Sports
India’s T20 World Cup Hero Shivam Dube Spills Secrets, Reveals Gautam Gambhir, Suryakumar Yadav’s Clear Message
Shivam Dube emerged as one of the unsung heroes of India’s T20 World Cup 2026 triumph. Dube had already played a key role in India’s run to the title in 2024, but his contribution was even greater in 2026. Dube slammed 235 runs in eight innings at a strike-rate of 169.06, playing crucial cameos in nearly every game. Following India’s tournament victory, he revealed that captain Suryakumar Yadav and head coach Gautam Gambhir had made his task simpler by sending a clear message regarding his role in the team.
“My role was simple and communicated a long time ago by coach Gautam Gambhir and Surya bhai; keeping the strike rate high. If I’m asked to bowl, keep a tight line and keep the runs down,” Dube said, speaking to the Indian Express.
“During the last World Cup too, I had a similar role but that time I had only a couple of big knocks. This time, I told myself that I won’t think too far ahead and take things match by match,” he added.
Dube’s best knock came in India’s final group stage match, when his 31-ball 66 saw India recover after a stuttering start. But his cameos in the Super 8 stage, semi-final and final were arguably even more pivotal for India.
Dube was India’s highest run-scorer in the disappointing defeat to South Africa in the Super 8. He then hit two crucial boundaries in the penultimate over in the do-or-die match against West Indies, a contribution that Gambhir said was equally important to Sanju Samson‘s match-winning 97.
The left-hander then walked in at No. 4 to hammer 43 off 25 in the semi-final against England. In the final against New Zealand, Dube once again made an impact, smashing 26 runs off just 8 balls to help India post a gigantic total of 255.
Dube also praised the dressing room environment fostered by Suryakumar and Gambhir.
“They plan well and back us. They don’t panic in any situation. There is clarity in their communication and they tried to pick the best playing XI for each game. The dressing room environment is great,” he said.
Dube is one of only eight Indian players to win both the 2024 and 2026 editions of the T20 World Cup.
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The Pakistan Cricket Board on Saturday dismissed reports claiming that members of Pakistan’s squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup had been fined for failing to reach the semifinals of the tournament.PCB spokesperson Amir Mir rejected the reports circulating in sections of the media suggesting that financial penalties had been imposed on the players.
“No player has been fined but yes the board is thinking about working out a formula for players because they get lot of incentives when they perform well,” Mir told reporters here.Mir added that Pakistan players currently earn close to PKR 6–7 crore each, and the board is exploring ways to link accountability more closely with performance.“But nothing is final and no player has been fined,” he added.Some reports had claimed that every Pakistan player was fined PKR five million following the team’s exit from the global event without making the last four.Pakistan cricketers receive central contracts that include monthly retainers, along with match fees, tour payments and bonuses for victories in different formats.Apart from these earnings, players also receive a share from the logo sponsorship deals secured by the board.Last year, it was also agreed that the players would receive a three percent share of the annual revenue that the PCB earns from the International Cricket Council, which is estimated to be close to USD 34 million per year.
Fortuna Düsseldorf will hope to continue their resurgence away from home against relegation-threatened Eintracht Braunschweig. There are five points difference between the teams before Saturday afternoon’s fixture.
Here are the lineups for the decisive game in the fight for survival in 2. Bundesliga.
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Confirmed Lineups
Braunschweig: Hoffmann; Hoti, Ehlers ©, Sanchez; Flick, Aydin, Marie, Heußer; Gomez, Opoku, Yardimci
Düsseldorf: Lotka; Oberdorf ©, Egouli, Daland; Iyoha, Tanaka, Alexandropoulos, Suso; Appelkamp, Muslija; Ljubičić
Sports
Vanderbilt vs. Florida prediction, odds, spread, time: 2026 SEC Tournament picks from proven model
The top-seeded and defending national champion Florida Gators will look to reach the 2026 SEC Tournament finals for the third consecutive season when they battle the fourth-seeded Vanderbilt Commodores in a semifinal matchup on Saturday. Florida advanced with a 71-63 win over ninth-seeded Kentucky on Friday, while Vanderbilt downed fifth-seeded Tennessee 75-68 in the quarterfinals. The Commodores (25-7), who have won three in a row, are looking to reach the SEC Tournament finals for the first time since winning it all in 2012. The Gators (26-6), who have won 12 straight, are looking to win their second consecutive conference tournament championship.
