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Glasgow Rangers are reportedly fighting their Old Firm rivals to bring Cameron Bruce to Ibrox.

The Lowdown: Upcoming prospect

At just 16 years of age, Bruce is an upcoming prospect in Scottish football.

Hailed as a ‘graceful player’ by Queen’s Park Director of Football Marijn Beuker upon signing a two-year professional contract with the Scottish Championship club, he has already made two senior appearances for them, and now looks to be a player in demand.

The Latest: Old Firm battle

As per The Scottish Sun, Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team are fighting Old Firm rivals Celtic to sign Bruce, and both have already had bids rejected for the left-back.

However, Queen’s Park have no intention of cashing in on him at the moment.

The Verdict: One for the future

Bruce is certainly a player for the future and if he were to sign for the Light Blues he would likely slot straight into the B side to further his development, but van Bronckhorst may even take a punt on him in the first team if he feels that he is ready.

Fellow left-back Borna Barisic has been linked with a move away from the Teddy Bears before the transfer window closes, which could potentially open the door for Bruce to play understudy to new signing Ridvan Yilmaz.

Nonetheless, to get one over their Old Firm rivals by signing him would be welcomed by the Gers supporters.

Celtic had no issue when it came to scoring goals throughout their previous SPFL campaign.

In fact, with 38 games played, the Hoops found the net on 92 occasions in total, 12 more times than their Old Firm rivals Rangers managed to rack up.

To further highlight how deadly Ange Postecoglou’s side were, there were 18 different players that managed to get their names on the scoresheet at least once throughout the campaign.

One player that contributed to this total of goals scored throughout the season in a rather small degree is Albian Ajeti.

To be specific, with seven league appearances to his name, the striker could only fire in two goals for his side.

This shows that even when he’s been given the odd chance to play, he hasn’t always been a useful provider of goals for his side.

With rumours of a potential exit arising around the Switzerland international, the Parkhead club could be on the look to see who could be brought in to be a potential replacement for the 25-year-old.

One figure that has been mentioned with a move to Glasgow, that wouldn’t just be a good replacement for Ajeti, but also a significant upgrade is Antoine Semenyo.

The forward has regularly been linked with a switch and Pete O’Rourke confirmed they still have interested in the player late last week, saying: “Celtic have been keeping tabs on him for a while and I’m sure that will continue.”

With 31 league appearances for Bristol City last season under his belt, the striker scored eight goals and delivered 12 assists, which shows that not only is he very capable of scoring goals, he can also set them up for his teammates on a regular basis.

This is something that Ajeti hasn’t really been too consistent with as he’s only managed to supply five assists in a Celtic shirt with 48 appearances to his name.

Semenyo also racked up a higher rate for shots on target per 90 minutes (1.14) than any other player at the Championship club, along with the highest average for dribbles per game (1.2).

Again, this highlights the attacking attributes that the 22-year-old has over the current Celtic striker as he could only muster an average of 0.1 dribbles per game in the SPFL last season.

Hailed by Nigel Pearson as being a “nightmare” for defenders to play against, Semenyo would be an ideal candidate for Celtic to look at in terms of being a potential replacement for Ajeti in the future, as he has proved how different and effective he can be compared to what the 25-year-old has shown during his time at Parkhead.

Tottenham Hotspur could look to make more signings before transfer deadline day, much to the delight of their supporters…

What’s the word?

That’s according to Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth, who claims that it’s not possible to rule out more business in north London heading into the final month of the summer transfer window.

“I don’t think you can rule Tottenham out of doing any more business,” he told GIVEMESPORT.

“Tottenham have surprised everyone, I think.

“If you’re a Tottenham fan, the ones I speak to, they just can’t believe how quickly they’ve done their business.”

Six and counting

The Lilywhites have already signed six new players to Antonio Conte’s squad for the upcoming Premier League season, with the most notable splash being a £60m swoop for Richarlison from Everton.

Conte will be looking to strike a balance in his side as Tottenham will be competing in both their domestic competitions, as well as the Champions League.

Yves Bissouma has also arrived in a £25m deal from Brighton and Hove Albion, and Djed Spence in a £15m swoop from Middlesbrough.

Meanwhile, Clement Lenglet has joined on loan from LaLiga giants Barcelona, with Ivan Perisic and Fraster Forster signing on free transfers from Inter Milan and Southampton respectively.

