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Aston Villa are now looking at signing a Tottenham star in January after reaching a pre-agreed deal for another player, according to one report today.

Aston Villa plan for January amid Premier League title race

The Midlands outfit find themselves in unprecedented territory this festive period — four points off Man City at the summit, nine consecutive wins across all competitions and a Premier League title charge nobody saw coming.

Unai Emery refuses to entertain talk of silverware publicly, but the numbers tell their own story.

Villa’s current form represents their finest run since 1919, and while they haven’t won a league title since 1981, or claimed any major silverware for three decades, here they sit, third in the table, four points clear of fourth-placed Chelsea.

The transformation has been nothing short of remarkable.

After five winless games to start the campaign and a barren run in front of goal, Villa languished in the relegation zone, but fast-forward to December, and they’ve beaten both Arsenal and Man City at home, becoming the first team to rack up 2.1 expected goals against the Gunners all season.

Behind the scenes at Villa Park, January planning is also in full swing.

Related Fabrizio Romano shares exciting January transfer update out of Aston Villa

The Villans need squad depth to maintain their charge.

Posts ByEmilio Galantini

Emery’s recruitment team are working overtime to strengthen a squad suddenly competing at English football’s pinnacle, according to Fabrizio Romano, as they look to balance the demands of a title race with Europa League commitments that continue deep into spring.

Villa have already secured Brazilian teenager Alysson from Gremio in a deal worth £8.7m initially, rising to £10.5m with performance-related add-ons.

The 19-year-old winger represents exactly the profile Emery covets – young, hungry, adaptable. Gremio retain a 10 per cent sell-on clause, with formalities expected to be completed early in the transfer window.

That is according to journalist Graeme Bailey, who has also shared Villa’s interest in a deal for Tottenham winger Brennan Johnson.

Aston Villa looking at signing Tottenham winger Brennan Johnson

As per Bailey, writing for TEAMtalk, Villa have entered the race for Johnson ahead of January.

The Wales forward has fallen out of favour under Thomas Frank in north London, with Mohammed Kudus’ arrival in the summer relegating him to a bit-part role.

Johnson scored their Europa League-winning goal in May and bagged 18 goals in all competitions last season, finishing 2024/2025 as their top scorer.

James Maddison also called his teammate a ‘relentless’ player in the final third.

Subscribe to our newsletter for transfer insight Discover richer context: subscribe to the newsletter for deeper transfer insight, clear analysis of Aston Villa’s recruitment strategy and how potential moves could shape their title challenge. Get expert breakdowns and informed perspectives. Subscribe Subscribe to our newsletter for transfer insight Discover richer context: subscribe to the newsletter for deeper transfer insight, clear analysis of Aston Villa’s recruitment strategy and how potential moves could shape their title challenge. Get expert breakdowns and informed perspectives.

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However, he’s managed just six Premier League starts this term, accumulating barely 900 minutes of action. The 24-year-old finds himself on the fringes of Frank’s plans, so a January exit is very possible.

Villa are looking at signing Johnson next month after their pre-agreed deal for Alysson, but Crystal Palace remain favourites for his signature, with sources suggesting Johnson is “receptive” to a move across London seeking regular football ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

That being said, Villa represents an altogether different proposition — European football, a genuine title challenge and the opportunity to work under one of Spain’s most tactically astute managers.

Taking this into account, we surely can’t discount Emery’s side in the race just yet.

Related Aston Villa seriously considering Jan move for "incredible" 10-goal striker

The Villans are looking to sign a new centre-forward this winter, having identified a number of targets.

