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It’s already been a rather interesting season for Manchester United as they adapt to life with Louis van Gaal in the dugout.

The former champions broke the Premier League’s records for individual transfer fees and the amount spent by one club in a single window during the summer, but that was quickly juxtaposed by poor results against Burnley, MK Dons in the Capital One Cup and Leicester City.

As the Red Devils currently find themselves in fourth place however, following impressive wins against West Ham and Everton, there’s a new feeling of optimism around Old Trafford.

That’s shared in the Football FanCast office, to such an extent that we’ve decided to conjure up this list of the FIVE signs that Manchester United WILL qualify for the Champions League – their ultimate aim this season.

So without further ado…

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GOALS

Manchester United’s defensive frailties are well-known and widely documented but there’s no questioning their strength at the other end of the pitch, with an incredible attacking cast including the likes of Angel Di Maria, Juan Mata, Radamel Falcao, Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie.

They’ve netted 13 times already this season, averaging out at 1.8 goals per game. As viewable below, that return is only betted by Chelsea and Manchester City:

In prior campaigns, such an imbalanced starting XI would only work against the Red Devils. But over the course of the last few years, the Premier League has become engulfed in a goal-friendly culture; in 2010 Chelsea bagged the most goals scored in a single season (103), in 2012 the title was decided on goal difference alone, and last term, two clubs – City and Liverpool – reached triple figures in the league.

Indeed, it appears resolute defending has taken a backward step throughout the top flight for the sake of proficiency going forward, something United currently possess in abundance. Falcao got off the mark with his first Premier League goal against Everton:

Whilst Angel Di Maria has already bagged three goals in just five appearances, but more about the Argentine maestro later.

Unknown quantity

Manchester United’s prolific goal-getting makes them very much an unknown quantity, a side other Premier League clubs will struggle to accurately prepare for.

After all, what will the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal truly be facing in the coming weeks? The old, rugged, determined United? The new breed of world-class attackers? Or a shambolic XI of youngsters and foreigners, still searching for balance, leadership and familiarity? Are they genuine title contenders, or just this season’s entertainers?

The unpredictability of results thus far under Louis van Gaal – the shock defeats to Mk Dons and Leicester City, a 4-0 thrashing in the Capital One Cup and a 5-3 comeback in the league respectively – and the immeasurable power of United’s history, further adds to the feeling of ambiguity.

They’ve already employed two completely different systems this year – a 4-1-2-1-2 and a 3-4-3 – and United’s starting Xi is absolutely bursting with match-winners – players who can turn a game on its head in an instant.

Yet to face a major opponent, the element of surprise currently accompanying United will keep the Premier League’s top clubs attempting to second-guess them.

Divisional rivals struggling for form

Take another look at the Premier League table:

Right now, Everton, Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs, who were all in the race for last year’s Champions League spots, are collectively struggling for consistency and form.

The Toffees for example, are just two points clear of the relegation zone, whilst Arsenal have only won twice from seven fixtures.

Of course, at this point in the season there’s still just a handful of points separating the vast majority of sides, with ten point gap between the relegation spots and Manchester City in second.

But the point remains that the stage is set for United to assert their dominance early-on whilst their divisional rivals are still finding their feet.

Whether the Red Devils can hold onto their current position of fourth however will largely depend on results in the coming weeks, as they take on Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal before the end of November.

ANGEL DI MARIA

It would be wrong and wholly inaccurate to describe Manchester United as a one-man team, but if there’s one player who’s currently head and shoulders above the rest, it’s summer signing Angel Di Maria.

Indeed, the Argentina international has been nothing short of incredible since United signed him for a record-breaking £59million, as shown below:

Whoscored.com have put him in their European Team of the Season thus far:

…in no small part due to some incredible goals, such as this one against Leicester City back in September:

Unquestionably the most in-form midfielder the Premier League currently has to offer, if the Red Devils can keep the 26 year-old firing for the majority of the season, they’ve got a fantastic chance of qualifying for the Champions League.

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Recent wins

Less than a month ago, following a 0-0 draw with Burnley and a 5-3 defeat to Leicester City, it looked like the Red Devils were in for another tough campaign.

But recent results, specifically wins against West Ham and Everton, have changed all that. Not only because they constituted Manchester United’s first consecutive victories under Louis van Gaal, but due to the impressive quality of the opposition.

