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2024/25 has been the season of the underdog – something Newcastle United are aware of more than most, having seen off Premier League champions, Liverpool, to claim Carabao Cup glory at Wembley earlier this year.

A central part of ending the Magpies’ lengthy silverware drought has been the underdog’s underdog, Jacob Murphy, with the previously maligned Englishman enjoying a simply sensational campaign at St James’ Park.

Eight years on from joining from Norwich City, the long-serving speedster has finally found his groove, having enjoyed steady improvements last term after finishing with 11 goals and assists in what was, at that point, by far his best-ever Premier League campaign.

A year on, the 30-year-old is now basking in the success of a 2024/25 season that ended with almost double the number of league goal involvements, having rightly been lauded for his “absolutely incredible” form by pundit Daniel Sturridge.

Unfortunately for Murphy, however, it looks likely that he’ll face a battle to hold down a starting berth on the right flank next term, not least with Eddie Howe and co seemingly chasing the likes of Bryan Mbeumo and Mohammed Kudus.

Latest on Newcastle's interest in Mbeumo and Kudus

There is an argument that Murphy’s ascension has simply come as a result of the lack of alternatives available to Howe on that right-hand side, particularly with Miguel Almiron returning to Atlanta United back in January.

Of course, the experienced winger deserves credit for taking his chance with both hands, although it has been evident that a fresh face is what the Magpies truly want – not least after bidding £50m for Nottingham Forest’s Anthony Elanga last summer.

Now heading into another summer window, all eyes are on Brentford’s Mbeumo, with reports suggesting that PIF are ready to make a bid for the Cameroon international, amid rival interest from Manchester United.

The £60m-rated sensation has enjoyed a remarkable rise of his own, having scored 20 league goals for the Bees this season, with a departure from the Gtech now looking a possibility with just a year left on his current deal.

While the 25-year-old looks to be the club’s leading target, an alternative option has emerged in the form of West Ham United’s Kudus – with the latest reports indicating that the Hammers could accept a bid of around £65-£70m.

As those price tags emphasise, plugging that gap on the right flank certainly won’t come cheap for those on Tyneside, with the club perhaps ruing their decision to cash in on their own Mbeumo and Kudus hybrid.

Newcastle already sold their own Mbeumo and Kudus

Following a season that ended with a League Cup triumph and Champions League qualification, it is difficult to suggest anything should have been done differently, with the Magpies riding the crest of a wave right now.

That said, in years to come the club may look back on last summer’s PSR-enforced transfer activity with a tinge of regret, having sold homegrown sensation, Elliott Anderson, to Nottingham Forest for £35m, while also allowing Yankuba Minteh to join Brighton and Hove Albion for £30m.

In the case of the latter man, he never actually made an appearance for Newcastle, prior to his swift exit, with the Gambian initially signing from Danish side Odense, before joining Feyenoord on loan for the 2023/24 campaign.

That stint in Holland, while working under Arne Slot, saw the 20-year-old register 16 goals and assists in 37 games in all competitions, with one scout even noting that he could “reach Sadio Mane[‘s] level” in the future.

An obvious talent then, although with the Magpies needing to comply with financial regulations, the decision was taken to offload Minteh to the Seagulls, a move that has since yielded 12 goals and assists for the young winger. For comparison, Kudus ended the season with just nine goals and assists.

Kudus vs Mbeumo vs Minteh – 24/25 PL stats

Stat (per 90)

Kudus

Mbeumo

Minteh

Non-penalty goals

0.17

0.40

0.29

Shots

2.61

2.08

1.66

Assists

0.10

0.18

0.20

Shot-creating actions

3.72

3.80

3.13

Pass completion

83.6%

66.1%

62.5%

Progressive passes

2.75

3.72

2.35

Progressive carries

3.41

3.43

4.41

Successful take-ons

3.20

1.37

2.25

Touches in attacking box

4.41

4.43

7.15

Progressive passes received

7.51

9.25

9.84

Stats via FBref

A direct left-footer, with pace to burn, who operates on the right flank, the Brighton starlet certainly shares a more than passing likeness to both Mbeumo and to Kudus, a fact that has been reinforced by FBref noting that the pair are among the Premier League players deemed to be statistically similar to him.