Tipoff from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., is set for 1 p.m. ET. Florida leads the all-time series 76-74, including a 98-94 win on Jan. 17. Florida is an 8.5-point favorite in the latest Vanderbilt vs. Florida odds from DraftKings Sportsbook, while the over/under for total points scored is 160.5. Before making any Florida vs. Vanderbilt picks, check out the men’s college basketball predictions and betting advice from the SportsLine Projection Model.
New users can target the DraftKings promo code, which offers $200 in bonus bets instantly after any $5+ bet:
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every college basketball game 10,000 times. It entered conference tournament week on a sizzling 14-2 run on its top-rated over/under college basketball picks dating back to last season, and is on a 28-21 run on top-rated CBB side picks. Anyone following its college basketball betting advice at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen strong returns.
Now, the model has simulated Vanderbilt vs. Florida 10,000 times and just revealed its coveted men’s college basketball picks and betting predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model’s picks. Here are several men’s college basketball odds and men’s college basketball betting lines for Florida vs. Vanderbilt:
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Vanderbilt vs. Florida spread: |
Florida -8.5 at DraftKings Sportsbook |
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Vanderbilt vs. Florida over/under: |
160.5 points |
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Vanderbilt vs. Florida money line: |
Florida -357, Vanderbilt +275 |
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Vanderbilt vs. Florida picks: |
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Vanderbilt vs. Florida streaming: |
Fubo (Try for free) |
New users can also check out the latest FanDuel promo code and get up to $300 back in bonus bets every day for 10 days:
Top Vanderbilt vs. Florida predictions
SportsLine’s model is going Over on the total (160.5 points). The Over has hit in six of the last seven meetings between the teams. The Over has also hit in five of the last seven Vanderbilt games, and in four of the last eight Florida games. The Commodores are 5-5 against the spread in their last 10 games, while the Gators are 7-3 ATS in their last 10.
The model projects Vanderbilt to have five players score 10.2 points or more, including Duke Miles, who is projected to score 16.7 points. Florida is projected to have five players score 11.3 points or more, led by Thomas Haugh, who is projected to score 17.1 points. The model is projecting 163 combined points as the Over hits 57% of the time.
How to make Florida vs. Vanderbilt picks
The model also says one side of the spread hits in nearly 60% of simulations. You can only see that pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Florida vs. Vanderbilt, and which side of the spread hits nearly 60% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Vanderbilt vs. Florida spread to back, all from the advanced model that has simulated this game 10,000 times, and find out.
TORONTO – More than one thing can be true at once.
On one hand, the Toronto Raptors have a roster where all their starters have at least five years of NBA experience and includes two players — Brandon Ingram and Jakob Poeltl — who are in their 10th season in the league.
So the notion that the Raptors are in “year two of a rebuild” — which is how head coach Darko Rajakovic tends to refer to his team in good times and bad — defies the standard definition, where a team is reliant on players still on their rookie contracts, with more work in the draft still to come.
It might be more accurate to say the Raptors are rebuilt. They just don’t know what they have, and what changes they need to make.
But on the other hand, the Raptors as a group are new to this playoff-race concept, lack a significant number of collective repetitions in the crucible of a stretch drive and have a young and inexperienced bench that they have no choice but to rely on as the season reaches its crucial stages.
Rajakovic referenced the ‘rebuild’ again Friday before the Raptors’ 122-115 win over the Phoenix Suns, a victory his team needed so badly after listing and slipping for most of the past two weeks that his first comments post-game were to praise a higher power.
“God is great. I can thank him for the performance of our team tonight,” Rajakovic said. “He kept us together during the whole game, and the whole ups and downs.”
There were plenty of both. The Raptors trailed by 11 in the first half and by 10 with eight minutes to play and didn’t take the lead for good until an RJ Barrett floater with 1:35 left. They still needed another spectacular last-minute block from Scottie Barnes — this time on a Jalen Green dunk attempt that otherwise would have made every highlight reel and cut the Raptors’ lead to two with 43 seconds left.