Judging by the series of shrewd signings Sam Allardyce made this summer, including Alex Song, Enner Valencia, Ryan Cresswell, Diafra Sakho and Cheikhou Kouyate to name a few, in combination with their positive start to the season, the Hammers look set for a top half finish this season. They’ve already recorded a 3-1 victory over Liverpool at Upton Park, the highlights of which are viewable below:

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Likewise, Everton have endured a poor start to the campaign, but they’re a strong outfit and based on their league standing over the last ten years, remain the essential litmus test for clubs looking to qualify for the Champions League. As shown in the highlights below, Manchester United impressed as they fought to a 2-1 victory over the Toffees.

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In other words, West Ham and Everton are the calibre of side Manchester United should be beating if they’re to make it into the top four. As previously mentioned however, the real test comes between now and the end of November, as the Red Devils face Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal.

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Manchester City had to settle for a point as they continued their unbeaten start to the season against Everton at the Etihad Stadium.

Roberto Mancini has now won just once in seven meetings against the Toffees since arriving in the blue half of Manchester, but will the draw as two points lost having won six out of seven games on home soil.

The Merseyside club have stuttered of late following a blistering start to the campaign, sharing the spoils for a third game in succession and haven’t tasted victory since beating Sunderland on 10 November.

Goalscoring opportunities were few and far between as both sides adopted a cautious approach during the opening phase of the game.

And it was the visitors to strike first blood in the 33rd minute, Marouane  Fellaini needing to bites of the cherry to beat Joe Hart, bundling the ball home with his thigh after the City keeper had saved his header from Leighton Baines’ cross.

The hosts responded in robust fashion and went close to an equaliser when Tim Howard clawed Edin Dzeko’s strike round the post before the Bosnian won his side a penalty two minutes shy of the half time, going to ground after Fellaini tugged his shirt in the area.

Referee Lee Probert immediately pointed to the spot and Carlos Tevez stepped up to beat Howard from 12 yards, firing the ball straight down the centre.

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Fellaini then forced Hart into a low save just before the break but it proved to be Everton’s last clear cut chance of the game as they struggled to contain the home side in the second half.

Howard did well to keep out a powerful, swerving effort from Maicon with Mancini sending Sergio Aguero on for Carlos Tevez with 20 minutes to go but the Argentinian couldn’t provide the inspiration to find a winner.

Manchester United fans were impressed by Victor Lindelof’s performance against Germany on Saturday night, despite his Sweden side falling to a late defeat against the reigning World Cup champions.

Germany are almost unstoppable in tournament mode and so it proved on Saturday, coming from behind to win 2-1 after a pulsating and dramatic 90 minutes.

One of the top performers on the pitch was Man United’s powerful defender Lindelof, who generally coped with the German attack well all evening, keeping the likes of Timo Werner quiet.

Lindelof had a difficult debut season at Old Trafford last term, making just 13 Premier League starts, but fans are now calling him to get a regular game next season.

Many would love to see him form a defensive partnership with Eric Bailly, believing that pairing is the future of the Red Devils defence.

Can the Swede cement a spot in Jose Mourinho’s starting eleven?

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Supporters took to Twitter to share their thoughts…

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Arsenal suffered their fourth defeat in five matches on Thursday night, losing 3-0 to Manchester City for the second time in just five days.

After their heavy Carabao Cup Final defeat to Pep Guardiola’s side on Sunday, Gunners fans were hoping for an improved performance in the league at the Emirates, not least because they badly need every point they can get right now.

Arsene Wenger’s outfit failed to deliver though and the loss means their hopes of a top four finish in the English Premier League have all but been extinguished.

Supporters were left fuming not just with the result but also the manner in which they conceded goals and generally failed to compete with their visitors.

The likes of Hector Bellerin, who was once an immensely popular character with fans, are lacking confidence and failing to produce football that allows them to challenge at the top end of the table.

Fans were critical of the Spaniard and took to Twitter to share their thoughts…

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Wayne Rooney is not the right man to be captain of Manchester United, according to former England and Liverpool star Stan Collymore.

The Three Lions ace was given the armband by new boss Louis van Gaal over the summer following the exit of Nemanja Vidic, in a move that was criticised by some.

Although he’s one of the club’s all-time greats in terms of goals scored, Rooney’s temperament has often been criticised down the years.

WANT MORE? >> Manchester United transfer news | Latest transfer news

His actions once again made front and back page headlines last weekend as he was given a straight red card for a wild hack at West Ham’s Stewart Downing, and although Collymore doesn’t believe that the 29-year-old should be written off for such an act, he is sure that he’s not the correct player to captain United:

“I don’t think Wayne Rooney has represented the best of Manchester United of the last four or five years, if I’m being honest,” he told Bleacher Report.

