to the point of being stressful. What's more, one slip seems to set you back in the race so much. We were in third at one point, came off and respawned in 6th, then almost immediately got knocked off, only then to bump a block and fall off again. To cut a long story short, we went from third to last in a series of quickfire blunders - forcing us to restart. While some of this may have been our own incompetence, we did feel unfairly punished.

We started off in the career mode, which has three different sides. The 250 West takes you around tracks in the western states of the USA. There are no prizes for guessing where you head to in 250 East. Then finally, there's the 450, and that has races from all over the US. The 250 and 450 numbers relate to the engine-size, and when we tried out the 450cc bikes, everything felt a little harder, faster and it was easier to come tumbling off.

Graphically, MES stands up well and the whole package looks really good. The riders and bikes all look great, and the tracks themselves are well-designed, with a functional HUD/UI. The sound design was also top-notch, so from a sheer aesthetic point of view, we couldn't really fault it. Another thing that we liked is the fact that your rider can now be a woman. When you're customising your character you have a large range of options, and we were happy see Milestone embracing inclusivity by adding the option to choose your gender.

Other than the career mode, where we spent the vast majority of our time, there are quite a few multiplayer modes, which gives the game a lot of additional depth if you're looking to race against friends and other folks online. There's your standard single races, but also a few mini-games including a treasure hunt where you have to head to various locations. Then there's a mode with checkpoints and also a knockout game, which all add a lot of hours of gameplay.

Another thing that padded out the offering and added longevity was that Milestone has given us the tools to build our own tracks. We really enjoyed creating our own courses, and the editor is simple enough to use and well implemented.

The game also seems to boast all of this year's official riders, which will appeal to all you Supercross fans out there. Fans will also like how the bikes feel grounded and connected to the track, and you get the sense that the physics are plausible. You needed to land your bike perfectly, and this new entry seems to be more punishing if you don't take the right line on a corner. You also need to know when to go flat out and when to hold back, while earlier games didn't seem to punish you as much for taking a more aggressive line.

All in all, it's clear that Monster Energy Supercross: The Official Videogame 3 is a good racing game. It looks and feels great, most of the time, and if you're a massive fan of the sport, you should definitely check it out, especially if you missed the second game as the series has come a fair way since the first. That said, the difficulty curve and the punishing ways that you can fly off your bike dampened our fun a little, even if the physics were quite impressive as we crashed for the umpteenth time.

The rest is here:
Monster Energy Supercross: The Official Videogame 3 - Review - Gamereactor UK