The trio are particularly alike with regard to their dribbling prowess, as evidenced in their successful take-on percentage, while they are all adept ball carriers, who can drag their team up the pitch.

Tipped to have “a massive future” in the game by Sky Sports’ Dougie Critchley – who suggested last year that Newcastle’s right wing woes would be “solved” by integrating the youngster – Minteh looks to be the type of player that Howe and co are chasing this summer.

Yes, the Tynesiders could well forget all about that 2024 sale, if one of Kudus or Mbeumo makes the move this time around, although it may well sting that they could have fixed their problem position a year ago.

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Crystal Palace now want to appoint an “unbelievable” 4-2-3-1 manager should Oliver Glasner leave Selhurst Park, according to Sky Sports.

Crystal Palace stretch unbeaten run to four games with Forest draw

The Eagles looked like they were on course to make it back-to-back wins in the Premier League on Monday after going 1-0 up against Forest thanks to Eberechi Eze’s penalty. However, the away side soon got back on level terms, and that is how the game finished, meaning Palace picked up another point as they aim to finish in the top half of the Premier League.

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Palace’s priority will be the upcoming FA Cup final, which they play in under two weeks against Manchester City. But despite not much being on the game against Forest, Glasner was pleased with his side’s performance and said the desire to win was “unbelievable”.

Glasner told BBC Match of the Day: “It was pretty even. After taking the lead, the equaliser was too quick. It was a set-play and a deflected ball. I really liked how the players wanted to win this game. I’m really pleased. The desire to win was unbelievable.

“We had many situations in the 60 or 70 minutes to come from the wing, but our crosses were not good enough. We got the penalty. We found the rhythm, and we had set-plays. You always have to be aware of the transitions – but we did well. We weren’t as efficient as in other games.”

Glasner also went on to provide an update on midfielder Adam Wharton, who had to come off after suffering an injury. He said: “It doesn’t look like it’s really serious. It was more precaution.”

Sky Sports: Crystal Palace now want 4-2-3-1 manager should Glasner leave

As the Eagles prepare for their Wembley final and look ahead to the future under Glasner, Palace, and by extension chariman Steve Parish, are also preparing for the worse when it comes to the future of their manager.

According to Sky Sports German reporter Philipp Hinze, Crystal Palace are interested in appointing Danny Rohl should Glasner decide to leave the club.

Hinze reports that Rohl, who has been dubbed “unbelievable” by Josh Windass, looks set to leave Sheffield Wednesday this summer. The German has a small exit fee in his contract, and that has alerted Palace as well as Fulham, as Glasner and Marco Silva are being linked with potential exits.

Leicester City and Southampton are also interested in appointing Rohl, who likes to play a 4-2-3-1 formation as a manager, as well as teams from the Bundesliga, but it looks as though he is likely to remain in England.

Sheffield Wednesday was the 36-year-old’s first managerial job, and after guiding the club away from relegation trouble last season, he guided the Owls to a mid-table finish this time around, comfortably away from relegation trouble but not enough to be in the race for the play-offs.

Games

89

Won

34

Drawn

19

Lost

36

Points per game

1.36

Palace’s interest in Rohl comes as the Austrian has been linked heavily with a move to RB Leipzig, as they look for a new manager, while Glasner has also emerged on Tottenham Hotspur’s radar as they look for candidates to replace Ange Postecoglou.

Tottenham Hotspur were made to settle for a 1-1 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt in their Europa League quarter-final first-leg clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Thursday evening.

It was a game in which the Lilywhites had chances to secure the victory but could not find a winning goal that would have given them a crucial advantage in Frankfurt next week.

It was the visitors who took an early lead, just six minutes into the clash. The goalscorer was one of Europe’s most wanted centre-forwards, Hugo Ekitike.

He showed exactly why the biggest clubs want to sign him, cutting inside on his left foot and letting fly a shot from range that nestled into the bottom corner with pinpoint accuracy.