“Should Wayne Rooney be thrown under the bus for being sent off? No, not really.

“Five years is a long time between sendings off. But should he be captain of Manchester United? No, I think that Louis Van Gaal should be looking elsewhere for the longer term.”

But Collymore went on to say that Rooney is still vital for United:

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“Let’s not forget, he’s won multiple Premier Leagues, he’s a Champions League winner, he’s approaching 100 caps for England, and a very, very experienced and useful man to have in and around your team and your squad.”

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Juventus have made a move for highly rated Udinese defender and Liverpool FC target Pablo Armero, according to talkSPORT.

The Italian press have reported that Juventus have made the first step in claiming Armero, by tabling an €8 million bid. However, it is thought that Udinese will hold firm for their €10 million valuation of the Columbian international.

It was thought that Brendan Rodgers was keen to bring in defensive options in January, after a less than impressive start to the Premier League season. Juventus’ swift movements will mean that the new man at Anfield will have to act quickly or risk losing his top transfer target.

Armero started his career with Columbian side Deportivo Cali before moving to Palmeiras in 2009. Impressive performances for the Brazilian side ignited interest from Italy and while a move to Parma collapsed at the last minute, in August 2010, Udinese claimed the defender.

At just 26, Armero already has 30 caps for Columbia. His position for his club tends to be at left wing back as Udinese play with an effective 3-5-2 formation. However, the South American plays left back for his country and started at centre back for Palmeiras so is versatile along the back line.

No comments have been made by the player himself but it is thought that now Italian giants Juventus have made their interest known, that will be Armero’s likely destination in January.

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Geddes shares unbroken stand worth 195 with Luke Hollman as Kent struggle continues

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay 19-Aug-2025Ben Geddes and Luke Hollman hit career-bests as Middlesex raced to a six-wicket win over strugglers Kent at Radlett to keep their hopes of a place in the Metro Bank Cup’s knockout stages alive.Geddes led the way with an unbeaten 141, his first century in List A cricket, while Hollman made his maiden half-century in the format, the pair sharing a record unbroken stand of 195 for the fifth wicket as the hosts chased down a target of 280 with five overs to spare.Kent’s 279 for 6 was built around an unbeaten 63 for Jack Leaning and 50 for Chris Benjamin, with Leaning sharing a stand of 81 in nine overs with debutant Corey Flintoff, son of former England allrounder Andrew, who impressed with an unbeaten 29. Henry Brookes and Middlesex List A debutant Sebastian Morgan took three wickets apiece.England Under-19 international Ben Dawkins took three fours from one Noah Cornwell over and ramped Toby Roland-Jones over wicketkeeper Joe Cracknell’s head to dominate an opening stand of 52 with Jaydn Denly. The latter struggled for any fluency, his torturous effort ending when he cut Brookes to backward point. Dawkins took his boundary count to eight only to fall two short of 50 when caught by Cracknell, giving Morgan his first wicket.Benjamin and Joey Evison upped the tempo in a stand of 47 before Morgan pegged back the latter’s off stump and a chance for a fourth wicket was spurned when Brookes dropped Benjamin on 33.File photo: Luke Hollman shared an unbroken stand of 195 with Geddes•Getty Images

Benjamin profited from the life, flaying Morgan over third and crunching a seventh four through the covers to reach 50, but he fell immediately afterwards to Brookes, ending a stand of 58 with Harry Finch. Brookes struck again two balls later to remove Ekansh Singh, superbly caught by Sam Robson, and when Finch became Morgan’s third victim Kent were 198 for 6.However, Leaning and Flintoff launched their late charge, Flintoff evoking memories of his father’s batting heroics with two huge sixes, while Leaning’s beautifully paced effort was capped by clearing the ropes twice in the final over as Kent posted a daunting target.The host’s chase got off to a bad start when Cracknell was caught down the legside without scoring. Robson was then dropped at short fine leg by Michael Cohen, but later in the same Fred Klaassen over, Josh de Caires attempted an injudicious hook to sky a simple catch to Flintoff at midwicket.Robson’s response was to unleash a flurry of boundaries, the former England opener cutting and pulling with authority and with Geddes launching a huge six into the trees a 50-stand came up in 40 balls. Evison though wrestled back control by having Robson caught behind and though Davies planted a six over square leg, he didn’t stay long.Geddes continued to carry the fight, reaching his 50 with his second six, a blow which endangered those on the 4.45pm train to St Albans City. Cohen was similarly despatched into the trees and Hollman swept Matt Parkinson to the fence as the partnership prospered.Both batters were dropped, before Geddes moved to his hundred and Hollman to 50 with the help of a towering six. Landmarks reached, the pair cut loose to scamper home with time to spare.