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However, it appears that sporting director Fabio Paratici and co aren’t done there, as Sheth cannot rule out Spurs making more additions in the coming weeks, and that surely leaves many supporters absolutely buzzing.

It’s an exciting time to be a Tottenham fan and the prospect of further signings may well raise expectations, especially considering the names who have been linked recently.

Leicester City playmaker James Maddison is one player that the club are thought to like, whilst Paratici has been in Italy discussing a potential move for Roma star Nicolo Zaniolo.

This would suggest that the Lilywhites are looking to bolster their attack once again, with a couple of no.10-type figures mooted.

Those around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium are surely delighted to hear this claim from Sheth this week.

AND in other news, Paratici in talks to seal “Lampard-type” £43m gem, could be bye-bye “lazy” Spurs flop…

Everton have been linked with numerous players this summer but have only made one signing so far, although a reliable source has now made a big transfer claim on two potential targets for the Toffees.

What’s the latest?

News editor and former Everton communications director Alan Myers has been responding to supporters’ questions about the current transfer situation at Goodison Park.

He dropped a 10-word transfer claim on Twitter in response to a question about the rumours of a speculated move for Adama Traore this summer, saying: “Not sure about Traore, wouldn’t rule out MGW coming in”

Supporters will be buzzing

There is no doubt that Everton supporters will be buzzing that it looks likely that the club are still working on bringing in new additions, considering the disastrous season they had to endure last time around as the Toffees finished on their joint-lowest points tally ever.

Frank Lampard hasn’t had the easiest managerial career after being sacked from Chelsea, but one area in which he has excelled since swapping playing for management is the nurturing of young players.

It hasn’t been an easy ride for the Goodison Park faithful over the last few years, with a high turnover of managers; and despite their constant spending, they haven’t been able to build a team worthy of competing near the top, so the fans must be hoping that new additions this summer can make a genuinely positive impact.

Signing Morgan Gibbs-White could be the perfect opportunity for legendary Premier League midfielder Lampard to unlock the potential of the player, just like he did with Mason Mount, Armando Broja and Reece James at Chelsea, to name but a few of the talents that the 44-year-old had a hand in developing.

The 22-year-old Wolves gem scored 11 goals and delivered nine assists from his midfield role whilst on a season-long loan with Sheffield United last term, excelling in a position in which Lampard thrived during his playing days, so the Everton boss could really offer his experience and knowledge to the young talent to get the best out of him.

Farhad Moshiri must do his best to keep the Goodison Park faithful and the manager happy going into the new season and there is still plenty of work to be done to improve the team ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

AND in other news – “In talks..”: Sky Sports journalist drops big Everton transfer claim that’ll delight Lampard

Fabrizio Romano has some exciting transfer news for Leeds United fans this week…

What’s the word?

The Italian transfer guru recently appeared on CBS Sports’ football podcast, ‘Que Golazo’, where he revealed that the Yorkshire giants were targeting a further three new signings.

“But let me say for Leeds that from what I’m told, they will invest on three players now,” Romano said.

“So they already signed three players and they want to sign three more players after selling Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips. They will reinvest [a] big part of the money they’re receiving.

“So I think it’s a very good and smart strategy. They want to restart with new talents. They already signed three and they’re going to continue in the coming days.”

Elland Road will be bouncing

Indeed, the Whites have already made some exciting moves in the transfer market, signing RB Salzburg duo Brenden Aaronson and Rasmus Kristensen for a combined £35m, as well as bringing in Marc Roca from Bayern Munich.

Leeds manager Jesse Marsch is expected to lose two of his key stars in Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips, both of whom are seemingly set to join Premier League rivals in the coming weeks, if not days.

They will both need to be replaced, and some intriguing names have been linked as a result.

Club Brugge sensation Charles De Ketelaere is thought to be among the priorities, as per Belgian journalist Alexandre Braeckman, whilst PSV Eindhoven winger Cody Gakpo is being touted as a potential successor to the top-scoring Brazilian.

Meanwhile, the links to Marsch’s former club aren’t slowing up either, as RB Salzburg midfielder Mohamed Camara has emerged as another target according to the Daily Express’ Ryan Taylor, who also suggests that Leeds have been “in direct contact with his representatives”.