However, it was not long for Lilywhites fans to wait before their side clawed a goal back. The equaliser came from right-back Pedro Porro, who met a brilliant cross from James Maddison with a tidy, flicked finish into the back of the net.

In the third minute of stoppage time, Mickey van de Ven almost had a winner for Spurs. However, his header was superbly tipped over the crossbar by Frankfurt goalkeeper Kaua Santos to keep the score on level terms.

It was certainly a disappointing night for the Lilywhites, who could have easily run out winners. There were some poor performances from some of those in a Spurs shirt.

Spurs' worst performers vs. Frankfurt

One of the Spurs players who struggled against the German side was winger Brennan Johnson. He found it difficult to make a real impact on the game at all, barely getting into the game out on the right flank.

In fact, Goal journalist Sean Walsh noticed that the Welshman struggled to stamp his authority on the game, handing Johnson a 4/10 rating for his performance, suggesting that he spent “far too much time hidden behind defenders”.

Another player in Postecoglou’s attacking trio who had a tough night at the office was striker Dominic Solanke. The England international showed glimpses of his best, and although he has been on a lean run of goalscoring form, he did link play up well at times.

However, his stats from the game, courtesy of Sofascore, show just how little he got into the game at times. For example, Solanke managed just 22 touches, completing seven of ten passes and winning three of five aerial duels.

As tough of a night it was for Johnson and Solanke, they were perhaps not Spurs’ worst attackers against Frankfurt.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

Spurs' worst player against Frankfurt

It has not been an easy season for Spurs captain Heung-min Son, and Thursday’s clash with Frankfurt summed that up in many ways.

The South Korean international lacked a real potency in his attacking play and did not pose too much of a threat to their opponents’ defence.

In fact, his stats really reflect Son’s struggles against the German outfit on Thursday. He had 61 touches in total, completing 38 of 44 attempted passes. However, the Spurs legend failed to compete either of his two attempted dribbles, and he lost the ball 12 times, once every five touches.

Touches

61

Passes completed

38/44

Number of times ball lost

12

Ground duels won

1/4

Dribbles completed

0/2

Crosses completed

1/3

Key passes

2

Son’s struggles against Frankfurt was a sentiment that the aforementioned Walsh seemed to agree with. He was critical of the Spurs captain, giving him a 4/10 for his performance, explaining that the winger was “seldom a threat in crucial areas” going forward.

It might be a worry for Spurs fans that their number seven’s career is petering out. While it’s certainly a different story, there is reason to suggest he’s winding down in a similar way to another modern-day club icon, Dele Alli.

The former Lilywhites midfielder was, at his peak, “the best” youngster in the world, according to Mauricio Pochettino.

However, Alli’s Spurs career tailed off when he began to have dips in form, and perhaps the same can be said for Son this season. It has certainly not been the easiest campaign for the attacker, who like Dele, has gone from an elite talent to someone struggling to make a real impact at Spurs in pretty swift time.

He has just 11 goals and 12 assists in 43 games, with seven goals and ten assists in the Premier League. Compare that to the 17 goals and ten assists in 35 games he managed last term, and there is certainly a Dele-esque decline in numbers.

It is a shame to see such a legendary Premier League player struggle to find his best form this term. No doubt, Lilywhites fans hope he can get back to the top of his game in what is a huge few weeks for the club.

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The action starts with a rematch of last year’s final on June 12

Deivarayan Muthu12-Jun-2025

First things first. When does it start?

MLC 2025 kicks off on June 12, with defending champions Washington Freedom taking on San Francisco Unicorns in a rematch of last season’s final at the Oakland Coliseum, which has hosted baseball and American football matches. The stadium was a prominent feature in the 2011 film , based on Michael Lewis’ book which documented the Athletics’ success following data-driven strategies in the early 2000s.Unicorns will play three home games at the Coliseum. The league will run until July 13, when the final will be played at Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas. Central Broward Stadium in Lauderhill will host matches for the first time this season, including a double-header on July 4. The Grand Prairie Stadium, which had staged games in 2023 and 2024, will host 16 of the 34 games this season, including the knockouts.