Kent’s slide towards Division Two continues with innings defeat at Edgbaston

ECB Reporters Network31-Aug-2024Warwickshire banked their first Vitality County Championship victory of the season in the most emphatic fashion, by an innings and 21 runs over struggling Kent, before lunch on the third day at Edgbaston.Kent were bowled out in their second innings for 243 on the third morning as Warwickshire’s seamers completed the demolition job they start on their opponents on the first day.Bowled out for 156 first time round, Kent mustered little more at their second attempt even against the Kookaburra ball on an easing pitch as Oliver Hannon-Dalby took 6 for 43 (9 for 74 in the match).Only Joey Evison (65) offered prolonged resistance as the visitors’ dismal season delivered a sixth successive Championship defeat and another shunt towards relegation. Injuries to key pair Tawanda Muyeye and Grant Stewart only added to a grim three days in the West Midlands for Matt Walker’s side.After Kent resumed on the third morning on 157 for 3, they advanced comfortably enough to 171 before Hannon-Dalby hit them with a burst of 3 for 6 in 14 balls. Sharp in-duckers trapped Jack Leaning and Muyeye lbw and Charlie Stobo sent his first ball to Rob Yates at second slip.Hannon-Dalby was 60 percent of the way to taking all 10, but that pathway was ended by Ed Barnard who trapped Stewart lbw and followed up with the wicket of Matt Parkinson, who edged to wicketkeeper Michael Burgess.Alfie Ogborne edged Michael Rae to slip before Evison, running out of partners, lifted Barnard for six to reach a 93-ball half-century. Evison batted impressively in both innings but when another attempt to clear the ropes, off Michael Booth, found only Alex Davies at long-on, another Championship ordeal for Kent was complete.Their Division One status will expire shortly but Warwickshire’s appears safe for another year after this victory as other teams in the bottom half of the table struggle in their games around the country.

Familiar failings undermine England top order before tail comes to the rescue in fine style

Andrew Miller24-Mar-2022Close England 204 (Mahmood 49, Leach 41*, Seales 3-40) vs West IndiesIf variety is the spice of the Spice Island, then the pitch at St George’s served up a two-course taster on the first day in Grenada. After ten days of often enervating attrition in Antigua and Barbados, the façade of English batting competence crumbled at the first sign of heat from a pumped-up West Indies seam attack, before a mighty final-session rescue act from England’s tenth-wicket pair dropped a sizeable hint that the truest mischief in the surface had already been and gone.And by the close, who could rightly say where the balance of the series truly lay? In slumping to a nadir of 67 for 7 in the hour after lunch – a passage of play that included three key wickets for no runs in ten balls, and six consecutive single-figure scores from Nos. 2 to 7 – England seemed hell-bent on resetting their very own red-ball reset. After the earnest insistences from Joe Root and Paul Collingwood that lessons had been learned and progress had been made since the all-too-recent misery of the Ashes, the hyper-implausible figure of Kyle Mayers begged to differ, as his startling morning figures of 5-5-0-2 instigated a collapse that could have come straight out of Scott Boland’s playbook.But then, out of the wreckage strode the batting saviours of Jack Leach – still as diffident as ever, even with his contrasting heroics at Headingley and Lord’s to serve as cult-status proof of his unlikely prowess – and England’s newest recruit Saqib Mahmood, who fell to the day’s final ball for an agonising 49, the highest score of his professional career. With Leach left high and dry on 41 not out, Nos. 10 and 11 had top-scored in a Test innings for the first time since 1885, when Australia’s Tom Garrett and Edwin Evans had made 51 not out and 33 not out respectively, in what turned out to be a thrilling six-run win against England.Related

