Category Uncategorized

Everton have been stuck in a back-and-forth on negotiations with Idrissa ‘Gana’ Gueye, but a reliable source has delivered a promising update on the Premier League club’s pursuit of the player.

What’s the latest?

Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano has reported that Everton are “finally” closing in on a deal for the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder.

The transfer insider tweeted: “Everton are finally closing on Gana Gueye deal, working on it since long time with Paris Saint-Germain. Clubs confident to get the deal over the line this week.”

Time to forget about Dele

The powerbrokers at Goodison Park have been showing their intent in improving and adding quality to the Everton squad over the last few weeks, but it’s not just incomings which are on the table.

It has been reported in the last few hours by Romano that the Toffees have agreed a deal with Besiktas for Dele Alli to move to the Turkish club, which suggests that Frank Lampard is taking no prisoners when it comes to making decisions on what is best for his squad moving forward.

The ex-Tottenham playmaker only came to Goodison Park seven months ago but is already deemed dispensable, having started one solitary league match for the club and failed to score or set up a goal in 370 top-flight minutes for the Toffees.

Everton have signed five new players so far this summer, with James Tarkowski, Ruben Vinagre, Dwight McNeil, Conor Coady and Amadou Onana all making the move to Merseyside, but the team are struggling so far in terms of getting results in the new season.

Lampard’s side have failed to win a point or score a goal for themselves as of yet in after two league matches, but the Toffees manager will surely be hoping that the prospective signing of Gueye will be just what the team needs in the middle of the park to improve not only the build-up of attacking play but also add more defensive steel.

The former Everton midfielder joined the Ligue 1 champions in 2019, going from strength to strength since leaving Goodison Park for the French top flight, and last season his efforts were rewarded as PSG won the title at a canter with a team which currently boasts the likes of Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe.

Over the last 12 months, the €10m-valued (£8.4m) talent has ranked in the top 2% for pass completion compared to his positional peers in the top five European leagues, along with the top 10% for pressures, tackles and passes attempted, with his contributions not going unnoticed by his former boss Mauricio Pochettino.

The ex-PSG manager hailed Gueye as “important” to the team when reflecting on his performances last season, saying: “He [Gueye] is an important player in the balance he gives the team, he also scores goals now.

“Faced with stiff competition in the midfield, the Senegalese continues to score points at the start of the season.”

With that in mind, the signing of Gueye would be a great piece of business for Everton and could distract from any concern over Dele’s seemingly imminent exit from the club if they can reunite with the Senegal midfielder this week.

Crystal Palace are believed to be ready to battle it out for the signing of Napoli forward Hirving Lozano.

What’s the word?

According to Area Napoli, the Eagles are said to have joined fellow Premier League side West Ham United in the race to sign the 26-year-old this summer, with the Mexico international said to be keen on a move to England.

However, the report suggests that the former PSV Eindhoven man – who has two years remaining on his existing deal in Naples – could prove too costly for the two clubs due to his €20m (£17m) asking price, along with his reported €4.5m (£4m) annual salary.

The belief is that ‘unless a very tempting proposal’ is received by the Serie A club, the likelihood is that the 56-cap menace will remain at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium for another season.

Imagine him and Zaha

While it may prove a complicated deal to get over the line, adding Lozano to Patrick Vieira’s squad would no doubt be a major coup for Palace, with the dynamic forward having proven himself to be a hugely exciting talent in recent years.

The 2021/22 campaign saw the £27m-rated star register five goals and five assists in 30 league appearances for Luciano Spalleti’s side, taking his total haul to 26 goals and 13 assists in 114 outings across all competitions for the Azzurri since joining the club on a £36m deal in 2019.

Prior to that, the one-time Pachuca ace had netted 40 goals and provided 23 assists in just 79 games during his time in Eindhoven, with that explosive form unsurprisingly seeing him dubbed a “goal machine” by journalist Cesar Hernandez.

Nicknamed ‘Chucky’, the 5 foot 10 speedster also put himself on the radar of clubs across Europe following his match-winning effort against Germany in Mexico’s shock group stage victory at the 2018 World Cup.

Although he has perhaps not quite kicked on as was expected since moving to his current club three years ago, he remains a hugely impressive talent regardless, with those at Selhurst Park no doubt set to be delighted to welcome him through the door.