Instead, Barnes got his 2021 draft-class pal from behind and then sent Barrett in for a dunk on the ensuing fast break that put the Raptors up six, which proved enough.
The win snapped the Raptors’ losing streak at two games, marked their first win over a team with a winning record since Jan. 26, and pulled them back within a half-game of the sixth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference before they host East-leading Detroit on Sunday. After that, it’s a five-game road trip.
No one said this would be easy, and maybe the Raptors are learning as they go.
Barnes said after the game that he felt compelled to make the play on Green’s dunk because he’d reached in on the lightning-quick guard, who led the Suns with 34 points and some spectacular shot-making, and got beat.
“I was going to jump no matter what,” Barnes said.
Playing through an illness — Rajakovic monitored his minutes closely as Barnes played about five less than he would normally — and still being able to dig in to affect the game pleased the Raptors star.
“Got out there. Was a little tired and a little winded,” Barnes said after logging 14 points, six rebounds, four assists, a steal and two blocks. “Fight through and make it to live another day.”
And as for the Raptors’ struggles? He’s finding beauty in that too:
“It’s pretty amazing. We hit adversity,” said Barnes. “We had two options, to either quit (or) go out there and fight. This just shows the character of this team. We went out there and fought and got a dub. This was a great game. They had us in that first half. We fought back; we made winning plays.”
No one made more than Ingram. It had been a while. The Raptors came into the game with the NBA’s 29th-rated fourth-quarter offence, and Ingram is one of the reasons why. He has been shooting just 41.6 per cent from the floor in the fourth quarter and just 36.5 per cent in ‘clutch’ situations: the last five minutes of close games.
Ingram led the Raptors with 36 points on 13-of-20 shooting, including five threes on six attempts. He scored seven points in the fourth quarter while converting three of four shots, all while suiting up in his 64th game this season, the second-most he’s played in his career.
The Raptors’ loss Wednesday in New Orleans — in his first visit back since being traded to Toronto last year — didn’t sit well with him and was a factor in the team’s collective resolve Friday.
“I think it was an urgency to compete and most of all stay together,” Ingram said. “We’ve been through some times where the other team was scoring offensively and we weren’t able to stop the bleeding or find a rhythm on the offensive end. At those times, we would put our heads down a little bit and sort of take it upon ourselves to try to fix it. I think tonight we just stayed connected.”
But it wasn’t just the Raptors’ leading scorer and highest-paid player delivering the goods
Second-year wing Ja’Kobe Walter (12 points, three-of-five from three) hit one of the biggest shots of the game after Barrett delivered him the ball wide open in the corner and then screened off the nearest defender to make sure it would stay that way. Walter had missed a similar look a few possessions earlier. This time, he squared up and let it fly, part of a game-changing 11-2 run that cut the Suns’ lead to two with 5:22 to play.
Barnes said Barrett’s biggest contributions were on defence. Barrett said being in the mix was its own reward.
“That’s the fight we need to have,” said Barrett, who finished with 22 points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals on 9-of-16 shooting, scoring nine points on five shots in the fourth quarter. “A lot of these games we have fought and just come up short and this game, we fought all night long, and that’s the result. That’s just the intensity we gotta have.”
They haven’t had enough of it lately, and they certainly didn’t on Wednesday in New Orleans when they were bullied around by the Pelicans in the fourth quarter, culminating in the frozen image seen around the basketball world: New Orleans guard Dejounte Murray straddling a prone Jamal Shead, fists clenched, glowering — the universal sign of basketball dominance, and not a good look for the Raptors, especially when the team’s response to the incident was tepid at best.
Was their lack of fight going to be a galvanizing moment to build on, or a metaphor for a team not up for the battle — literally or figuratively?
“After watching the film, I thought that we did not handle the situation the way we want and how we were supposed to,” said Rajakovic. “Our players had conversations with each other. They know that’s not the true picture and image of our team. They all agreed that’s never going to happen again.”
“There is a way that you need to stand up for each other and protect each other,” Rajakovic said. “This team that we have is all about that and all about connectivity. It needs to be addressed the right way.”