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All three players would be eye-catching additions at Elland Road, and given the fact that Romano believes the club will make at least another three signings, it’s certainly going to raise excitement and expectations around the club’s supporter base.

Whilst Raphinha and Phillips appear to be on their way out, Leeds’ hierarchy is doing all it can to bolster Marsch’s playing squad heading into the new season on August 6.

AND in other news, Leeds now leading race for “indispensable” £25m target, it’d be an “amazing signing”…

Reliable journalist Rob Dawson of ESPN has now shared a big Manchester City transfer update involving Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong.

The Lowdown: Sky Blues eye more signings…

City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, having watched the Blues retain their Premier League crown in such dramatic fashion, later confirmed that there will be even mores summer signings after Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez.

Fernandinho’s glittering nine-year stay at Eastlands has now come to an end with the fan favourite set to leave, prompting manager Pep Guardiola to set his sights on a midfield heir to the Brazilian.

Leeds United star Kalvin Phillips and West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice have both been linked with moves to Eastlands as well as Barcelona sensation de Jong.

Sharing news on the latter man, Dawson has a big update.

The Latest: Dawson shares big de Jong update…

According to the ESPN reporter, a Man City correspondent, the marquee Catalans star has been ‘offered’ to Guardiola and co with Barcelona desperately trying to raise £70million for new arrivals.

However, despite Barca handing City a chance to sign de Jong, the La Liga giants have only received positive responses from Man United and Paris-Saint Germain.

The Verdict: Reconsider?

As the Netherlands international gets placed on the table, we believe City sporting director Txiki Begiristain and Guardiola should, at the very least, consider a move carefully.

De Jong has been a mainstay under Barca boss Xavi, playing the fourth-most league minutes over 2021/2022 behind veteran stars Sergio Busquets, Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Jordi Alba (WhoScored).

His impressive pass accuracy of 91.3% is also on par with crucial City stars like Rodri, Aymeric Laporte and Ruben Dias – backing how seamlessly de Jong would fit into Guardiola’s starting eleven (WhoScored).

Called a ‘phenomenal’ player by Spanish football expert and ex-Arsenal striker Kevin Campbell, the only red herring to this potential deal would be the 25-year-old’s lofty €85 million (£73m) price tag.

In other news: Journalist: Man City ‘offer’ on the cards to sign ‘unplayable’ star, Pep called him ‘incredible’…find out more here.

TalkSPORT journalist Alex Crook has now claimed a ‘beast’ of a player could now be open to joining David Moyes at West Ham United this summer.

The Lowdown: Hammers eye striker…

As per reliable reports, the Hammers are eyeing a new forward for manager Moyes after the club failed to seal the deal during what was a whirlwind January transfer window.

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Last minute moves for the likes of Darwin Nunez (Benfica) and Duvan Zapata (Atalanta) fell through, leaving West Ham with just Michail Antonio as their only natural senior striking option for the remainder of the Premier League campaign.

For next season, club owners GSB and head of recruitment Rob Newman will be looking to change this as they reportedly set their sights on attacking targets.

One of them is Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah with the Englishman set to leave north London as a free agent past 2021/2022.

The Irons are apparently in pole position for Mikel Arteta’s ace, according to The Mail, with Crook now also making an enticing claim.

The Latest: Crook makes claim…

Speaking to GiveMeSport, the talkSPORT reporter says Nketiah could be open to joining West Ham and a move ‘would appeal’.

He explained, when asked if the 22-year-old could eye a London Stadium move:

“Yeah, I do, because obviously he’d still be in London, still a big club, could go there and be the main man, play European football. I think that would appeal to him.

“How do you find a role for him and [Michail] Antonio in that team? I think because Antonio is not a natural centre-forward and his goals have dried up a bit since the turn of the year, I think that [bringing in Nketiah] would still work.”

The Verdict: Finalise it?

The forward, called a ‘beast’ in training by Arteta, may well be a decent option for West Ham at zero cost.

He’s still young, a hungry player and has finished this season in fine form – scoring four goals in his last six league matches as Arsenal hope to somehow usurp Tottenham in the hunt for Champions League qualification.

It’s quite a risk free move and one that surely must be considered by Moyes.

In other news: West Ham now believe they can sign phenomenal international with agents set for imminent club talks…find out more here.

Liverpool have bought out their sell-on clause from Kaide Gordon’s transfer from Derby County, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano.