His arrival could also help to form what would be a truly devastating attacking partnership alongside long-serving talisman Wilfried Zaha, with the pair able to pose a real threat down opposing flanks.

With Lozano largely featuring on the right of Napoli’s attack in recent years, he could well provide more balance to a team which has been far too reliant on the goalscoring exploits of Zaha off the left over the years. The Ivorian contributed to 28% of his club’s goals last term – the third-highest percentage in the Premier League.

The latter’s current record with the Eagles stands at an impressive haul of 83 goals and 73 assists in 429 games in all competitions, having proven himself to be the club’s shining light year in, year out.

Adding yet another weapon to the squad in the form of Lozano could help to ease that attacking burden on Zaha, and it’s simply a mouthwatering thought to picture the two of them running riot in tandem at Selhurst Park next term.

AND in other news: Fabrizio Romano reveals huge Crystal Palace development, supporters will be buzzing

Leeds United are keen on signing Brentford striker Ivan Toney this summer, according to The Mirror.

The Lowdown: Plenty of links

The Whites are on the search for a new forward ahead of Jesse Marsch’s first full season in charge in the Premier League. A number of attacking players have been linked with moves to Elland Road, including Charles De Ketelaere, Arnaud Kalimuendo, Ben Brereton Diaz and Joaquin Correa.

It now looks as if Toney, who was described as having the “mindset of a lion” by his current manager Thomas Frank, is another name on Victor Orta’s wish list.

The Latest: Toney interest

The Mirror shared a story late on Saturday evening regarding Toney, who is attracting plenty of ‘serious interest’.

They claimed that Leeds are ‘keen’ on his services alongside Newcastle, West Ham and Manchester United, with Whites officials believing that the 26-year-old could work well alongside Patrick Bamford.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-47/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/cropped-2022-03-10T184055Z_1834933207_UP1EI3A1FW561_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-ENGLAND-LEE-AVA-REPORT-1-scaled-1.jpg” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Avoid?

Toney has scored 139 senior club goals during his career and has been dubbed “tremendous” by Peterborough chief Barry Fry, but the 26-year-old may not fit the bill in Yorkshire.

Leeds like to sign a player for their character as much as their ability, and Toney already has history with many Whites supporters after mocking the club during their relegation battle last season.

He has also mocked his current employers Brentford on more than one occasion, so it could be wise for Orta and co to look elsewhere when it comes to attacking reinforcements.

Everton are reportedly now ‘interested’ in signing Olympiacos central defender Pape Abou Cisse this summer.

The Lowdown: Two signings on the way?

The Goodison Park outfit have reportedly now held talks with Tottenham Hotspur over the possibility of signing Harry Winks, who would follow the widely expected arrival of James Tarkowski through the doors on Merseyside, with some reports even claiming the Burnley man could be officially confirmed as a Blue by next week.

They are seemingly going to be very busy this window after almost being relegated from the Premier League last season, as they now look to build Frank Lampard a squad capable of challenging higher up the table.

The Latest: Cisse interest

Taking to Twitter, Greek football journalist Giannis Chorianopoulos has revealed that Lampard and Co are now ‘interested’ in signing Olympiacos’ Cisse:

“Everton are interested in Olympiacos CB Pape Abou Cisse.”

The Verdict: Sign

On top of Tarkowski, Cisse would add further defensive stability to the backline that Jamie Carragher called a ‘Championship back four’ after a 5-0 drubbing by Spurs in the top flight last term.

At a mammoth six-foot-six, the 26-year-old is a towering presence who would surely frighten attackers next to the tenacious and imposing Tarkowski.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/everton-news-7/” title=”Everton news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

A title-winner with Olympiacos and African Cup of Nations (AFCON) winner with Senegal this year (Transfermarkt), Cisse would also bring an elite winning mentality to the dressing room, which should help the Toffees climb up the table next campaign.

Valued at £7.2m by Transfermarkt, the Blues would also not have to break the bank in order to sign him this summer, and this certainly feels like one to keep an eye on.

Manchester United are reportedly interested in signing Leeds United winger Raphinha this summer, and he would arguably be a better option for the Red Devils than Brazilian counterpart Antony.