Even if the Raptors don’t match the standard definition of a rebuild, it doesn’t mean they are close to a finished product. The future is not set in cement. The Raptors need to learn to fight, at least in the basketball sense.
Against the Suns, they showed they understood what was being asked of them.
The Battle of New Orleans
That Shead didn’t jump up and immediately confront Murray on Wednesday night was probably the main reason his teammates’ response was muted, and in the eyes of many — including their head coach — inappropriately so.
But Shead said on Friday his first reaction was one of confusion.
“I think in the moment I was just like, ‘Oh snap, he’s over me.’ That was about it,” said Shead before chipping in six points and eight assists in 25 minutes off the bench against the Suns. “We were really focused on the outcome of the game. We just weren’t happy with that. It got blown out of proportion a bit. We weren’t really focused on that.”
Any idea what Murray was on about?
“Who knows? I guess he was (excited) about the play,” said Shead.
But he said the experience was one to learn from for the team as the stakes get higher.
“I don’t think I responded in any type of way … (but) if it comes up again, I think we’ll respond a little differently.”
Added Immanuel Quickley (17 points, 3-of-6 from three vs. Suns): “We talked about it. It stays in house. As long as we’re there for our teammates, that’s all that matters.”
With everyone on high alert for how the Raptors might respond if things got a little testy at any point, people took note that when Suns wing Grayson Allen — who has a checkered reputation for playing on the physical edge — knocked Barrett to the floor with a body check as the Raptors wing was driving to the rim, Barrett jumped up and his teammates were quick to gather.
Allen was hit with a fragrant foul for unnecessary roughness, essentially. But it wasn’t quite as it seemed.
Barrett and Allen are friends, with Allen having acted as Barrett’s host on his official visit at Duke, their shared alma mater. Just before Allen’s body check, Barrett had stood Allen up and knocked him back with a stiff shoulder and elbow to start his drive.
When the two came together after the whistle, Allen told Barrett he had leaned into him pre-emptively because he thought Barrett was going to send him backwards again on the way to the basket. “And I was, too,” Barrett told me.
The pair dapped up, all good, acknowledging hard play but no hard feelings.
The Battle for the Dillon Brooks Cup
The hope is that the Suns forward and Canadian national team star will be back on the floor for the Suns in time for the playoffs. He told me his left hand — which he had surgically repaired after fracturing it on Feb. 21 — is coming along well. He’s had a career season in Phoenix and is credited for the year-over-year turnaround.
He was disappointed to miss his one chance to play at home this season, but he still plans to attend the Dillon Brooks Cup on Saturday at Father Henry Carr, where he went to high school for Grade 9, 10 and 11 before going to Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nev. and the University of Oregon.
Brooks has supported the prep basketball program at Father Henry Carr financially for the past two years. Without it, the highly rated program might not operate, says long-time head coach Paul Melnik.
“The financial support is invaluable,” said Melnik. “We still have to charge a fee, like all prep programs, but we do it at a much more reasonable cost, because the reality is most kids aren’t wealthy and if you can save a few thousand here and there and still get a good program, that’s huge … Getting a little bit of help from Dillon, it makes it easier to run our program.”
The program fields teams at three age groups, and all three will be playing Saturday, with the freshmen hosting St. Michael’s at 11 a.m. ET, the juniors hosting Royal Crown at 1 p.m. ET and the seniors hosting King Heights at 3 p.m. ET.
When it comes to the Masters, there is only one player who can assume the throne as the undisputed GOAT at Augusta National, and that’s Jack Nicklaus.
With six victories spanning three different decades, no one has more green jackets than Nicklaus. Tiger Woods is one behind him, with five, and Arnold Palmer has four.
This year is particularly special for Nicklaus, as it marks the 40th year anniversary of his final Masters win in 1986 — a victory that was particularly memorable for its drama.
The difference between Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, according to this pro
;)
Heading into the final round, Nicklaus trailed the lead by four shots. He then blistered the back nine by hitting a 2-iron that set up an eagle on the par-5 15th, hitting a tee shot to three feet that led to a birdie on 16, and draining another birdie on 17 — an 18-footer that elicited the famous “Yes, sir!” call by Verne Lundquist. Nicklaus’ final-round 65 sealed his sixth victory at Augusta and made him the oldest player to ever win the Masters. He was 46.
