Everton have now reportedly joined the race to sign a Premier League ace, who is looking to leave his current club when the January transfer window swings open.

Everton join race to land Jack Grealish repeat

Everton finally got things right on the transfer front in the summer window. After years of transfer flops, the likes of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Jack Grealish have ended the curse by thriving ever since joining up with David Moyes’ side.

Grealish has particularly impressed, getting back to his best following a much-needed loan move away from Manchester City. The golden rule is never fall in love with a loan player, but the England international seems to adore those in Merseyside just as much as they adore him.

Related Haaland loves him: Everton join race to sign UCL goalscorer who wants PL move

He’s enjoying an impressive season.

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He recently told reporters: “I always have a connection with fans at every club. I’ve got an unbelievable one with the Everton fans.

“I spoke to the manager a lot on FaceTime over the summer and it felt right. He’s helped me to get back to my level. I’m playing and training with enjoyment. It’s been the perfect fit.”

It’s only right, then, that The Friedkin Group are already looking to repeat their genius by signing more stars who are struggling at the top of the Premier League.

Ahead of the January transfer window, the Toffees have already been linked with Chelsea’s Tyrique George. The young forward has fallen down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge this season and Everton could take full advantage.

But he’s not the only young star on their shortlist. According to Il Mattino, as relayed by CN24 and Sport Witness, Everton have now joined the race to sign Kobbie Mainoo on loan from Manchester United next month. The Carrington graduate is keen to secure a loan move away from Old Trafford and the Merseyside club could offer him exactly that.

Everton should go all out to sign Mainoo

It’s been a tumultuous time for the Mainoo since the arrival of Rubem Amorim. A player who was so highly rated by Erik ten Hag and someone who had an FA Cup final goal to his name against rivals Manchester City has become nothing more than a frustrated substitute under the former Sporting CP boss.

Amorim denied Mainoo the chance to leave on loan in the summer, telling the 20-year-old to simply fight for his place, but is yet to hand his academy graduate the chance to land a knockout blow.

Amorim’s trash could quickly become David Moyes’ treasure, however, especially if Mainoo gets back to his best. It was only in 2024 that Paul Scholes compared the Man United man to the great Zinedine Zidane and that Rasmus Hojlund described him as “generational”. Now, Everton could land an incredible January coup for a player once valued at £79m last September.

Richarlison repeat: Everton set sights on signing "impeccable" Brazilian

There are obvious parallels to Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie’s departure from Arsenal. Both left in search of trophies, one way or another. Where Fabregas had the fortune of joining up with his childhood club who were more than likely to offer him that much-craved slice of silverware in the near future (two games, in fact), van Persie had little in the way of options other than to join the “enemy,” though he was unlikely to label Manchester United as such when he made the switch.

Yet there are unlikely to be parallels to both players now. Arsenal fans have tagged van Persie as a traitor for joining United, while Fabregas would still be welcomed back to the Emirates despite his less than savoury departure in 2011. Now that both former Arsenal captains have their trophy – though they’d be more than inspired to make a charge on the Champions League – there would be little reason for Fabregas to join up with United instead of returning to Arsenal.

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At this stage in Fabregas’ career, he can afford to take his time on the matter; the desperation to marry his talents with trophies isn’t as strong as it once was. His age also allows him to take a little care with his next option – that is, of course, if he does actually leave Barcelona this summer.

It would be foolish to take most of what a modern footballer says to heart. Fabregas had mentioned in the past that he would only play for Arsenal if he found his way back to the Premier League – and surrounding circumstances do offer him a little weight in what he says. One of the exceptions to the rule.

What is also being ignored in this whirlwind of panic (because that’s sort of what it is) is that Fabregas has reportedly been in contact with Arsene Wenger for much of the past two years. The new financial strength of Arsenal means the club can indeed afford to buy the player back for £25 million if Fabregas chooses to leave the Camp Nou. Perhaps even more than Barcelona, Arsenal is Fabregas’ football home. Where is the need to join Manchester United? The similarities between him and van Persie have quickly come to an end.

One of the big issues surrounding Fabregas’ departure from Arsenal was the lack of support he had in terms of high-end players. The pressure was very much on him alone, especially with van Persie consistently picking up injuries and Samir Nasri only really coming to the fore on a regular basis in his final season with the club. A lot of that has changed now.