The Lowdown: Gordon impressing at Liverpool

The 17-year-old made the move from Pride Park to the Reds in February 2021, with the striker considered one of the most exciting prospects in the country.

Gordon’s first-team playing time at Liverpool has been understandably limited but he has still managed four appearances – including one in the Premier League –  scoring once in that time.

A fresh update has now emerged regarding the youngster’s move to Anfield.

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The Latest: Liverpool buy out Gordon sell-on clause

Taking to Twitter on Monday, Romano confirmed that Liverpool have paid £500,000 to get rid of the 20% sell-on clause which originally existed in the deal. The journalist revealed:

“Excl. Liverpool have bought out the sell on clause from Kaide Gordon’s transfer from Derby County. #LFC Been told Liverpool & Derby County have agreed £500,000 for the removal of the 20% sell on clause which appeared in the original deal.”

The Verdict: Massive future ahead for Gordon

This is yet more shrewd work from Liverpool in the transfer market, ensuring that they don’t have to pay Derby a substantial amount should they eventually sell Gordon in the future.

However, the hope is that the teenager becomes a superstar at Anfield and that the Reds will never actively want to sell him, with Virgil van Dijk hailing him as a ‘great talent’.

The 17-year-old has looked the part whenever he has been given a chance, possessing a great left foot and an eye for goal, while a tally of seven goals and three assists in 10 appearances for Liverpool’s under-18s further outlines his potential.

In other news, one Liverpool player is likely to leave permanently this summer. Find out who it is here.

After getting trolled on social media, being criticised over picking too many 30-plus players, losing out on home advantage and more, CSK have made it to yet another IPL final

Deivarayan Muthu26-May-20181:05

CSK’s journey studded with individual brilliance

First they were trolled on social media for picking a squad with an average age of 33 after the first day of the auction. Then they surprised everyone by scooping eight uncapped players on the second day. Then they had their home advantage snatched away. Then their slow-moving legs came into the spotlight. Two of their key players – Mitchell Santner and Kedar Jadhav – were then sidelined from the tournament. How did Chennai Super Kings even make the final of IPL 2018? ESPNcricinfo looks at the key factors behind their rather unexpected surge this season.Dad’s Army, really?Having picked 11 players over 30 in their roster, fielding was always going to be a bugbear for CSK. In their first match of the season against Mumbai Indians, they posted Mark Wood at backward point and later in the qualifier they had Harbhajan Singh at that position. CSK’s ground fielding was full of bloopers, but they have tried to cover up for that with their catching. Having taken 82.7% of catches in the league stage, CSK are among the best catching sides this season. Only Mumbai have fared better.

They’re 35-36, not 55-56. A massive amount has been made of it. I’m here to win the competition for the franchise. And that’s why we value experience because we think it gives us the best chance… Dwayne Bravo, Shane Watson and MS Dhoni all these guys still have a lot of cricket left to playStephen Fleming on CSK’s ageing squad

CSK have managed to hang on to the pressure catches. For example, when Sunrisers Hyderabad needed 33 off 13 balls in Hyderabad, CSK’s gun fielder Ravindra Jadeja swooped in from long-on, dived forward, and dismissed Kane Williamson for 84 to tilt the match in CSK’s favour. More recently in the qualifier, Dwayne Bravo tumbled in his follow through to pluck a spectacular return catch and remove Yusuf Pathan. And the experienced players have also rolled out clutch performances with the bat.Rayudu’s hot streak
Setting the pace at the top: check. Anchoring the innings in the middle: check. Teeing off at the end: check. Having his CSK team-mate Wood and the Durham dressing room singing, “I just can’t get enough of Du Du Du Du Du Du…Ambati Rayudu”: check.Do you remember that Rayudu was Suresh Raina’s captain in the Under-19 World Cup in 2004? Raina then went on to play two senior World Cups and established himself as CSK’s MVP. Fourteen years later, Rayudu has become the new MVP for the franchise with his most prolific IPL season: 586 runs in 15 innings at a strike rate of 153. What has been special about Rayudu is that he has converted even good balls into boundary balls with his nifty footwork. He has stepped down the track to 50 balls this season and has hit 133 runs without being dismissed.