Now, you can celebrate Nicklaus’ singular achievement with a limited-edition item that is sure to be a big hit whenever you wear it: a 40th-anniversary edition of the popular Caddie Uniform, complete with the name “Nicklaus” on the back in removable Velcro, the number “86” and a Nicklaus logo to place on the front of the jumpsuit to commemorate the year of his victory.
And in true limited-edition form, there are only 86 of these Nicklaus Caddie Uniforms available for purchase, so if you’re ready to pay tribute to the Golden Bear’s incredible legacy at Augusta, click the link below to order your jumpsuit now!
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Sports
Kimi Antonelli Creates History In Chinese GP, Becomes Youngest-Ever To Take Pole In F1 History
The 19-year-old Italian Andrea Kimi Antonelli took pole position for the Chinese Grand Prix on Saturday, becoming the youngest driver to achieve the feat in Formula 1 history. Antonelli led a Mercedes front-row lockout along with George Russell and erased the record of Sebastian Vettel, who was 21 when he took pole for the Italian Grand Prix in 2008. The Mercedes duo, as in Australia last weekend, have been dominant in Shanghai. Antonelli blasted round in 1min 32.064sec on his final qualifying lap, 0.222sec ahead of championship leader Russell, who had won the sprint race earlier in the day.
“It was a pretty clean session,” said Antonelli. “No mistakes and looking forward to the race tomorrow.”
The Ferrari pair of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc will fill the second row of the grid for Sunday’s race after qualifying third and fourth.
Then, on a two-by-two grid, came the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and world champion Lando Norris.
Max Verstappen was only eighth fastest, continuing a very unhappy weekend in a clearly struggling Red Bull.
– ‘Damage limitation’ –
Pierre Gasly was seventh in the Alpine with the second Red Bull of Isack Hadjar ninth and Oliver Bearman’s Haas rounding out the top 10.
Russell had got stuck in gear on his opening out lap in Q3 and had to return to the pits.
After the problem had been fixed it left him time for just one flying lap and he was unable to eclipse his teammate.
“Really happy for George who had an issue there,” said Antonelli of his teammate.
Russell said he was relieved to have set a lap time right at the end of the session.
“Definitely damage limitation,” said Russell.
“In Q2 the front wing broke, and then in Q3 I stopped out on track and then couldn’t change gear,” he said.
“On the last lap I had no battery, no tyre temp or anything. The team did a really good job. Just really happy to be standing here. It could’ve been much worse.”
Ferrari have been quick out of the blocks at the start of races so far and Hamilton said he would be eyeing up the two Mercedes in front of him on Sunday.
“I’m sure we’ll have some fun, I’m looking forward to it,” said the seven-time world champion.
The six failing to make it into the top-10 shootout for pole position were Nico Hulkenberg in an Audi, Franco Colapinto’s Alpine, Esteban Ocon (Haas), Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad of Racing Bulls, and Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)
Eliminated in Q1 were the Williams pair of Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon, both Aston Martins, driven by Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, and the two Cadillacs, in the hands of Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez.
Russell earlier won a thrilling sprint race after a back-and-forth scrap in the opening laps with Hamilton, who eventually finished third behind Leclerc.
It enabled the Mercedes driver, who won the opening race in Australia, to extend his championship lead to 11 points over teammate Antonelli and Leclerc. Hamilton is a further four points back.
Sunday’s grand prix will be raced over 56 laps of the 5.451km Shanghai International Circuit.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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Nov 5, 2022; San Francisco, California, USA; Fans react during the League of Legends World Championships between T1 and DRX at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images OpTic Texas survived a stiff test from the Paris Gentle Mates but kept their unbeaten mark intact with a 3-2 victory on Friday as Week 5 of qualifying for the Call of Duty League Stage 2 Major began.
Texas improved to 9-0, well clear of the second-place Miami Heretics, who improved to 5-3 with a 3-0 sweep of the Riyadh Falcons.
In the day’s other match, last-place Cloud9 New York slipped past the Toronto KOI 3-2.