Posts ByDominic Lund

Matthew Hayden made his sixth Test hundred at the MCG © Getty Images

Matthew Hayden conquered the MCG with his sixth Test hundred in the stadium before calling it the toughest surface he had batted on for two years. It was hard to know how serious he was after Australia had scored 337 in a day and his 124 had come from 183 balls. However, as his analysis of the pitch grew and talk of his 28th century was pushed to the background, he became more convincing.”Quite difficult” was cut to “difficult” and he was certain things would “deteriorate” much more than they did for the drop-in wickets that have held together and forced attritional play during Pura Cup games. Despite the predictions, Hayden felt batting would not get any more challenging than it was in the first 30 overs of the opening day, when they reached 0 for 122. He might have been trying to scare the Indians, but if it does wear like Hayden expects it will become more like a home game for the tourists.The predictions led Ricky Ponting to bat and Hayden and Jaques survived the early difficulties in a stand of 135 that would produce the innings’ highest scores. Instead of things getting easier, they quickly became harder as Australia lost nine batsmen and their ability to follow the tradition of dominating the opening exchanges.”We lost a few too many wickets, but it was difficult enough and those conditions will be revealed over the next four days,” Hayden said. “The fact is we are facing a difficult wicket. The score is definitely a par effort.”Hayden started by going hard at the ball as it seamed in the morning, benefiting from gaps in the slips during a couple of thick edges, and then turned his attention to the spin of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh. Jaques beat him to fifty and even though Hayden was keeping pace his run-scoring speed was surprising. By the time he reached his century, which was celebrated with a hug from Michael Clarke, he had struck only nine fours, but it came from 126 deliveries.”It was one of my best Test hundreds because of the conditions we had at hand,” he said. “I was pretty pumped, it was great.”The MCG stirs Hayden, who played his first home Test here in 1996-97, and he had extra reasons to perform this time. “I’ve built this match up more so than any other,” he said. “It announces the start of the summer for us.”The series began with an eventful and intriguing first day, but Hayden does not expect things to happen quickly over the rest of the match. “It’s definitely going to be a wicket that’s going to be hard to score on,” he said. “There are slow conditions and I can see us really putting the pressure on through good in-out fields. We’ll try to constrict India and I definitely think the wicket’s going to deteriorate.”Two years ago Hayden played on an MCG pitch that he said was worse than this one. It was wet on the first day, when he scored 65, but he managed to overcome the difficulties in the second innings with 137. Over the next couple of days his forecasting will be tested.

Alyssa Healy, the niece of the former wicketkeeper Ian Healy, has been chosen in the 13-woman Australia Under-23 squad to tour New Zealand next month. Healy impressed the three selectors with her performances at the national under-17 and under-19 championships and is in line to face New Zealand A in three matches.Healy, a right-hand batter and keeper, was the leading run-scorer at the under-19 tournament with 345 at 57.50 and she shared the under 17 player of the championship prize with Delissa Kimmince, who also made the touring squad. Kimmince, a right-arm medium bowler, played all eight Women’s National Cricket League games in her debut season for Queensland Fire and captured nine wickets at 18.Healy is one of only three players in the Shooting Stars squad who does not have experience in the WNCL. However, Elysse Perry, an allrounder, was also outstanding at the under-19 tournament, with 175 runs and seven wickets, while Kate Owen, 21, made a mark by being the leading scorer at Cricket Australia’s Women’s Cup.The squad, which is captained by Sarah Aley, will play three matches against New Zealand A from February 13 to 16 at Lincoln University.Shooting Stars squad Sarah Aley (capt), Nicole Bolton, Renee Chappell, Rene Farrell, Rachael Haynes, Alyssa Healy, Emma Inglis, Delissa Kimmince, Kate Owen, Elysse Perry, Rikki-Lee Rimmington, Emma Sampson, Lauren Shave, Brian McFadyen (coach).

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New Zealand beat USA by 170 runs to book a place in the final of the Plate Championship. Led by an excellent unbeaten 100 by Andrew de Boorder, New Zealand posted an imposing 295 for 8 after being sent into bat before dismissing USA for 120 in 29.3 overs, with seamer Hamish Bennett collecting 4 for 16. de Boorder’s innings spanned just 115 balls, included eight fours and continued his rich vein of form as he made 87 against Ireland. With useful contributions from opener Todd Astle (59) and Martin Guptill (42) to back up de Boorder’s innings, New Zealand made the USA bowlers suffer in conditions that were once more hot and humid. Abhimanyu Rajp took 5 for 61.USA lost wickets at regular intervals and, after a promising beginning when they reached 35 for 0 in the seventh over, they collapsed. Only one player – Sumon Bari, with 23 – reached 20 and they never came close to threatening the target.Despite two wins in as many days, New Zealand coach Dipak Patel said his side still had more to offer. “We still have not played to our full potential,” he said.”Our preparation before the tournament was minimal and that was shown in our early results and we are still struggling with the new ball, although our spinners and medium-pacers are doing a good job now.