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Only time will tell whether this stand will be as critical, but together Leach and Mahmood sapped the resolve of an all-too-easily deflated West Indies attack, whose collective legs were weary after the exhaustions of the first two Tests, and whose adrenaline bonked all too soon after the fall of Chris Woakes to the second ball after tea – at which point, with England in tatters at 114 for 9, their opponents seemed mentally to check out and put their pads on in anticipation of what promised to be the decisive innings of the series. They were still waiting, 90 runs and more than 46 overs later.Nevertheless, the final analysis of England’s innings revealed two men with scores in the 40s, and next to nothing else – and so on balance, West Indies’ decision to bowl first remained amply justified, even in a topsy-turvy fashion.From the outset it had been clear that a cracked and grassy surface with more than a hint of moisture underneath would be a prime bowl-first deck. However, when Kraigg Brathwaite unleashed an apparent four-pronged seam attack, following the decision to reinforce their batting at the expense of the spinner, Veerasammy Permaul, few could have expected it would be that extra batter, Mayers, who would prove to be the morning’s most penetrative option.For the first 40 minutes of the day, England’s openers Alex Lees and Zak Crawley seemed just about to have the measure of conditions that were closer to Chester-le-Street and Canterbury than they had faced all winter, as they withstood a torrid but occasionally over-eager burst from Jayden Seales in particular, to inch along to 23 for 0.But then West Indies clocked that less might well be more on a surface offering purchase for those who were willing to grip the ball on the track in the manner of an old-fashioned English seamer. And so Mayers, with his Darren Stevens-esque medium-paced wobblers, was tossed the ball in advance of West Indies’ fastest option, Alzarri Joseph. And from that moment on, it was a different dynamic.Kyle Mayers grabbed two early wickets for West Indies•Associated Press

Crawley, a centurion in Antigua, quickly lost patience with Mayers’ impertinence in the channel outside off. Having made his discipline on the drive such a feature of that apparent breakthrough innings, it was a familiar failing that sent him on his way for 7 as he flung his hands through a cunningly bowled legcutter, and spooned a simple chance to Brathwaite in the covers.Enter Root, with a hundred in each of the first two Tests of the series, but reunited with a situation more akin to England’s collapse to 48 for 4 on the first morning of the series in Antigua. And Mayers never offered him a chance to settle. His fourth ball hit the seam and wobbled wildly round Root’s outside edge; five balls later, Mayers scrambled that same seam, and kissed the edge of a defensive push down the line to have Root caught behind for a nine-ball duck.Lees’ introduction to the Test team has now featured a new highest score in four of his five innings, which must count as progress of sorts. He played a compact holding role throughout the morning session, but before England’s position could be claimed to have improved, they were three-down for 46 at lunch. Dan Lawrence – another player who seemed to have made visible strides in the first two Tests – had no answer as Seales returned with his discipline reframed. Despite burning a review after been pinned on the knee-roll by a nipbacker, he was sent on his way for 8 from 31 balls.In Antigua, England’s pre-lunch struggles had proven to be their nadir; here, however, they was merely the prelude. Four overs after the break, Ben Stokes – his blood pumping after a restorative century in Barbados – tried to take on Joseph’s short ball, and shovelled a spliced pull straight back into the bowler’s lap for 2 (53 for 4).Five balls and no runs later, Lees’ vigil was ended in uncompromising fashion by a pumped-up Roach, who was adamant that he’d found the edge two balls earlier, but when Brathwaite declined to waste his final review, he merely bombed the edge from round the wicket once more, and this time there was no doubt as Joshua da Silva sent him on his way for 31 (53 for 5).And then, as if it prove that the events of the previous fortnight had been a fever-dream, Jonny Bairstow capped England’s dramatic reversion to the mean with their third wicket for no runs in the space of 10 balls. Joseph – easily the quickest bowler on either side in the absence of Mark Wood – bent his back on another off-stump lifter, and Bairstow nicked off to da Silva for the 15th duck of his Test career, and his fifth since the start of 2021.From 53 for 6, it was now a familiar race to the bottom for England’s lower order. Ben Foakes was duly pinned on the crease as Seales ripped a bail-trimmer through his defences for 7, at which point England’s run of scores – +31 708207 – read like they were planning an international call to the Netherlands to fill the dead playing time on the final two days of this Test (though hopefully not for a T20I, to judge by past experience).Saqib Mahmood produced unexpected resistance from No. 11•Getty Images