The 12 Call of Duty League teams are playing a full qualifying round robin to determine seeding for the second major of the season, to be held March 27-29 in Marston Green, England, as part of the DreamHack Birmingham event.
The top six teams in qualifying head straight into the Stage 2 Major playoffs, while the teams in seventh through 10th place will compete in a play-in round.
The Stage 2 Major champion will receive $150,000 and 100 Call of Duty League points, while the runner-up will get $90,000 and 75 CDL points.
On Friday, OpTic produced a 250-165 victory on Colossus Hardpoint before Paris took Raid Search and Destroy 6-5 and Scar Overload 2-1. Texas rallied to capture Scar Hardpoint 250-200 and Scar Search and Destroy 6-5.
Miami bested Riyadh 250-233 on Scar Hardpoint, 6-5 on Raid Search and Destroy and 6-2 on Scar Overload.
Toronto opened with a 250-166 win on Scar Hardpoint. New York replied by taking Colossus Search and Destroy 6-3 and Exposure Overload 5-4. The KOI extended the series by prevailing 250-154 on Colossus Hardpoint, but Cloud9 closed out the victory by a 6-4 count on Raid Search and Destroy.
The remaining Week 5 matches:
Saturday
–G2 Minnesota vs. Carolina Royal Ravens
–Vancouver Surge vs. Toronto KOI
–Los Angeles Thieves vs. Cloud9 New York
–Paris Gentle Mates vs. Boston Breach
Sunday
–G2 Minnesota vs. Boston Breach
–Vancouver Surge vs. Miami Heretics
–Riyadh Falcons vs. Los Angeles Thieves
–FaZe Vegas vs. Carolina Royal Ravens
Call of Duty League Stage 2 Major qualifying standings (match record, map differential)
1. OpTic Texas, 9-0, +20
2. Miami Heretics, 5-3, +6
3. Los Angeles Thieves, 4-3, +6
4. GS Minnesota, 4-3, +1
5. Riyadh Falcons, 4-4, +2
6. Toronto KOI, 4-5, 0
7. Carolina Royal Ravens, 3-4, -3
8. Vancouver Surge, 3-4, -5
9. Boston Breach, 3-5, -6
T10. FaZe Vegas, 3-5, -4
T10. Paris Gentle Mates, 3-5, -4
12. Cloud9 New York, 2-6, -13
–Field Level Media
Despite a drop in game time after finding himself in the deep end of a title challenge at just 18 last year, it is not all negative for Lewis-Skelly.
He started 26 times in 42 games last season as Calafiori, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Kieran Tierney all had injury issues.
That may have led many, including Lewis-Skelly, to expect more time on the pitch this season. However, while he has started 12 games in 26 appearances, just one start has come in the Premier League.
The talk of being a starting England left-back came ahead of schedule for the plan that Lewis-Skelly had in his career and he will still have played enough to receive a Premier League medal if Arsenal are able to make the step to becoming champions in May.
He has started six of Arsenal‘s nine Champions League games, which included impressive wins over Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid – during which he produced a line-breaking run and assist – and he also played the full 90 minutes in Arsenal‘s victory over Inter Milan in the San Siro.
“Every season is different,” Arteta said when asked about Lewis-Skelly’s game time this season.
“He had very good moments in this season. He had other moments when he hasn’t played in that much.
“Obviously, a few days ago, in the FA Cup, he was suspended and he could not play.
“So, there are various reasons. Sometimes, as well, the good form of your team-mates. There’s a lot of factors that contribute to that. But he’s doing well.”
Arteta is not adverse to giving young players a chance, with six youngsters making their debut this season, but there is a difference between getting a taste of first-team football and playing in crunch games.
Lewis-Skelly has excelled when playing as a full-back and inverting into midfield with the ball, but with a tweak on the requirements on Arsenal‘s full-backs this season, those attributes are not so obviously needed in build-up play.
Nwaneri’s loan will still be fresh in the memory, and the fact that Lewis-Skelly would present pure profit for Arsenal on the balance sheet is also another intriguing factor when discussing his future.
There are not many 19-year-olds who have achieved what Lewis-Skelly has.