So, who are the teams in action?

The six teams are Washington Freedom, San Francisco Unicorns, MI New York, Los Angeles Knight Riders, Texas Super Kings and Seattle Orcas. Four of these teams are owned by IPL franchises. Apart from the three obvious ones, Orcas are owned by the GMR group, who co-own Delhi Capitals.Freedom, owned by Indian-American entrepreneur Sanjay Govil, have Cricket New South Wales as their high-performance partner. Unicorns, owned by Anand Rajaraman and Venky Harinarayan, have a strategic partnership with Cricket Victoria. The league is soon to expand with New Zealand Cricket coming on board as investors and set to part-own one of the new teams in 2027.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

What else is new?

Four of the six teams have new captains in MLC 2025. Nicholas Pooran, who had recently retired from international cricket at the age of 29, has been named MINY’s new captain while his former West Indies team-mate Jason Holder will lead LA Knight Riders. With Holder set to miss LAKR’s first two games because of international commitments, Sunil Narine will stand in as the franchise’s captain. Holder will join the LAKR side ahead of their third match against Freedom.Related

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Freedom will also have a new captain, with Glenn Maxwell taking over from Steven Smith, who will only make a brief appearance this season. Having also retired from international cricket, Heinrich Klaasen will take charge of Orcas while Unicorns have retained Corey Anderson as their captain. Super Kings, who are big on continuity and consistency across leagues, have retained Faf du Plessis as their captain.The league also has a new CEO, with Johnny Grave replacing Vijay Srinivasan ahead of the new season, as it prepares for its expansion. Grave is a key figure in cricket administration, having most recently served as CEO at CWI for seven years. He was previously the commercial director at the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) in England.

Any other exciting new additions?

David Warner is set for his maiden MLC stint, having signed with Orcas. Warner, however, is a familiar face for the franchise, having played for them in other leagues: IPL (Delhi Capitals) and ILT20 (Dubai Capitals).David Warner will play in the MLC for the first time•Getty ImagesAustralia’s Mitchell Owen, among the most sought-after names in T20 cricket right now following his barnstorming century in the BBL final in January earlier this year, will reunite with coach Ricky Ponting at Freedom, having already worked with him at Hobart Hurricanes and Punjab Kings. Also watch out for Sherfane Rutherford, who is gearing up for his MLC debut with LAKR after impressing in franchise leagues around the world, including the IPL.Then there is New Zealand tearaway Ben Sears, who will join Owen at Freedom. Sears was also on Ponting’s radar at one point as a potential replacement for Lockie Ferguson at PBKS in the IPL. This will be Sears’ chance to announce himself to the franchise world.

Are Afghanistan players available?

While Rashid Khan and Azmatullah Omarzai (both MINY) have opted out of the tournament, Naveen-ul-Haq (MINY), Noor Ahmad (TSK) and Waqar Salamkheil (Orcas) have joined their respective teams after doubts emerged over the participation of Afghanistan players owing to the travel ban imposed by the US government.Two other Afghanistan players – Gulbadin Naib and Fazalhaq Farooqi, who play for Orcas – are understood to be awaiting visas to travel to play in MLC.USA’s Saurabh Netravalkar is the MLC’s second-highest wicket-taker•MLC

Tell me about some domestic players to keep an eye on

It’s hard to look past Saurabh Netravalkar, the left-arm seamer who even made it to the IPL 2024 auction shortlist after his out-of-office spells for USA and Freedom. He is the highest wicket-taker among USA players in the MLC, with 25 strikes in 13 matches at an economy rate of 7.49, and the second highest overall.Among the young batters, Saiteja Mukkamalla (TSK) could make his MLC bow this season after producing outstanding numbers for USA in T20Is: the 21-year-old averages over 40 and has a strike rate of nearly 153 after 18 T20Is. Sanjay Krishnamurthi, who turned 22 earlier this month, is another serious talent in the Unicorns side with a wide array of shots in his repertoire.Don’t forget Agni Chopra, who became the first batter to score centuries in his first four first-class games. Agni has since ended his Indian domestic career with Mizoram and has moved to the USA, attracting the attention of MINY. Agni, 26, is the son of film critic Anupama Chopra and filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra, who made the popular movie .