At least Chris Woakes and Craig Overton broke the run of single-digit scores, not that this had been their original plan for first-day heroics, following their unlikely (and some might say, unwarranted) reprieves in England’s seam attack. But Roach prised them apart after an eighth-wicket stand of 23 – at the time, England’s joint-best of the innings – as he leapt wide on the crease to spear an outstanding nip-backer into the top of off stump (90 for 8).Woakes held the line well for the remainder of the session – during which time, in the absence of a regular spinner, Brathwaite even turned to Nkrumah Bonner and Jermaine Blackwood for an over apiece of speculative moon-balls. It seemed he had merely been stalling for time, especially when Woakes drove loosely at his second ball after the break to be bowled by Seales for 25. But it didn’t quite turn out like that.At first it was simply a matter of holding up an end – and few batters do that better than Leach, as shown by that epic 1 not out alongside Stokes three years ago. But as their stand extended, and both men’s eyes got in, a late-evening counterattack was the order of the day. Mayers, brought back in the hope of more magic, was slapped into the stands by Mahmood, while Leach’s love of a length ball became more and more apparent as he brought his favourite cover-drive out of mothballs.The new ball came and went, with ample swing but no major threat, but Blackwood’s return for the day’s final over proved a passion-killer for Mahmood, as he thwacked a fierce drive through the line to move to the brink of a memorable fifty, only to get too greedy to his very next ball, and under-edge a wild hoick into his own stumps. Nevertheless, he had given his team a chance – and his A game is still to come on what promises to be a pivotal second day.

Udana, Russell three-wicket hauls in vain for Angelo Mathews’ side

Madushka Balasuriya01-Dec-2020
How the game played out
The Dambulla Viiking served up the first real outstanding bowling performance of the LPL, as their army of spinners utterly neutralised the big-hitting Colombo Kings on their way to an impressive 28-run win.Each of the six bowlers used by the Viiking picked up a wicket, though the standouts were undoubtedly the spin contingent of Samit Patel, Malinda Pushpakumara, Sachindu Colombage and Pulina Tharanga, who picked up seven wickets amongst them.The latter two had been drafted in as part of four changes, alongside Anwar Ali and Angelo Perera, from the team that had lost to the Jaffna Stallions less than 24 hours prior. Out went Ramesh Mendis and the pace trio of Lahiru Kumara, Lahiru Madushanka and Aftab Alam – the latter, in fact, might’ve been rather aggrieved considering his excellent display with the ball the previous night.But the Viiking clearly had a plan, as the spinners throttled a Kings line-up containing the likes of Andre Russell and Isuru Udana, as no Kings batsman, aside from Laurie Evans who hit a 33-ball 59, managed to score more than 20 runs. Incredibly, No.10 Dushmantha Chameera was the second-highest scorer in the innings with 17.At the halfway mark, though, the Kings would have fancied their chances, having limited the Viiking to 175 for 9. That the Viiking had even got so much was largely down to their captain Dasun Shanaka, who once again was required to deal with a top-order collapse after both Niroshan Dickwella and Paul Stirling fell cheaply.Stars of the day
Early wickets followed by a middle-order recovery is starting to be a Viiking template of sorts this LPL, and lucky for them they have one of the tournament’s in-form batsman in Shanaka to help them execute it. For the third time in as many games, Shanaka was required to undertake the bulk of Viiking scoring responsibility, and he happily obliged – aided by cameos from Upul Tharanga, Patel and Perera – on his way to a 34-ball 56.Pushpakumara has toiled in the domestic circuit for pretty much his entire career with barely a sniff of Sri Lanka’s national side – mainly thanks to the longevity of a certain Rangana Herath. However, today he showed why he’s picked up nearly 800 first-class wickets, as he showcased his game nous and guile, expertly varying his pace and trajectory on his way to figures of 2 for 19, including the scalp of the dangerous Udana.In the Kings’ opening game Udana showed his game-changing qualities with the bat, today he turned up with the ball. Ending with figures of 3 for 25, his four overs were full of subtle variations, while time and again proving to be the man Angelo Mathews turns to when he needs a breakthrough. While in the end his efforts were in vain, he along with Russell managed to stifle Shanaka just as the Viiking captain would have been looking to unleash.Turning point
There’s a reason why the Kings were favourites at the halfway mark – that reason is Russell. Enter 22 year-old Colombage, with just 14 List A games to his name. The young legspinner ended with figures of 1 for 28 after three overs, but he’ll not soon forget the feeling of having Dre Russ caught in the deep. It was at this point the Viiking players would have genuinely started to feel the game was within their reach.Where the teams stand
For the Kings this is a first loss, and possibly a reality-check after an unblemished record over their first two games. But for the Viiking this win was rather more important, and will help erase the memories of the bowling disaster-class against Thisara Perera the previous night. Both teams are on four points now, alongside the Stallions, who have played a game less.