Even the club’s current star in Jack Wilshere can’t find a regular place in the team. Santi Cazorla has taken a lot of Fabregas’ creative responsibility on board and added goals to this Arsenal side too. Mikel Arteta is the mature figure in the midfield that the club have often lacked during Fabregas’ time, while Lukas Podolski and Per Mertesacker are among a number of other leaders in the squad. The makeup of this Arsenal team is vastly different to the one Fabregas left, and that is yet to count the new arrivals of this summer’s window.

Let’s hold off in labelling Cesc a traitor before anything is set in stone. There has been nothing thus far, whether over the past 24 hours or over the past year that suggests the player would be open to a move to Old Trafford. What it does seem like, however, is that United missed the boat on Thiago and are now going in for the other option in Fabregas. I also wouldn’t completely discount Barcelona in selling Fabregas this summer too, as there is so much on record that supports the notion that the club have been run horribly under Sandro Rosell.

Fabregas has got his league trophy from Spain and a host of smaller cups starting with the Spanish and UEFA Super Cups. Yet he, like most Arsenal fans, understands that there is unfinished business in north London. A move back to England could be on the cards – and the “could” is incredibly stressed – but I’m not entirely convinced Fabregas is weighing up the option of Manchester.

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Goa ended the rain affected second day at 100 for 6 in the second innings,still requiring 106 runs to avoid an innings defeat against Andhra in theCooch Behar Trophy (Under-19) tournament match at the Rajendra PrasadStadium in Margao on Saturday.Play started only at 12.50 and Goa, resuming at the overnight score of 43for 2, were skittled out for 94 in their first innings in reply to Andhra’s300 for three declared. Gautham Narvekar was the first to be dismissed whenhe was run out. The new batsman Sagun departed soon to become Shankar Rao’sfirst victim of the innings. Thereafter wickets kept falling at regularintervals as the Goan batsmen could not tackle the Andhra attack. Beforelong Mohd Faiq (4 for 24) and G Shankar Rao (5 for 17) ran through the side.Following on, Goa started off with openers Robin D’souza (23) and GauthamNarvekar (18) putting on 28 runs off 6.3 overs. Then with the score at 31,Goa lost Sahil Dhuri caught behind off Venugopal Rao. Following this, a43-run third wicket stand ensued between Gautham and Adithya Angle (29)which took the score to 73. At this stage, Adithya was caught by AS Varmaoff Shankar Rao. Gautham departed five balls later off the bowling of MohdFaiq. Wickets kept falling thereafter and Goa were in a hopeless positionwhen stumps were drawn.

Anil Kumble is stumped by Simon Guy Photo © AllSport

With Leicestershire ending the day on 286 for 8, both sides can be fairly happywith their days work. Darren Lehmann, the acting Yorkshire Captain, used his limited bowling resources well, inhibiting Leicestershire progressing at a quicker rate.The slow pitch conditions proved difficult to score on but through patienceand determination there were some notable performances by the Leicestershirebatsmen. Darren Maddy showing that he maybe coming into some kind of formand Aftab Habib continuing such form that brought him into the EnglandSelectors thoughts only last year.Both Chris Silverwood and Gavin Hamilton bowled loosely at times but bothpicked up crucial wickets. Hamilton had Darren Stevens trapped L.B.W for 49 just after the tea interval leaving Leicestershire on 222-6. Stevens played with great containment showing a different and more mature side to his game.Leicestershire finished the day on 286-8 having gone off for bad light with8 overs still remaining.Ian Fisher, the slow left arm spinner, finished the day with the best bowlingfigures, which can only be good news for the home side with 2 spinners at theirdisposal – Anil Kumble and Carl Crowe.When the players went off for bad light Leicestershire were 286-8.

	Dilip Vengsarkar: “We felt that by watching the second half of the tournament, we would get a fair idea of the form and fitness of players” © Getty Images

The Indian national selectors are waiting for the green signal from the BCCI before they fly out to venues of the Indian Premier League to monitor the fitness and form of players who are in the mix for the tri-nation one-day series in Bangladesh, starting on June 8.Dilip Vengsarkar, the chairman of the selection panel, confirmed that he has submitted a proposed itinerary to the board for the five selectors to be present at various IPL matches.”It’s not that only those playing for IPL will be selected. But we felt that by watching the second half of the tournament, we would get a fair idea of the form and fitness of players,” Vengsarkar said.The seven-day tri-series, also involving Pakistan and hosts Bangladesh, starts a week after the IPL final in Mumbai on June 1 and is expected to serve as a warm-up for the Asia Cup in Pakistan, starting on June 24.On Tuesday night, Sourav Ganguly, the skipper of IPL’s Kolkata Knight Riders who was recently dropped from the one-day squad, had hoped he was one of the contenders for a slot. Asked about his “youthful” display in the win over the Delhi Daredevils, the 35-year-old Ganguly replied: “Yes, I hope the national selectors are watching.”