Scorecard
Bulletin

Ireland beat Namibia by six wickets
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Ireland secured a long-awaited first win with a convincing six-wicket success against Namibia. Ireland side bowled out the Namibians for 115 in 36.3 overs and then knocked off the required runs for the loss of four wickets in just 29.2 overs. Ireland’s win was founded on excellent spin bowling with their trio of spinners – Gary Kidd, James Hall and Greg Thompson sharing eight wickets between them. Hall took 4 for 29, Kidd captured 3 for 26 and Greg Thompson 1 for 11 and in the face of that trial by spin Namibia endured a torrid time. Only three of their batsmen reached double figures and there were four ducks in the innings, three of them in the Namibia top-order. A target of 116 was never going to be enough for Namibia to defend and with all four of the Ireland top four reaching 20 they eased to victory with more than 20 overs in hand.Morgan was understandably delighted with the win and said afterwards: “This is long overdue for us. It was very difficult for us to go out after yesterday’s loss [by three wickets to New Zealand after scoring 304] as that was hugely disappointing as we felt we should have won. But today we just set out to maintain our disciplines with ball, bat and in the field and that is what we did.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Douglas Hondo ripped through the Bangladeshis and his swingers to give Zimbabwe the edge at Dhaka© AFP

Bangladesh found themselves in a familiar position, struggling to put a total on the board after Douglas Hondo ripped through the batting to claim 6 for 45. Where other medium-fast bowlers struggled, he found swing. This, as well as the slightly low bounce, surprised the batsmen. But Bangladesh, through Mohammad Rafique, fought back and ended the day at 169 for 8, still 129 behind Zimbabwe’s total.This was an unexpected turn of events, because Bangladesh had dominated Zimbabwe comprehensively in the first Test, and this morning’s events suggested continuity in the proceedings. Enamul Haque jr foxed three batsmen to end with 7 for 95 to improve his own mark for the best bowling by a Bangladeshi in Tests. He also became the youngest, at 18 years and 41 days, to take a seven-for in a Test innings, to go with his own record for youngest player with a six-for, which he achieved at Chittagong. There was some Zimbabwean resistance – mainly from Tatenda Taibu, who advanced to 85 before running out of partners – but Bangladesh kept up the pressure to dismiss them for 298.Bangladesh’s openers then started brightly, putting on 58 in quickly. Javed Omar (34), who was severe on the frequent loose offerings, contributed most of the 58, while Nafis Iqbal was cautious initially after surviving two extremely close leg-before shouts. Gradually Iqbal grew in confidence and matched Omar’s strokeplay.But the Hondo threat was never far away. He dismissed both openers in quick succession. Omar nicked one that kept low as he shaped to cut, and Iqbal flicked off his hips to the wicketkeeper. Mohammad Ashraful’s stay was short, as he was trapped in front by a Hondo delivery that swung in marginally (84 for 3). It was yet another disappointing innings from Ashraful. His spectacular 158 against India had showcased his capabilities, but the efforts that have followed have highlighted his inconsistency.

Khaled Mashud is bowled by an inswinging yorker© AFP

Hondo continued to wreck the innings, knocking over Habibul Bashar’s stumps, and then removing Aftab Ahmed – via an exemplary catch by Stuart Matsikenyeri, who flung himself full-stretch at midwicket and plucked the ball out of the air – and Khalid Mashud with an in-swinging yorker (107 for 6).But Mohammad Rafique played with rebellious abandon and swung his bat at just about anything that came his way. Most of the time the ball was struck cleanly and went where it was intended. He raced to 56 with seven fours and a six, and his effort was all the more special as he was troubled by a foot injury for much of his innings. Rafique was dismissed towards the end of the day, which meant that only the tail remained. But if they need inspiration, they only need to look at the Zimbabwean tail. Men of lesser ability stood by Taibu as he steadily, fortuitously, and sometimes cheekily gathered runs.Taibu’s first run of the morning, which brought up his half-century, came off an inside edge that missed the stumps narrowly. But slowly he found his feet and played the reassuring role that Zimbabwe needed. He pounced on anything loose, twice cover-driving picture-perfectly for four, and kept his bat well away when the ball moved.Enamul landed the ball on a length and spun it away from the right-handed batsmen. This way, he turned Graeme Cremer and Hondo inside out and bowled them. He then ended the innings by finding the edge of Christopher Mpofu’s bat. This was his second five-wicket haul on the trot, and added to his reputation as a man to watch out for.Bangladesh have fought harder against tougher teams, while this new-look Zimbabwe have caused a flutter or two among their opponents by taking quick wickets. The result is that two countries whose cricketing existence is questioned most often might well provide a hard-fought Test, something that does not happen all that often even with more accomplished teams.