What is the format of the league?

Like most franchise leagues, the MLC will first have a round-robin league stage. The top two teams will meet in the Qualifier, with the winners of that match advancing to the final.The third and fourth-placed teams will meet in the Eliminator. The winner of the Eliminator will face the team that loses the Qualifier in the Challenger, where the second finalist will be decided.

Is there a clash with any other league?

Of course, the MLC overlaps with the T20 Blast in England and some international fixtures, including the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) final at Lord’s. The MLC, though, has avoided a clash with the Hundred this season after the two leagues had overlapped by six days in 2024.

But “life has changed quite a lot after those five sixes”, he admits after a Player-of-the-Match award for his first international innings

Shashank Kishore22-Aug-2023Alur, July 6, 2023. It’s a day after India’s squad for the T20Is in the Caribbean was named. Rinku Singh, who was seemingly in with a fair chance of making the cut, has missed out. But as he walks off the field after play in a Duleep Trophy game, there’s a distinct sense of calm around him. He indulges in some banter and mimicry that earns peals of laughter from his team-mates. It’s as if he’s wired to not think or worry about the things he can’t control.A handful of journalists present at the venue put in a request through a member of Central Zone’s support staff for a chat with Rinku. He declines politely. You couldn’t possibly have branded him arrogant or rude; he is just a shy person. Perhaps Rinku knew questions over his non-selection would come up.”He’s disappointed, but he says he’s seen far more challenges,” a support staff member told us. “Not getting picked for West Indies isn’t a cause for dejection. He wants to enjoy his game and do well here in Bangalore. He’s happy to speak later.”Related

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Later didn’t come in the two weeks he spent in Bengaluru for the Duleep Trophy. What did, however, was an India call-up, first for the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, and then the T20Is in Ireland.As mentioned, Rinku is a man of few words even when he does speak. Like you saw at the post-match presentation ceremony in the second T20I against Ireland, when he was awarded the Player-of-the-Match award for a superb 38 off 21 balls.It was an innings of two parts. Initially, he took his time and set himself up, in the face of a mini-collapse, knowing well that India didn’t have much batting after No. 8. Then when he got to a position where he knew he had to go, there was clarity in his striking plans and the areas he wanted to pick.For 15 deliveries, Rinku had gone at a run-a-ball. Barring the one boundary off a ferocious sweep to legspinner Ben White, he seemed content nudging and milking singles. But in the 19th over, he got stuck into Barry McCarthy, first scything a wide yorker with precision behind point for four and then reading a slower offcutter early and depositing it beyond long-on for six.Rinku has a strong base; there aren’t too many premeditated movements to try and throw bowlers off. It’s the belief in his power to clear the ground that drives him. The effect of those hits was McCarthy suddenly feeling the pressure – he delivered two successive wides in trying to second guess the batter.

“Life has changed quite a lot after those five sixes. People only remember me because of that. It feels good”Rinku Singh