ScorecardJoe Leach took a hat-trick from the first three balls of the match (file photo)•Getty Images

Worcestershire Rapids allrounder Joe Leach took a hat-trick from the first three balls of the match but finished on the losing side as Northamptonshire Steelbacks edged home by 21 runs in the Royal London Cup at New Road.In a gripping, low-scoring game on an unpredictable pitch, Northamptonshire reached a creditable 126 – despite having been 19 for 6 – and carried on their recovery with Azharullah taking 4 for 22 as the home side were dismissed for 105 in the 32nd over.Leach’s feat is not unique in modern times. In 2003 Sri Lanka’s Chaminda Vaas – who played county cricket for both Northamptonshire and Worcestershire – began a World Cup match with three wickets in three balls against Bangladesh in Pietermaritzburg.Softened up by the opening salvo, Northamptonshire staggered into further trouble, losing three wickets to Jack Shantry before the lower order – starting with Rory Kleinveldt’s 33 from 39 balls – kept them in the contest.Leach’s first two wickets came from new-ball seam movement as Richard Levi and Rob Keogh edged to wicketkeeper Ben Cox and Ben Duckett was third out when steering a shorter delivery to Shantry at gully.The 24-year-old Leach came back to end Josh Cobb’s stubborn resistance, the opener edging to slip after making 31 out of 99 by the 27th over. Leach and Shantry both returned personal-best figures in one-day competitions.The parade of ducks at the top of the Northants order was followed by another unusual event as play was held up for a few minutes when a low-flying swan made at least half-a-dozen circuits of the playing area. The delay was of no help to the Steelbacks. Their heads still in a daze, another procession followed with three wickets in 11 balls for Shantry.With the pitch providing some disconcerting bounce, the game could easily have been over by lunch but for a let-off for Kleinveldt when he had made only 8. If Tom Fell had held a low chance at third slip off Shantry, Northants would have been 27 for 7.Instead the South Africa international clouted seven fours in a partnership of 50 in 12.2 overs with Cobb. A top edge looping to mid-on did for Kleinveldt in Ed Barnard’s first over but Graeme White and Olly Stone scrambled what proved to be decisive runs.Although Worcestershire avoided a calamitous start, wickets soon began to fall and at 48 for 6 in the 22nd over, when Daryl Mitchell was caught on the leg-side off Azharullah for 18, the Rapids were in as much trouble as the Steelbacks had been.Leach then took centre stage again, sparking a spirited comeback by making 21 with five fours until top-edging to third man, but wickets continued to tumble. The innings and a brave effort by Cox ended when the wicketkeeper skied Kleinveldt to deep cover after making 36, the top score of the day.