I rate him very highly as he can play fast bowlers and spinners very well. He is someone who doesn’t look like a big hitter but almost clears the field every time he plays the big shot.MS Dhoni endorses Ambati Rayudu’s big hitting

Watson’s second wind
In Shane Watson’s own words: “2017 was his worst IPL” and he wasn’t quite sure if he would be back in 2018. Sure, he found some form in the Big Bash League (331 runs in 10 innings at a strike rate of 139.07) and the subsequent Pakistan Super League (319 runs in 10 innings at a strike rate of 135.16), but there were still questions over whether he still had it. Stephen Fleming, however, relentlessly kept bidding for the Australian allrounder at the auction and ultimately bought him for four times his base price of INR 1 crore. And Watson has repaid the faith, featuring in all but one match for CSK this season, scoring 438 runs in 14 innings at a strike rate of 145.03. He had single-handedly won the game for CSK against his former franchise Rajasthan Royals in Pune with a 51-ball century.Signs of vintage Dhoni?
In 2017, MS Dhoni had a dot-ball percentage of 46.4; this season it has dropped to 36.4. More importantly, he’s the top-scorer in the death overs this season with 297 runs off 148 balls, including 24 sixes and 16 fours, at an average of nearly 100. The power game that seemed to be fading resurfaced against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, where Dhoni helped CSK pillage 71 off the last five overs. Having made 455 runs in 15 innings at a strike rate of 150.66, Dhoni is now just seven runs away from his most prolific IPL season.

We haven’t seen it [Dhoni at his best] as much, the gaps between [such] innings have been bigger, but in this IPL his batting has been excellent, and the innings was one of the best ones I’ve ever seen.Fleming on Dhoni’s unbeaten 70 off 34 balls in Bengaluru

Chahar: swinging ’em with ball and bat
Who’d have thought Deepak Chahar would start the season ahead of an India international in Shardul Thakur? Who’d have thought Chahar would become Dhoni’s go-to bowler? Who’d have thought Chahar would be the second-highest wicket-taker in Powerplays with 10 wickets at an economy rate of 7.33? If not for a hamstring injury, Chahar could have caught up with Umesh Yadav’s chart-topping tally of 14 wickets in the first six overs. Who’d have thought Chahar’s batting contribution would help CSK secure a top-two finish in the league phase?With his ability to swing the ball both ways and often get it to skid off the pitch, Chahar has grown to become the leader of the CSK pack. His smooth swings with the bat, meanwhile, have added more depth to a line-up that is yet to be bowled out this season.

Deepak Chahar is not a slogger like most think. He is a talented batsman capable of surprising the best of the bowlers in the #IPL18.Chahar’s first Ranji Trophy captain Hrishikesh Kanitkar on his batting, on Twitter

‘The luxury spot’
At the auction, CSK packed their side with spin and were ready to unleash them at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Their plans were later thwarted when they were forced to shift base to the MCA Stadium in Pune, which does not offer as much assistance to spin. So, one spot became a “luxury”, as Dhoni puts it.

There is a luxury spot in this team, sometimes on good day a bowler bowls three overs and if possible four, sometimes he doesn’t bowl. We have Bravo at the end [overs] but he doesn’t need to bowl four overs always as wellDhoni on the ‘luxury spot’

Ravindra Jadeja had bowled just 24 balls in CSK’s first four games put together. Some even joked that he was playing as a specialist fielder. Karn Sharma did not bowl against Delhi Daredevils in Pune and bowled only one over each against Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders. In CSK’s most recent game against Sunrisers, Harbhajan did not bowl a ball at the Wankhade Stadium. A surfeit of options offered CSK a safety net and allowed them to identify their best combination ahead of the playoffs.

New Zealand began the fourth day in Indore way behind but still determined not to give up. By the end of the day, they finally parted ways with their spirit, allowing India to savour the fruits of their hard work