It was reported in May that the Red Devils were taking a keen interest in the 25-year-old after his impressive performances at Elland Road across the past two seasons.

However, those links have since fallen quiet, with the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Chelsea and Barcelona reportedly more interested in signing the former Rennes maestro, while United seem to have switched their focus to Ajax ace Antony.

While Erik ten Hag has witnessed first-hand what the 22-year-old is capable of, as he contributed 10 goals and four assists under the current United manager in Amsterdam last season, this was in the Eredivisie, which is considered inferior to the Premier League.

Meanwhile, Raphinha managed 11 goals and three assists for a struggling Leeds side and is already Premier League proven, so he would arguably be able to make more of an impact for the Red Devils straight away, whereas Antony could take time to adapt to life in England.

If the Leeds star were to make the switch to Old Trafford, he could even be Ten Hag’s own version of Arjen Robben.

Like the legendary Dutch winger, Raphinha possesses electric pace, unnerving finishing ability and loves cutting in on his left foot, as we have already seen him do so often during his time with the Yorkshire club.

In 65 Premier League appearances, the Leeds talisman has scored 17 goals for the Whites, with 16 of them coming via his left foot; and like Robben, he has predominantly featured on the right wing.

After an impressive performance for Brazil recently, Raphinha was dubbed a “phenomenon” by team-mate Emerson Royal, and he would surely add a lot of quality at Old Trafford.

Therefore, while the 25-year-old would reportedly cost the Glazers £65m, his form in the Premier League in recent years suggests that he would be worth bringing in ahead of Antony this summer.

In other news… Glazers plotting bid for “complete” £51.5m wizard, he’s much better than Rashford 

Wolves are showing an interest in signing Vitoria Guimaraes youngster Andre Almeida this summer, according to a fresh transfer rumour which has emerged.

The Lowdown: Summer incomings expected

The Old Gold have enjoyed a good season in the Premier League overall, finishing in the top halfo of the table and narrowly missing out on European football.

The important thing now is for Bruno Lage to further improve his squad in order to take them up another level next season, with summer arrivals expected at Molineux.

Midfield could be an area where the manager looks to strengthen, and an intriguing transfer update has emerged in that respect as Wolves line up their first new signing of the summer.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/all-the-latest-from-wolves-6/” title=”All the latest from Wolves!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=“none”]

The Latest: Almeida linked with Wolves

According to Jornal de Noticias [via Sport Witness], Wolves ‘may advance’ in their efforts to sign Almeida, with an €8m (£6.7m) offer potentially coming his way as a move is ‘being discussed’.

The 21-year-old’s current deal with Vitoria Guimaraes expires at the end of next season, and the Old Gold are hopeful of taking advantage of that situation.

[freshpress-poll id=“388780″]

The Verdict: Good for squad depth

While Almeida wouldn’t necessarily come to Molineux as a guaranteed starter, he is someone who would add some welcome squad depth in the middle of the park, especially if Ruben Neves leaves this summer amid strong links with Barcelona.

The 21-year-old has made 31 Primeira Liga appearances this season, enjoying an 86.3% pass completion rate, which suggests that he could thrive in Lage’s ball-playing system.

Not only that, but Almeida would be a long-term acquisition who could mature into a formidable player over time. That has been the case with his compatriot Neves, who incidentally has an inferior pass completion rate in the Premier League this term (84.2%) compared to Almeida in Portugal.

If the 25-year-old leaves Molineux, as seems likely, the Old Gold may already be lining up his long-term successor to pull the strings in midfield.

In other news, Wolves have been boosted in their attempts to sign one player. Find out who it is here.

Tottenham Hotspur may have been handed a potential transfer boost as they eye a move for Villarreal star Arnaut Danjuma, according to Sky Sports reporter Michael Bridge.

The Lowdown: Spurs in Danjuma transfer hunt…

The Lilywhites and club chief Fabio Paratici are apparently interested in a move to bring the former Bournemouth forward to the Premier League.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/tottenham-newest-updates/” title=”Tottenham newest updates…” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Sharing news recently, 90min claimed that Spurs officials were in attendance to run the rule over Danjuma and heavily-linked team-mate Pau Torres in Villarreal’s recent Champions League semi-final clash against Liverpool.