Scorecard1:16

Sciver rises above poor batting

It was a game too late to change the outcome of the Women’s Ashes, but England finally produced the run-chase they required to defeat their Australian counterparts.Just three days after failing to chase down 108 at Hove – they were bowled out for 87 – in a match they had to win to keep the Ashes alive, England secured victory by five-wickets and with 11 balls to spare in Cardiff. It means they win the T20 section of the multi-points series 2-1 – no mean feat against the world No. 1 side who, until a week ago, were undefeated in 16 successive T20I games – but with the Ashes already gone (the final margin is 10-6), that will be of little consolation.England were indebted to Natalie Sciver for marshalling their run chase. The 23-year-old, who clearly has a huge future in the middle-order of a brittle batting unit, came to the crease with her side precariously placed once again – they were 22 for 3 at one stage – but produced a clam, polished innings to take her side to the brink of victory. She hit the first boundary of the innings in the fifth over, a nicely timed flick off her pads, and the only six when she skipped down the wicket to loft Jess Jonassen back over her head.Earlier, Sciver had also claimed her career-best T20I figures. Gentle of pace, but showing admirable control, Sciver benefited from a series of ill-advised strokes on a sluggish pitch where it was always likely to prove difficult to hit over the top.But it was Anya Shrubsole who set the tone in the field for England. Her opening spell – 4 for 11 in four overs – reduced Australia to 25 for 4 and they never fully recovered. She struck twice in her first over – a fine inswinger beating the tentative push of Meg Lanning – while three balls later Elyse Villani played across the line and saw her leading edge loop to point. In all Shrubsole bowled 18 dots balls and only conceded seven runs off the bat.That Australia were able to set anything like a competitive total was largely due to a stand of 36 from 23 balls from Alyssa Healy and Grace Harris. Harris, an impressively powerful batsman, struck three sixes – the only three of the innings – with a Danny Hazell full toss despatched over midwicket, a length delivery from Katherine Brunt clipped in the same direction and a pretty respectable ball from Rebecca Grundy being slog-swept.Perhaps Australia, with the Ashes already sealed, lacked some of the intensity they had shown earlier in the summer. Not only will they be disappointed with their batting for the second game in succession, but they donated 16 wides to England’s total which, against a batting line-up clearly suffering from a lack of confidence, could have been crucial.But this has been a fine tour for them and confirmation that, after the first series between fully professional international women’s teams, that they are the team to beat.The stuttering start to England’s run-chase will ensure that this victory does not mask the obvious cracks in their batting. They were exemplified by the decision to promote Danni Wyatt, selected as a batsman despite more than 90 international matches without making a half-century, to opener and the use of Brunt, whose improvement with the bat comes in stark contrast to the performance of his top-order colleagues, at No.5 throughout the T20 series.But if England are to enjoy better results, they will require more consistent performances from the likes of Charlotte Edwards, Sarah Taylor – who was the victim of an outstanding catch here by Healy, who clung on to an under-edge standing up to the stumps – and Heather Knight.

With three weeks remaining for the start of the Ranji Trophy 2015-16, Jammu & Kashmir cricket is mired in another controversy with warring factions claiming rights to pick squads for various domestic tournaments.Players are being pulled in different directions by two rival factions, who have been conducting parallel selection trials and preparatory camps over the past month in Srinagar. While the newly elected body at Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association, headed by J&K sports minister Iqbal Raza Ansari, has been conducting preparatory camps at the Sher-e-Kashmir stadium, the Farooq Abdullah group, which has managed to get a stay order on the elections results, has also announced parallel selection trials at the Kashmir University grounds. The confusion has left players concerned over their future.Abdullah, the former chief minister and long-time head of JKCA, was defeated in the election in July, but still managed to get a stay on the election results. The J&K High Court is likely to pass an order on the issue this week, which would clear the confusion.The players, however, are desperate for a clear direction. Samiullah Beigh, J&K’s seniormost player and fast bowler, hoped for the BCCI’s intervention. “It would be better if the BCCI comes up with a statement because players who are missing can then come and join us.”A BCCI official, however, clarified that the board cannot interfere in internal affairs of any of its member units. The BCCI, according to him, can only interfere if any of the aggrieved parties complain to them.Barring two players – wicketkeeper Obaid Haroon and fast bowler Umar Nazir – majority of the players who featured in last year’s Ranji squad have been reporting to the camp organised by the Ansari faction.Beigh said that most of the players had been training at the camp for about a month. “We have been playing trial matches and training and attending fitness camps continuously at the Sher-e-Kashmir stadium for a month or so now.”Beigh agreed that the Abdullah faction had attempted to get players to attend the camp, but did not think the players were confused by the scenario: “No, because the preparations are going as usual at the JKCA headquarters and players are attending this.”Told about the BCCI official’s reaction, one of the senior players, who requested anonymity, asked which faction the BCCI was supporting. “Who are they supporting? If the elections were held and the Ansari group has come to power how can the court overrule this?”He also said that the Abdullah faction was trying to create stumbling blocks that did not exist. “The other faction is trying to create confusion by saying the Sher-e-Kashmir is not ready, and BCCI should displace all the home matches away. But we have played two-day and three-day trial matches for more than a month now. The conditions are perfect. There is no need for shifting the matches.”The Abdullah faction, on the other hand, blamed the Ansari group for creating confusion. “We have got a court order to stay the election, so they don’t have any right to select the team. Just because they want to create confusion, they have organised selection trials and have announced Mithun Manhas as captain-coach. If Manhas wants to play, he will have to attend the official selection trials,” ML Nehru, a member of the Abdullah faction, said.Nehru, also a BCCI vice-president, claimed his group was taking players into confidence. “We have started our selection process and next week, the selection committee appointed by the executive committee will select the team for the Ranji Trophy. No doubt the players are confused but we have been doing our best to help them understand they need not worry about anything. Despite the two factions, there is only one official association and the players should to stick to the body,” Nehru said.Iqbal Shah, the general secretary elected during the July election and the spokesperson of the Ansari group, remained unavailable for a comment.Another question that remains unanswered is who will coach the J&K team. Sunil Joshi, the former Karnataka and India left-arm spinner, was the coach last year. Despite playing all their home matches outside their state due to the preceding floods, J&K produced mixed results under Joshi. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, J&K managed three wins in five games but finished last in Group A in the Ranji Trophy, winning just one game in eight matches.Joshi, currently playing in the Karnataka Premier League, was also unavailable for comment. It is understood he is still looking forward to continuing his role as J&K coach. However the Ansari faction, it is learned, is looking forward to having former Delhi veteran Manhas play the mentor-cum-coach role. Manhas has been training with the players at Sher-e-Kashmir, but no formal announcement has yet been made about the coach and captain for the season.