Rain forced an early end to the second day’s play at Eden Park’s Outer Oval as Otago set sail for Auckland’s commanding 424. Unfortunately for Otago, they lost Mohammad Wasim, their opener, when he edged a ball from Kyle Mills to Reece Young, the wicketkeeper, to leave Otago at 15 for 1.The day had been dominated by another outstanding display of batsmanship by one of the country’s brightest young prospects, Tim McIntosh. He scored 146, his seventh first-class century. It was an innings glistening with the quality of his strokeplay.However, the gloss was not completely taken off the Otago bowling as Jeff Wilson continued his triumphant return to first-class cricket with his second five-wicket bag of the competition, at a cost of 72 runs. More wickets were denied to him only by a hamstring strain which forced him to leave the field. It is unlikely that he will bowl again in the match. Bradley Scott, the left-arm medium-fast bowler, finished with 3 for 91.Northern Districts took advantage of a bright and sunny day at Gisborne to bat all day and add 297 to their overnight score, with most of their batsmen, right down to the tailenders, getting among the runs. None scored a century, though, the highest being Scott Styris’s 80. Grant Robinson made 62, while James Marshall and Joseph Yovich scored 59 each. At close of play Graeme Aldridge, batting at No. 9, was unbeaten on 40, with Ian Butler on 36, both having achieved their highest first-class scores.Styris and Robinson shared a fine 102-run stand for the sixth wicket while Robinson and Yovich added 108 for the seventh. Aldridge and Butler then put together 69 for the unfinished ninth-wicket partnership. It was tough going for the Central Districts bowlers and the spinners, Regan West and Glen Sulzberger, did most of the bowling. West took 3 for 80 and Sulzberger 2 for 117.

The focus in the last round of league matches in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy Grade-I National Cricket Championship will be on Peshawar’s Arbab Niaz Stadium from Monday.For both Peshawar and Sheikhupura it’s a do-or-die affair to qualify for next month’s all-important final from Group-II. With 60 points apiece under their belts, these two evenly-matched teams will be desperate to get the better of the other.Peshawar, of course, have the huge advantage of playing at home. But Sheikhupura, the only side in the 18-team competition to maintain an unblemished record, are no easy pushovers.Meanwhile, Karachi Whites, already through to the March 1-5 final from Group-I after a comprehensive win over Faisalabad Friday, are keen to gain some useful match practice against Sargodha at KCCA Stadium.At the other end of the table relegation battle rages on. Hyderabad are certain to be demoted into Grade-II next season irrespective of the result of their Group-I fixture against Rest of Sindh but the picture in Group-II is still not clear.The Pakistan Cricket Board, in their endeavour to promote the game in the remote areas of the country, will continue the experiment of fielding Rest XIs in Grade-I tournament next season.Islamabad, lying at bottom of Group-II, are the other side in danger of being relegated. They will be anxious to beat Sialkot in the match at Rawalpindi’s KRL Stadium and at the same time expect Rest of NWFP to complete an improbable double over Lahore’s other team.Lahore Whites, therefore, will be taking nothing for granted against NWFP, who caused the biggest upset when they scored a sensational one wicket victory over last season’s champions Lahore Blues last Sunday.Ninth round schedule (Feb 18-21):*Karachi Whites v Sargodha at KCCA Stadium, Karachi (Umpires: Zamir Haider and Iftikhar Malik. Match referee: Fahimuddin Alvi).*Karachi Blues v Bahawalpur at National Stadium, Karachi (Umpires: Waqar A. Mughal and Iqbal Butt. Match referee: Munawwar Agha).*Gujranwala v Faisalabad at Jinnah Stadium, Gujranwala (Umpires: Siddique Khan and Athar Zaidi. Match referee: Sultan Rana).*Hyderabad v Rest of Sindh at Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad (Umpires: Afzaal Ahmed and Islam Khan. Match referee: Taslim Arif).*Peshawar v Sheikhupura at Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar (Umpires: M. Nazir Junior and Sadiq Mohammad. Match referee: Ali Zia).*Lahore Blues v Rawalpindi at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore (Umpires: Ehtesham-ul-Haq and Riazuddin. Match referee: Shafiq Ahmed).*Lahore Whites v Rest of NWFP at LCCA Ground, Lahore (Umpires: Shakeel Khan and Z.I.Pasha. Match referee: Azhar Khan).*Islamabad v Sialkot at KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi (Umpires: Mian Aslam and Rasheed Bhatti. Match referee: Javed Akhtar).