After that, perhaps a little frazzled, McCarthy ended up erring in length as he attempted another wide yorker. Having carved one behind point, Rinku knew with the third fielder quite square, he had to pick his spot. He did, showing remarkable timing and placement in the process as he went inside-out over extra cover to clear the longest boundary. The over went for 22 and India had the momentum on their side.Rinku’s innings helped Shivam Dube, too. From 9 off 13, he began the final over with two sixes. When the third ball went for a single, the Indians in the crowd went quite ballistic. Their man, Rinku, was on strike, and he didn’t disappoint as he sent one sailing over deep-backward square. The wrist, the pick-up, the muscle – all excellent.The fun ended next ball when he top-edged a pull, but he’d transformed a middling 160 score into a potentially match-winning 185.Rinku’s manner of flicking a switch from accumulator to beast was a proper throwback to that knock in Ahmedabad, when his career, and perhaps more, turned around. The quiet, shy Rinku, an afterthought in an XI boasting T20 legends such as Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, was suddenly at the front and centre of Kolkata Knight Riders’ plans.But, contrary to perception, Rinku isn’t an IPL wonder. As tempting as it may be to bracket his India call-up to his IPL 2023 exploits, it does little justice to the work he has put in at the domestic level for Uttar Pradesh.Rinku Singh isn’t an IPL baby – he averages close to 58 in first-class cricket and has been a star in India’s domestic circuit•Ekana cricket mediaIn the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy season, for example, Rinku was the second-highest run-scorer in the Elite division. He scored 953 runs in 13 innings at an astounding average of 105.88. This included four centuries and three half-centuries. At the List A Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2021-22, Rinku single-handedly steered Uttar Pradesh into the knockouts, notching up 379 runs in six innings, including four half-centuries and a century, at a strike rate of 94.75.These underline his all-format stature and how it isn’t just that one innings that propelled him to the national team. What it did give him, though, was visibility, which his toil and all the runs at the domestic level didn’t. It makes a massive difference, and Rinku knows all about it.”Life has changed quite a lot after those five sixes,” Rinku told the BCCI website when asked by Ravi Bishnoi about fans rooting for him in Dublin. “People only remember me because of that. It feels good.”Rinku has seen his fair share of struggles, but his modest upbringing has given him enough perspective about life – he knows that fame can be fickle. And when he takes the field on Wednesday, it’s likely he will be over Sunday’s performance.There’s a T20 World Cup coming up next year, and Rinku may have personal aspirations of making the squad. But it’s unlikely to make him lose sleep; just like being a run-a-ball 15 amid a slowdown in Dublin on Sunday didn’t.

Their attack, promising on paper, proved to have neither much bark nor bite against the Indian top five

Firdose Moonda26-Dec-20211:21

What went wrong for South Africa’s bowlers?

It’s flat. The pitch and the bowling.South Africa’s Test summer began lethargically as their attack, promising on paper, proved to have neither much bark nor bite against the Indian top five.Maybe it’s not entirely unexpected.This is South Africa’s least experienced pace pack in terms of Test wickets in a home Test against India since 1997. Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Wiaan Mulder and debutant Marco Jansen had 259 Test wickets between them before this Test started, and 213 of them belonged to Rabada. Compare that to the 976 Test wickets South Africa’s quicks had under their belts in the first Test of the last series they played against India at home, in 2018, and it’s not difficult to see why there was a vast difference in performance.There was also, of course, a vast difference in personnel and conditions. Three years ago, South Africa fielded an XI that included Rabada, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel and it was the first and only time they played together. More’s the pity it wasn’t at the Wanderers although that Newlands surface had a decent amount of grass on it, and with rain in the air, the ball moved around. This pitch is not as sporting.”The wicket did less than we thought it was going to do,” Lungi Ngidi said. “I expected a bit more swing.”Instead, it was slow upfront and South Africa were unable to find the right lengths for most of the first session. They sent down a combination of too wide, too straight and too full and did not make the Indian openers play enough. Collectively, they produced only 22 false strokes in 28 overs in the morning session, and 60 in the entire day, which is not even one an over.Which brings us to the first question we need to ask about their approach on the first day:Why didn’t South Africa pick Duanne Olivier?Not only is Olivier the leading wicket-taker in the domestic first-class competition this season but he has bowled more overs in red-ball cricket in the last six months than anyone else in the squad, and a heck of a lot more than Rabada or Ngidi, who had delivered none before today. Although Olivier left South Africa on a Kolpak deal with a reputation for being able to bowl short but not offer too much else, he has returned with a different skill set and has proved his ability to pitch it up on Highveld surfaces. Olivier now plays his cricket at the Wanderers, where he has taken 24 of the 28 wickets he has in the four-day competition, and where he has shown himself to be a match-winner for the table-topping Lions.South Africa know he possesses all these qualities. Dean Elgar said as much earlier in the week and so did bowling coach Charl Langeveldt. Speaking to ESPNcricinfo ahead of this series, Langeveldt said, “He has changed. He used to be an enforcer, now he has more controlled aggression so he can do both roles: where he can hold the run rate, keep it down, and take wickets. With the new ball, he gives us the option where he can take it away from the right-hand batter and then he has got the change-up, the wobbler.”2:31

Did South Africa make the right choice in Marco Jansen over Duanne Olivier?