ScorecardFile photo – Dhawal Kulkarni’s patient 39, part of a 103-run sixth wicket stand with Siddhesh Lad, ensured Mumbai weren’t bowled out cheaply•Sportz Solutions

Three hundred and twenty two runs. Fifteen wickets. An outstanding exhibition by three players, each specialising in pace bowling, batting and spin bowling ensured a topsy-turvy, action-packed day between Mumbai and Tamil Nadu.More importantly, with Tamil Nadu leading by 213 for the loss of seven wickets, it has set up a thrilling finish on the last day at the Mumbai Cricket Association’s facility at Bandra-Kurla Complex.Despite the presence of some accomplished players in both teams, the day belonged to three underrated cricketers from both the teams. M Mohammed, the new-ball bowler from Dindigul, broke the back of Mumbai’s middle order to leave them stranded at 52 for 5 in the first half hour. Siddhesh Lad, who is better known as the son of Rohit Sharma’s childhood coach, then played a blinder under pressure to give some veneer to Mumbai’s innings.Vishal Dabholkar then changed the course of the game that was set to be dragged into a boring draw with his second five-for of the match to bring Mumbai right back into the game. Thanks to Dabholkar’s spell of 13-2-41-5 with the new ball, Tamil Nadu were left tottering at 73 for 7, despite leading by 140 runs in the first innings, to leave the game wide open, with the last 96 overs to be bowled on Sunday.Mohammed found the perfect line, pitching in the zone of uncertainty right from the word go. In the third over of the day, he first forced left-handed batsman Shrideep Mangela to edge one to B Aparajith at gully. Three balls later, he induced a faint edge off Suryakumar Yadav’s bat to Dinesh Karthik.As if the damage done was not enough, in his next over he made Mumbai captain Aditya Tare also nick to Karthik. At 52 for 5, with nightwatchman Dhawal Kulkarni hanging on at one end, Mumbai were staring down the barrel. In came Lad and changed the complexion of the game.On the Mumbai maidans and in his short stint in first-class cricket, Lad has a reputation of being the crisis man for his side. And the stage was set for him to enhance it. He did it with a near-flawless innings by scoring more than half of Mumbai’s total of 294.The diminutive batsman started playing strokes from the word go and displayed the wide range of strokes in his arsenal. When the pacers pitched it full, he pounced on it with drives. Whenever they drifted on to his pads, he played elegant flicks, one of which sailed over the square-leg boundary.While facing the spin duo of Malolan Rangarajan and Rahil Shah, Lad displayed his strong footwork by cutting, sweeping and charging down the wicket at will. He had no fear in going aerial too, hitting seven sixes, more than half of which were hit while taking on a fielder on the boundary line.The best of his sixes came after lunch, even after losing Kulkarni, who hung on for a valuable 103-run partnership, when he played an inside-out drive off Mohammed that sailed over wide long-off.Even after the wicket of Kulkarni in the second over after lunch, Lad didn’t hold back, with Abhishek Raut, Shardul Thakur and Balwinder Sandhu lending valuable support. By the time he played his first false stroke, an uppish drive off Shah that went straight to B Indrajith at mid-off, Lad had raised his bat for a splendid 150.Then came the remarkable turnaround. For the second match in succession, Tare opened the second innings with a left-arm spinner. While the move with Harmeet Singh didn’t work last week against Punjab, it paid rich dividends this time around.Dabholkar first bore the brunt of M Vijay, who used his feet and hit two straight sixes over the bowler’s head, in successive overs. However, with Thakur having cleaned up Aparajith in the third over, Tare persisted with Dabholkar.And the move paid off as Dabholkar’s quickish left-arm spin looked unplayable on a wicket that hadn’t deteriorated much. He beat Kaushik Gandhi with a straight ball to trap him lbw even before he could complete a forward defensive push. Four overs later, Karthik made the mistake of attempting a defensive stroke off the back foot only to be hit plumb in front.In his next over, he forced a nick off stand-in captain B Indrajith’s bat to Shreyas Iyer at second slip. Around 20 minutes later, R Prasanna was dropped by Suryakumar at first slip. Three balls later, Dabholkar got the prized scalp of Vijay, who hung his bat around the off stump to offer a sharp catch to Tare, for 29.And in Dabholkar’s next over, Prasanna was enticed into edging it again, to find Iyer at second slip. That was Dabholkar’s tenth wicket of the match. At 53 for 6, Tamil Nadu were in desperate need of some runs.While Rangarajan drove fluently, J Kousik couldn’t capitalise on a reprieve by Iyer off Dabholkar. The allrounder’s mis-timed pull off Thakur was easily taken by Kulkarni at mid-on to leave Tamil Nadu reeling at 71 for 7.