Prolonging both its miserable early season run of form and an horrific record in Brisbane, Victoria has slumped to a crushing ten wicket loss at the hands of Queensland today in the teams’ Pura Cup clash at the Allan Border Field. The win, which came on the final afternoon, catapults the Bulls into a clear lead on the Pura Cup table and leaves the Bushrangers firmly entrenched at the very opposite end of the standings.Openers Matthew Hayden (118*) and Jimmy Maher (103*) and paceman Joe Dawes (6/98) were the heroes of the Bulls’ win. With a first-class career best, it was the redoubtable Dawes who played a major role in limiting the Victorians to a second innings score of 326 through the first part of the final day. Around another fine early-season innings from the rejuvenated Brad Hodge (101*) and a hard-hitting century from Ian Harvey (100), the hulking right armer joined with Adam Dale (3/87) to trigger a crucial late collapse from the Victorians for the second time in three days. Of particular significance was the eleven over burst shortly before lunch that produced the loss of the wickets of Darren Berry (13), Paul Reiffel (7), Colin Miller (5) and Michael Lewis (1).As for Hayden and Maher, they could barely have made the Bulls’ progression to their victory target of 229 from a possible fifty-nine overs appear any more comfortable. Hayden was at his domineering best, all but sealing a spot in the Test team to play West Indies in a fortnight with his second major contribution for the match. Continuing his rich vein of form, the busy Maher was also in command, albeit against an attack which seemed overawed by the placid nature of the pitch.”We are such a strong side,” said a beaming Hayden after the match. “To win two games on this kind of wicket, a southern type of wicket is great and I just can’t wait to get back to the ‘Gabba … where we have a huge home ground advantage.””We’re always trying to get out of our comfort zone and create chances that will make us champions.”Champions they are a long way from becoming yet, but the Bulls’ start to the season is certainly reminiscent of the record-breaking run that started them on their way to the first-class title last summer. From their opening three games, they have already plundered fourteen points and their depth of resources will serve them well again when each of the states is affected by the loss of its international representatives shortly.For Victoria, on the other hand, a season which promised so much is rapidly starting to become unglued. No side in recent memory has been as badly hit by injury but, save for Hodge, it is hard to identify too many players in their line-up at present who are playing at close to optimum potential.

Pundit Noel Whelan has labelled a pending new deal for Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes as ‘incredible’, as per Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Romano’s reveal

The Red Devils appear to be making a head start on their summer business and have already spoken with Erik ten Hag over the possibility of replacing Ralf Rangnick as manager.

A number of United players are also out of contract at the end of June, including club-record signing Paul Pogba.

Fernandes’ contract doesn’t expire until 2025, although Fabrizio Romano has revealed that there has been a ‘breakthrough’ in talks and a new five-year agreement has been ‘accepted’ by the 27-year-old.

The Latest: Whelan reacts to Fernandes latest

Whelan, who previously contributed for BBC Radio Leeds, was asked by Football Insider if a new deal for Fernandes was a coup.

This is what he had to say in reply, describing the attacking midfielder as a ‘huge player’ and labelling a pending new deal as ‘incredible’:

“Yeah, that’s a really important bit of business.

“He’s been a huge player for them since he’s come in, and his goal and assist record has proved that as well.

“He’s such a talented player, and they really need him in that side. Man United need that creativity and that goal threat from midfield.

“No, it hasn’t been the best season for him – but it’s been a very poor season from everyone at Old Trafford.

“To get him tied down, knowing they probably won’t be in the Champions League next season – that’s incredible.”

The Verdict: Smart move by Man United

Fernandes has contributed to 23 goals in 37 games this season, so a new and improved deal appears to be a shrewd decision by the club as they look to build for the future under a new manager.

He has also been the club’s best-rated performer in the Premier League among players who have made two or more appearances and has made more key passes per game than any other United player, as per WhoScored, so keeping your best players happy is obviously ideal.

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You’d also expect that Fernandes, who is the Red Devils’ ninth-best paid player at the moment on £180,000 per week, may well be in line for a pay rise, with all eyes now on an official announcement from the club.