Sounds good but not good enough for the series opener. Instead, South Africa opted to give 2.06 metre-tall left-arm quick Jansen a debut, banking on his variation to give them an advantage. It was a gamble, considering Jansen’s lack of experience (19 first-class caps), India’s recent history which shows a distinct lack of struggle against left-arm fast bowlers, and the sense of occasion, especially as it was just four years ago that a teenage Jansen was starstruck and taking selfies with the Indian players in the nets. Then, Jansen beat Kohi three times in a row; today, he managed it twice in between some shorter deliveries and several aimed at the pads. While there is no doubting that Jansen is talented and could go on to play many matches for South Africa, he was too inconsistent to properly threaten the batters, and so, the reason for his selection, especially against the backdrop of Olivier’s availability, must be looked at.Cricket South Africa confirmed that Olivier is fully fit and there are no niggles that kept him sidelined. Ngidi didn’t know why Olivier was overlooked. “It was probably a senior call,” Ngidi said. “Even myself, having not played cricket in a while, I didn’t know if I could get the nod but we pick the team that we think is best going to give us the result.”Selection convener Victor Mpitsang was asked for the reason Olivier was not included but responded only to extend festive greetings and did not offer any further explanation. That can only leave us to wonder if Olivier had to be benched because he was not able to source a Test cap after framing his when he took a Kolpak deal in 2018. (Disclaimer: that’s not really what we think).Jansen’s inability to create sustained periods of pressure left it up to the rest of the attack to attempt to both control and attack and in trying to do both, they succeeded in neither. Though South Africa were much improved after lunch, and bowled more on a good length or just short of it and made India’s batters play more, it took a moment of sheer luck to drag them back into the game. How HawkEye saw that the Ngidi delivery that slid in from middle stump and beat Mayank Agarwal’s inside edge was clipping leg stump is anyone’s guess but it gave South Africa a breakthrough.They had clearly planned for what came next. Elgar placed Keegan Petersen at backward short leg, further back than usual, for Cheteshwar Pujara, who lunged forward to defend and inside-edged onto his pad to give Petersen the catch. And that’s where our next question must be asked: Why couldn’t South Africa capitalise on that passage of play? The answer may lie in how they chose to (not) use their spearhead, Rabada.Did Dean Elgar get his bowling changes right on the first day?•AFP/Getty ImagesAfter Ngidi’s double-strike, Jansen was brought on at the other end to bowl to Kohli and was then replaced by Keshav Maharaj, while Mulder took over from Ngidi. At a time when South Africa should have been searching for wickets, they did not call on Rabada. At that stage, he had delivered 13 overs, six in his opening spell and seven in a later spell, broken into five and two by the lunch interval. Although his post-lunch work finished four overs before Ngidi’s wickets, it may have been prudent to bring him back for a quick burst.Rabada only returned after tea, where he found some late swing and peppered KL Rahul with short balls in his most impressive but also most expensive spell. He overstepped four times in those four overs, which cost 20 runs and was not used again until the second new ball when he changed ends and delivered a further three overs. In total, Rabada delivered 20 overs, more than any of the other seamers but South Africa may want to consider if they used him in the most effective way.They can ask the same questions about almost every aspect of their performance on the opening day of their international season, from selections to strategy, and will realise if they don’t come up with some answers soon, it could be a very long, tough summer.Already, this match could get long. Ngidi remains hopeful South Africa can dismiss India for “anything under 350,” but acknowledged they all need to bowl a bit more like Rabada to tie India up.”It is a good deck if you bat properly. The fuller balls don’t do as much. You’ve really got to be accurate with your lengths. KG showed us that with good discipline, the game goes nowhere,” Ngidi said. And with where South Africa are now, nowhere could be good enough.