The 25-year-old has been in red-hot form in La Liga, with pundit Kevin Phillips claiming that the Dutchman is a rare type of player who can be a ‘nightmare’ for defenders when at his best (Football Insider).

The Latest: Bridge drops Danjuma transfer hint…

Speaking to GiveMeSport in sharing what he’s ‘heard’, Sky Sports journalist Bridge has now hinted that Danjuma could be open to joining Spurs.

The reporter says that the 25-year-old would ‘like to come back to England’ amid reports Tottenham have registered their interest.

Bridge explained: “The little bits I’ve heard here and there is that he’d like to come back to England. He’s enjoyed his time in Villarreal, but I don’t know how happy he is there.”

The Verdict: Make a move?

As this claim emerges that Danjuma is in fact eyeing a move back to England, we believe that Paratici shouldn’t hesitate in giving him the opportunity to sign on the dotted line.

The Dutchman is one of Unai Emery’s most potent attacking threats, ranking among the most goals and assists combined (13) for Villarreal over the 2021/22 domestic season (WhoScored).

He also attempts the most shots at goal per 90 for Villarreal (2.7), illustrating his real menace going forward and leaving little wonder that his club saw fit to include a €75m (£64m) release clause in his contract.

If Spurs can negotiate that price down in potential negotiations and persuade the La Liga outfit to sell for less, Danjuma may well be a brilliant capture if the north London club decide to advance.

In other news: Paratici tables crucial bid as Conte personally pushes for Spurs signing, find out more here

Puducherry and Bihar completed victory inside two days; Jalaj Saxena made it a birthday to remember, and Shahbaz Nadeem got a maiden first-class 100