In other news: ‘Absolutely shocking’ – Source reveals Man Utd star now wants to quit even if Ten Hag arrives

On the third day of the sixth round, Saurashtra closed in on a semi-final spot by beating Maharashtra outright. Saurashtra now have 20 points, three more than Delhi and five more than Mumbai, whose matches are yet to be completed.In Group B, Uttar Pradesh made a late charge towards the semi-finals as they beat Bengal by an innings and 152 runs and moved to 14 points with one match to play. Punjab turned the game against Orissa on its head after bowling them out for 76 in the second innings. They look good to chase the 175 runs easily on the fourth day, a result which will give them an excellent chance to avoid relegation. They don’t play a match in the last round, having already completed their fixtures, and will have to await other results.Scorecard

The covers were on for most of the day in Chennai and Bangalore © Cricinfo Ltd

Saurashtra sailed to the top of Group A after completing an eight-wicket win over Maharashtra in Nagothane. The hosts, trailing by 117 on the first innings, resumed at 34 for 1, and were bundled out for 182, with left-arm spinner Rakesh Dhurv picking up career-best figures of 5 for 37 in 13.4 overs. Allrounder Ravindra Jadeja chipped in with three wickets, as Maharashtra once again failed to go beyond 200. Hrishikesh Kanitkar top-scored with 62, with only three other batsmen going past single figures.Needing 66 for the win, Saurashtra lost two wickets to Sairaj Bahutule before sealing the win and gaining five crucial points in the process.
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Uttar Pradesh stretched their overnight score of 437 for 7 to 494 before bowling out Bengal for 193 to win by an innings and 152 runs at Eden Gardens. UP gained the bonus point and are now placed second behind Baroda in Group B.For Bengal, SS Paul bagged 7 for 113. Bengal’s openers put up a spirited reply in their second innings, putting up a 100-run partnership, but Praveen Gupta and Sudeep Tyagi then ran through their batting line-up as the rest folded meekly. Anustup Majumdar top-scored with 60. While it was Tyagi who broke the resistance with the first four wickets, Gupta ended with exceptional figures of 9.3-6-11-5.
ScorecardMumbai managed to take a healthy first-innings lead in Dharamsala and enforced a follow-on, but an 81-run sixth-wicket partnership between Paras Dogra (50*) and Ajay Mannu (42*) kept the game alive for Himachal Pradesh.Himachal, resuming on 180 for 7 in the first innings, were bowled out for 214. Murtaza Hussain, playing his third first-class game, finished with 6 for 57, his maiden five-wicket haul. In the second innings, Himachal’s openers Manish Gupta and Hemant Dogra led a dogged reply with an opening stand of 76.The spinners – Ramesh Powar and Iqbal Abdullah – then struck for Mumbai, as Himachal slumped to 155 for 5 before Paras and Mannu propped them to 236 at stumps.
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VRV Singh’s hat-trick rattled Orissa in the second innings to put Punjab on the threshold of a stunning win after they had conceded a 98-run first-innings lead. Orissa were bowled out for 76, while Punjab had scored 117 of the 175 runs required for the loss of two wickets by stumps. VRV took 5 for 25 to trigger a collapse after a solid start, while Gagandeep Singh took 3 for 25. The last nine entries on the Orissa scorecard read: 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 4, 6, 0, 0*. VRV Singh became the third bowled to take a hat-trick in two rounds of the Ranji Trophy, after Kerala’s Sony Cheruvethur and Delhi’s Parvinder Awana.Earlier Punjab, resuming at 207 for 8, managed only 225, with Basanth Mohanty taking his second five-for in as many matches at the first-class level.Ravi Inder, with an unbeaten 47, had taken Punjab close to what will be their first win this season. More importantly, it will take them off the bottom of the table.
ScorecardAfter two days of grinding out the opposition, Andhra declared their first innings at 469 for 9, with former India wicketkeeper MSK Prasad remaining unbeaten on 121, but met an even more dour reply from Baroda who recovered well from two early blows.If Andhra’s run-rate of 2.53 during their innings was slow, Baroda outdid them, scoring 136 for 2 in 77 overs. Connor Williams was resolute during his 256-ball 75, and put on 133 runs for the unbroken third-wicket partnership with Rakesh Solanki, after D Kalyankrishna had struck twice to leave Baroda reeling at 3 for 2.Karnataka 0 for 0 trail Delhi 538 by 538 runs
Scorecard Continual rain dampened Delhi’s hopes of a semi-final spot as play was washed out on the third day in Bangalore. This means that Delhi have one day left to dismiss Karnataka to gain the points for a first-innings lead. They currently have 17 points, three less than Saurashtra’s 20, while Mumbai, too, have high chances of reaching 20 points at least by the end of the round.
ScorecardRain continued to play spoilsport in Chennai, as only 8.2 overs were possible on day three after day two was washed out. Rajasthan struck once in that period, with Gajendra Singh removing overnight centurion M Vijay for 123.