But with selection for the World Cup looking increasingly unlikely, there may be discussions to be had about his immediate career plan in the summer.
Sports
WWE SmackDown Results, March 13: Randy Orton Sets WrestleMania 42 Expectations Clear With Heel Turn
The latest episode of the WWE SmackDown was dominated by one big and unexpected development as Randy Orton turned heel in dramatic fashion, attacking Cody Rhodes during their WrestleMania 42 contract signing. What was supposed to be a routine segment quickly turned violent as Orton unleashed a brutal assault, leaving Rhodes bloodied and the crowd stunned. This betrayal re-established Orton as “The Viper” and set up a heated WrestleMania showdown between the ruthless veteran and the resilient champion.
The attack confirmed Orton’s return to the dark side of the game, ensuring that WrestleMania 42 will feature yet another “hero versus villain” storyline. Cody Rhodes now stands as the heroic figure defending his Undisputed WWE Championship, while Orton has positioned himself as the dangerous challenger determined to take it away. The timing of this heel turn adds intensity to the build-up for WrestleMania, making their clash one of the most anticipated matches on the card.
While Orton’s betrayal was the headline, SmackDown also featured several other important matches and segments that kept the night action-packed.
RANDY ORTON JUST TURNED HEEL
OH MY GOD #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/aT4DdL4p6S
— Tribal Wrestling (@TribalMegastar) March 14, 2026
Other SmackDown Results – March 13, 2026
– Michin lost to Jade Cargill, who continued her dominant streak.
– Nia Jax and Lash Legend retained the Women’s Tag Team Championships against Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair.
– Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga battled Uncle Howdy and Erick Rowan in a chaotic non-title tag match.
– Drew McIntyre attacked Jacob Fatu, keeping their rivalry alive after McIntyre’s recent title loss.
– Jelly Roll appeared on Miz TV and knocked out The Miz, while The Bella Twins made a surprise return.
This episode of SmackDown proved that WWE is building strong momentum heading into WrestleMania 42. Randy Orton’s heel turn was more than just a storyline twist-it was a reminder of why he remains one of the most dangerous and unpredictable figures in WWE history. All eyes are now on his clash with Cody Rhodes, which promises to deliver fireworks on the grandest stage of them all.
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Chelsea swept up every domestic trophy in 2024-25, going unbeaten in the process, during manager Sonia Bompastor’s first season in charge.
They beat United 3-0 in the Women’s FA Cup final as part of that treble success but it has not been a smooth-sailing campaign this time around.
The Blues are nine points behind Women’s Super League leaders Manchester City, threatening the end of their six-year dominance of the division.
Bompastor has come under pressure as a result, while off-field issues – including the departure of head of women’s football Paul Green – have sparked concern.
But if they were to win the League Cup, would it quieten criticism and confirm Chelsea’s status as serial winners?
“I will always expect to have a lot of noise around Chelsea. There will be noise when you are losing, or when something happens, because I think this club is the best in England,” said Bompastor.
“That’s why this happens and I’m totally fine with it. It’s important also when you are in high moments you don’t go too high and in more low moments you don’t go too low.
“We just want to win because that’s part of our DNA. I don’t want to win because people are talking or making noise. That’s not what drives us.”
Chelsea have a formidable record against United, beating them in two of the past three FA Cup finals and unbeaten in 12 WSL matches.
They scored an extra-time winner to knock United out of the FA Cup fifth round in their last game and drew 1-1 draw at Leigh Sports Village in October.
Bompastor says that record boosts confidence and success on Sunday could help build momentum for the rest of the season, with a trophy under their belt.
But she knows United have strengthened and it will not be an easy task to defend the first trophy she won as Chelsea boss.
“Every team is strengthening their squad, being more competitive and bringing us more challenges,” she added.
“When you are Chelsea, if you want to sustain success, and stay at the highest position, you need to work hard and make sure you anticipate the future.
“It’s becoming more and more difficult, the competition is becoming tighter and tighter, and every team now can beat anyone. We know that.
“When you are in a club like Chelsea, and for myself individually, as soon as you win a trophy, your next thinking is ‘what do I need to do to win the next one?’”
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