Saurabh Somani15-Dec-2018Hardik Pandya turned his three into five, and Jalaj Saxena made it a 32nd birthday to remember. Meanwhile, Shubman Gill went one better than Shreyas Iyer among batsmen back from India A, and will resume the day on 199 not out. And Shahbaz Nadeem got to a maiden first-class century, completing a happy homecoming for the India A team members, while two matches in the Plate Group finished on the second day itself. Here are the highlights of how the second day of the sixth round for Ranji Trophy 2018-19 went.Hardik takes five as Baroda fight backHe had three wickets on a high-scoring first day, and Hardik Pandya took the remaining two to end with 5 for 81 with Mumbai all out for 465. That Mumbai scored at five runs per over was not as impressive as Baroda being in the match after Mumbai were 384 for 3. More importantly for Pandya, who bowled 18.5 overs, if his economy rate seemed high, the pitch didn’t seem to have much in it for bowlers. Baroda ended the day on 244 for 1. In that light, Hardik’s figures are impressive. Are they impressive enough to merit a dash to Australia before the Boxing Day Test though? Gill, Nadeem lead the wayYuvraj Singh is playing his second Ranji match of the season, but he hasn’t even got to bat yet and Punjab are already ahead by 93 runs against Tamil Nadu. That’s thanks to Shubman Gill, who is batting on 199, at a strike-rate of more than 85. Of those runs, 108 have come in boundaries, and Gill has dealt with Tamil Nadu’s bowlers imperiously.Shahbaz Nadeem hit a maiden first-class century, making 109 from No. 8 to drag Jharkhand to 354. For Uttar Pradesh, Dhruv Pratap Singh, the 21-year-old right-arm seamer playing his first match of the season, took career-best figures of 6 for 105. In a match that could well decide who finishes top two and who doesn’t, UP ended the day on 173 for 4. Suresh Raina is still batting on 65, and Rinku Singh, UP’s best batsman this season, is on 22.Among other notable batting feats, Abhimanyu Easwaran made a career-best 186 – more than half of Bengal’s 336, against Hyderabad. Tripura’s Pratyush Singh hit a maiden first-class century, taking his team to a position of strength against Goa.Two men who didn’t get to centuries but made significant 90s were Saurashtra’s Vishvaraj Jadeja and Vidarbha’s Akshay Karnewar. Vishvaraj, 20, had made 97 on the first day, missing out on a century on debut in Saurashtra’s post-Jaydev Shah era, though his team are reasonably placed against Maharashtra. Karnewar, the ambidextrous bowler, hit 94 to lift defending champions Vidarbha from 202 for 6 to 331 all out against Railways.In the Plate Group, Vineet Saxena is batting on 150, fresh off an unbeaten 202 in his last match, with Uttarakhand dominant against Nagaland.Birthday-boy Saxena makes Delhi feel the post-Gambhir bluesJalaj Saxena took 6 for 39 – in 31 overs – to make it a memorable 32nd birthday as Delhi were bowled out for 139 against Kerala and were made to follow on. They’ve already lost five wickets in 13 overs with just 41 on the board in their second dig, and need 140 runs just to make Kerala bat again. In their first match since Gautam Gambhir’s retirement, the Delhi batsmen haven’t covered themselves in glory.ALSO READ: Jalaj Saxena: record-making allrounder, but not for Indian sidesPuducherry, Bihar win in two daysPuducherry smothered Arunachal Pradesh by 334 runs to win inside two days to pocket six points. Both teams had already been bowled out once on the first day, and Puducherry rode on Paras Dogra’s 139 and Fabid Ahmed’s 88 to pile on 351. Arunachal couldn’t effect a similar turnaround when they batted, crashing to 71 all out, with Pankaj Singh taking 5 for 25. Captain Rohit Damodaren took 4 for 7 in five overs, and at one point he had figures of 3-3-0-3.Meghalaya crashed to an innings and 71 runs defeat against Bihar, for whom Ashutosh Aman was the star once again. Aman had already taken 8 for 51 in the first innings, and he followed that with 6 for 17 in the second. He thus had his best match, and innings figures. His first-class career is only five matches old, but he already has 39 wickets, at a stunning average of 4.79. His economy rate is 1.74, and he takes a wicket every 16.5 balls. Almost makes Meghalaya’s 46 all out look good.Tight finishes loomingOn the first day, 15 wickets had fallen in the Haryana vs J&K match. On the second, 19 fell. J&K grabbed a slender 16-run lead on the first innings, and then made 205. Yuzvendra Chahal, back for Haryana, took 4 for 37. A target of 222 in a low-scoring match isn’t particularly easy, but Irfan Pathan made it more difficult for Haryana with a burst of four wickets.Rajasthan and Odisha were also engaged in a low-scoring thriller, with 18 wickets falling on second day after 14 had fallen on the first day. Tanvir Ul-Haq (5 for 14) and Aniket Choudhary (5 for 49) had bowled Odisha out for 111 in their first innings. Basant Mohanty took a fifer of his own as Rajasthan then keeled over for 148, leaving Odisha with a target of 173. However, Tanvir added two more wickets, bowling two overs without giving up any runs, as Odisha ended the day on 6 for 2. In the first innings, Tanvir had bowled 23 overs, and so far in the match he’s bowled 25 overs for just 14 runs and seven wickets. Spare a thought for Basant Mohanty, who has taken 11 for 49 – his best match figures – but now needs his batsmen to step up.Brief scoresGroups A and B:
Baroda 244/1 (Waghmode 87*, Solanki 128*) trail Mumbai 465 (Iyer 178, Lad 130, Hardik Pandya 5-81, Bhatt 4-76) by 221 runs in Mumbai
Maharashtra 86/3 (Jadhav 38*) trail Saurashtra 398 (Vishvaraj Jadeja 97, Snell Patel 84, Vasavada 62, Sanklecha 6-103) by 312 runs in Nasik
Karnataka 348/7 (Padikkal 74, Shreyas 93, Nagwaswalla 3-48) lead Gujarat 216 (Panchal 74, Shreyas 2-21, Vinay 2-33) by 132 runs in Surat
Railways 170/2 (Pratham 84*) trail Vidarbha 331 (Fazal 53, Karnewar 94, Avinash Yadav 5-78) by 161 runs in New Delhi
Delhi 139 (Saxena 6-39) & 41/5 (Warrier 3-16) trail Kerala 320 (Rahul 77, Manoharan 77, Saxena 68, Shivam 6-98) by 140 runs in Thumba
Punjab 308/2 (Gill 199*, Mandeep 50*) lead Tamil Nadu 215 (Vijay Shankar 71, Gony 5-55) by 93 runs in Mohali
Hyderabad 20/1 trail Bengal 336 (Easwaran 186, Ravi Kiran 4-46) by 316 runs in Hyderabad
Himachal 320/5 (Chopra 65, Kalsi 103*, Rishi Dhawan 76) lead Andhra 173 (Sai Krishna 74, Jaiswal 5-50) by 147 runs in Amtar
Group C
Uttar Pradesh 173/4 (Garg 54, Raina 65*) trail Jharkhand 354 (Jaggi 95, Kishan 54, Nadeem 109, Dhruv 6-105) by 181 runs in Lucknow
Services 213/2 (Navneet 79*, Paliwal 104*) lead Assam 211 (Sinha 56, Pandey 5-74) by 2 runs in New Delhi
Haryana 145 (Rohit 41, Mudhasir 4-50, Umar Nazir 5-55) & 49/4 (Irfan Pathan 4-10) trail Jammu & Kashmir 161 (Ajit Chahal 3-31, Yuzvendra Chahal 3-50) & 205 (Owais 71, Ajit Chahal 3-55, Yuzvendra Chahal 4-37) by 172 runs in Lahli
Odisha 111 (Choudhary 5-49, Tanvir 5-14) & 6/2 (Tanvir 2-0) trail Rajasthan 135 (Lomror 85, Basant Mohanty 6-20) & 148 (Gautam 51, Basant Mohanty 5-29) by 166 runs in Bhubaneswar
Goa 107/4 (Kauthankar 42*) trail Tripura 358 (Pratyush 110, Rajib Saha 68*, Amit Verma 3-87) by 251 runs in Agartala
Plate Group
Bihar 242 (Babul 43, Lakhan 3-30) beat Meghalaya 125 (Biswa 56, Aman 8-51) & 46 (Aman 6-17, Quadri 4-24) by an innings and 71 runs in Shillong
Sikkim 332 (Milind 139, Sinan 3-74) and 75/3 lead Mizoram 161 (Taruwar 74, Chaudhary 5-57) by 246 runs in Jorhat
Puducherry 136 (Fabid 41*, Deendyal 4-36, Neri 3-28) & 351 (Dogra 139, Fabid 88, Deendyal 4-63, Neri 3-76) beat Arunachal 82 (Fabid 6-29) & 71 (Pankaj 5-25, Rohit 4-7) by 334 runs in Goalpara
Uttarakhand 371/4 (Vineet 150*, Panwar 101) lead Nagaland 207 (Jonathan 69, Dhapola 5-49) by 164 runs in Dehradun