ScorecardFile photo: Haryana’s seamers played a containing role, allowing the spinners to trigger Karnataka’s collapse in Mysore

Haryana took control of their fixture against Karnataka in Mysore after the defending champions were bowled out for 221 to concede a 110-run lead. Rahul Dewan and Nitin Saini then saw off nine overs late in the day as Haryana ended the day at 27 without loss, ahead by 137, to take pole position, one from where they can entertain thoughts of forcing their first outright win of the season.KL Rahul top-scored with 63 to steady Karnataka after the early loss of Robin Uthappa, but his run-out soon after lunch triggered a slide. Jayant Yadav, who struck his second first-class century on Thursday, broke Karnataka’s back in the middle. He had the vital strikes of the well-set R Samarth (30) and Karun Nair (28), before part-time offspinner Rahul Dagar ran through the tail by picking up three wickets in an over as Karnataka’s innings came to a grinding halt in 75.4 overs.CM Gautam, the vice-captain, tried to resurrect the innings but regular loss of wickets at the other end prevented Karnataka’s late quest towards parity. Vinay Kumar, the captain, resisted for 65 deliveries and made 34 during the course of a 67-run stand for the seventh wicket, the highest of Karnataka’s innings. Earlier in the day, HS Sharath, who picked up a hat-trick on Thursday, picked up his first five-wicket haul of the season, finish with figures of 5 for 48.
ScorecardA lower-order collapse undid all the good work done by Sudip Chatterjee (116) and Wriddhiman Saha (72) as Bengal collapsed from 286 for 4 to 357 all out at Feroz Shah Kotla. Delhi then overcame a top-order wobble before Nitish Rana (30*) and Milind Kumar (20*) repaired the early damage, with the unbroken third-wicket stand of 54 taking them to 100 for 3 at stumps.Bengal looked set for a bigger score than they eventually finished with as they lost both set batsmen – Chatterjee (116) and Saha (72) – in the first half hour to hand Delhi the advantage. But Ashok Dinda dismissed Gautam Gambhir early to give Bengal an opening. Pragyan Ojha then got into the act to dismiss the in-form Unmukt Chand. Before long, Delhi were in trouble at 56 for 3, and in dire need of a partnership, which Rana and Milind came up with.
ScorecardAnother lackluster batting performance from Vidarbha resulted in them conceding a 52-run lead to current table toppers Assam in Nagpur. As many as 12 wickets fell in the day, with spin accounting for 10 of them. Swarupam Purkayastha, the highest wicket-taker last season among the slow bowlers, led Assam’s dominance with four scalps.Vidarbha briefly challenged Assam when Wasim Jaffer (40) and Ganesh Satish (67) kept the bowlers at bay, but a lower-order implosion resulted in Vidarbha losing their last six wickets for 53 runs. Assam then lost the openers in their second dig to end the day at 36 for 2, the overall lead standing at 88 with two full days to play.Rajasthan v Maharashtra – Maharashtra’s slide tightens contest for first-innings points