Sidharth Monga in Indore11-Oct-20161:42

Agarkar: New Zealand approach made Ashwin’s job easier today

Test cricket is a difficult place; you fight and fight session after session, but then you happen upon days like the fourth day in Indore when everything begins to seem easy. It’s like enjoying that last stretch of the marathon when you know nobody is going to chase you down. You can relax, you can let your thoughts wander, you can contemplate what you are about to achieve, think of all the training and the hard work, plan your celebrations. On Tuesday in Indore, as New Zealand finally gave in, India got to enjoy that home stretch where everything went to plan. They didn’t even have to keep at those plans for long. That, though, began later in the day.When you take a 258-run first-innings lead and bat again primarily to let the pitch deteriorate more, it can make for two-three sessions of cricket where you can look away, read the newspapers and wait for the declaration. Teams stronger than New Zealand have played the waiting-for-declaration game because there is no motivation left for them, but the morning session featured one final push from New Zealand. There were soiled shirts from desperate dives, direct hits, fielders running in from long-on and deep midwicket to back up throws. New Zealand were not going to roll over and die, they were not going to let India race away to a declaration. Every economical over would mean less time to survive, though it was anyway going to be a massive ask whenever they were going to begin batting one last time.It wasn’t quite a lark in the park for India’s batsmen. There was one man with an injured shoulder, just given a career lifeline through injuries to two other openers. There was no way he was going to stroll through this. The next Test is almost a month away; the other openers are liable to regain fitness, so Gautam Gambhir had this last chance to press a claim. There was another man who has suffered because, of late, he has not converted his struggles on the team’s behalf into big innings for himself. Cheteshwar Pujara wanted a century after having failed to convert ten scores of over 20 and six over 40 into hundreds.The New Zealand resistance had to break at some point. Having retired hurt on day three, Gambhir came back to get himself a fifty to go with his 29 in the first innings. Pujara showed power and deft touches to finally get to his hundred. Virat Kohli, the captain who might have put him under pressure earlier, duly waited for him to get to that landmark and declared immediately after. It wasn’t all easy, as Pujara’s soiled shirt, from dives to make his crease for the runs he wouldn’t always take, showed.Then, given 45 overs plus a day to survive, New Zealand finally parted ways with their spirit. Suddenly, it all became too easy. Every plan India might have made in the lead-up to the series or on the fly began to work as if to provide them a highlights reel.All series, India’s quicks have gone around the wicket to try to trap Tom Latham lbw, falling over and on the crease. All series, Latham has proved a hard nut to crack, the only New Zealand batsman to reach 50 in each of the Tests. Mohammed Shami is the man to execute this plan as he did it in Kolkata, but here, Umesh Yadav did it, only more emphatically. Latham just missed a straight ball on the angle.Kane Williamson resumed one final duel with R Ashwin just before the tea break. Ashwin has left the cut open for him, getting him bowled twice when he has tried to play that shot. This time, he opted for a silly point, which meant he had one man fewer on the leg side, only five now. Williamson hit him for two boundaries there. Ashwin came back after tea with the original plan, just the slip, cover and mid-off, reinforcing the leg side, taking away the freedom Williamson had exercised earlier. Soon enough, he went back, played circumspectly and was out lbw. Out to Ashwin all four times he has batted, all four times off the back foot.Ross Taylor came out hitting like he had nothing to lose. He hadn’t. He played some excellent shots that might have put India on the back foot if they weren’t so far ahead. You wondered if it would have made any difference if Taylor had played so freely with the games in balance. Then again, would he have been able to enjoy this freedom, which nothing to lose brings, when the games are actually in the balance?Taylor used his feet well, drove gracefully, picked gaps, but then a small field change brought about his dismissal. He had just driven a full Ashwin offbreak through cover for four. Ashwin packed that area. One ball later, Taylor chose to hit into the leg side, and was bowled when sweeping. Ashwin’s farewell celebration suggested it had been too easy.Martin Guptill has had a wretched series. Not being the most comfortable batsman against spin, he didn’t need the added misfortune of getting out caught because his boot lobbed the ball up, bowled off his elbow, and run out by the bowler’s unintended deflection on to the stumps at the non-striker’s end when he had actually batted well to score a half-century. He resisted for 60 balls here, but fell to the old Ravindra Jadeja strategy: bowl at the stumps, let some turn, let some go straight on. Guptill lbw to the straighter one.By now, the word had spread in Indore that India could wrap the match up on the fourth day itself. The smallest crowd of the Test soon swelled into a rambunctious appeal and celebration almost every ball. Catches began to fly exactly where fielders were placed. The only ball that stayed low hit the stumps too. New Zealand’s batsmen, after all their desperate fight, started playing crazy shots. Ashwin and Kohli began to work the crowd. This was the time to savour all the hard work. To plan your dash towards the stumps you want as souvenirs as soon as the last wicket falls. One home Test series down, three to go.