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Sep-2016He raced to 80 before heaving Ravindra Jadeja across the line to give India the breakthrough•BCCIMitchell Santner displayed impressive patience and technique against the spinners to hold one end up•BCCIMohammed Shami took two wickets in two balls in a superb display of reverse-swing bowling to leave New Zealand struggling at 205 for 7 at lunch•BCCIR Ashwin quickly cleaned up the tail after the break to finish with 6 for 132 as India completed a memorable 197-run win in their 500th Test in Kanpur•BCCI

On Sunday, Tillakaratne Dilshan became the 11th batsman to score 10,000-plus ODI runs. Here are the key numbers from his ODI career

S Rajesh27-Jul-20151:04

Tillakaratne Dilshan passes 10,000 ODI runs

47.06 Tillakaratne Dilshan’s average since the beginning of 2009; before that, he averaged 18 runs fewer per dismissal – 29.06. That’s largely because he has been opening the batting since 2009, while earlier he batted mostly at No. 6. When opening the batting, he averages 47.22, with 21 hundreds in 166 innings; at other positions he averages 28.65, with one century in 127 innings.

Tillakaratne Dilshan’s ODI career

InningsRunsAverageSR100s/ 50sTill Dec 2008129299429.0680.261/ 14Jan 2009 onwards164701347.0688.5521/ 31As opener166708447.2288.7021/ 32In other positions127292328.6579.791/ 13Career29310,00739.7185.9022/ 452 Openers who have scored at least 4000 ODI runs at an average higher than Dilshan’s 47.22. Only Hashim Amla (average 54.45) and Sachin Tendulkar (48.29) have higher averages. Also, as an opener, Dilshan has scored 21 hundreds in 166 innings, an average of one every 7.90 innings – it’s a rate bettered only by Amla (5.65 innings per 100) and Tendulkar (7.56 innings per 100). Among the 24 openers who have scored 4000-plus ODI runs, the only other batsman with a rate of less than ten innings per century is Mark Waugh (9.40).

Best averages for ODI openers (Min 4000 runs)

Player Inns Runs Average SR 100s 50s Inngs per 100Hashim Amla 113 5718 54.45 89.70 20 28 5.65Sachin Tendulkar 340 15310 48.29 88.05 45 75 7.56Tillakaratne Dilshan 166 7084 47.22 88.70 21 32 7.90Gordon Greenidge 120 4993 45.39 64.65 11 31 10.91Matthew Hayden 147 5892 44.30 78.70 10 33 14.70Mark Waugh 141 5729 44.06 76.74 15 32 9.40Gary Kirsten 175 6647 41.80 72.25 13 45 13.46Sourav Ganguly 236 9146 41.57 73.59 19 58 12.42Desmond Haynes 237 8648 41.37 63.09 17 57 13.94Saeed Anwar 220 8156 39.98 79.93 20 37 11.002354 Runs scored by Dilshan when not batting in the top five. He has scored 2046 runs in 87 innings at No. 6, 277 runs in 17 innings at No. 7, and 31 in three innings at No. 8. Among the 11 batsmen who are in the 10,000-run club, no other player has scored even 750 runs when not batting in the top five. The next-highest is Mahela Jayawardene’s 748, while Inzamam-ul-Haq made 542, and Kumar Sangakkara 533. At the other end of the spectrum is Ricky Ponting, who made only 75 of his 13,704 runs when not batting in the top five.293 Innings taken by Dilshan to reach 10,000 ODI runs. He is the seventh-quickest, in terms of innings; the fastest is Tendulkar, who took 259 innings, and the slowest is Jayawardene, who needed 333 innings to get there. Among the four Sri Lankans in the club, Dilshan is the fastest in terms of innings.

When they reached 10,000 ODI runs*

Batsman Innings Average SR 100s 50sSachin Tendulkar 259 42.63 86.52 28 50Sourav Ganguly 263 41.22 73.93 22 60Ricky Ponting 266 42.90 80.08 23 59Jacques Kallis 272 45.44 71.68 16 71Brian Lara 278 40.56 79.24 19 61Rahul Dravid 287 40.01 70.75 12 77Tillakaratne Dilshan 293 39.71 85.90 22 45Kumar Sangakkara 296 37.80 75.33 12 67Inzamam-ul-Haq 299 38.98 73.11 10 70Sanath Jayasuriya 328 32.13 88.52 18 58Mahela Jayawardene 333 33.45 77.66 15 6152 Sixes struck by Dilshan in his ODI career. Among the 11 batsmen in the 10,000 club, only Dravid (42) has fewer sixes. In terms of percentage of runs scored in sixes, Dilshan’s 3.12% is the second-lowest, next to Dravid’s 2.31%; Jayawardene is next with a percentage of 3.60. The highest is Jayasuriya’s 12.06%, followed by Ganguly’s 10.03%.63.14 Dilshan’s ODI average in wins since the beginning of 2009 – he has scored 4420 runs in 80 innings, with 17 hundreds. Among the 20 batsmen who have scored at least 2000 runs in wins during this period, only four have a better average – AB de Villiers, MS Dhoni, Amla and Virat Kohli.4391 ODI runs Dilshan has scored since the age of 35, the highest by any batsman. The next highest is Jayasuriya’s 4142 – they are the only batsmen with 4000-plus runs since the age of 35. Both have 12 hundreds after turning 35, which is also the highest. Dilshan has scored those runs at an average of 47.72, and a strike rate of 84.11.11 Percentage of his ODI runs that Dilshan has scored in World Cup games – he has scored 1112 runs in 25 innings across three World Cups, at an average of 52.95. Among the 11 members of the 10,000 club, Dilshan’s World Cup percentage is the fourth highest, after Ponting (12.72), Tendulkar (12.36) and Brian Lara (11.77). Dilshan’s World Cup average is fifth among these 11 batsmen, after Dravid (61.42), Tendulkar (56.95), Sangakkara (56.74), and Ganguly (55.88).