An update has emerged on Sunderland and their plans to bolster Tony Mowbray's attacking options ahead of the 2023/24 campaign…

What’s the latest on Sonny Perkins to Sunderland?

According to TEAMtalk, the Black Cats are one of a number of teams eyeing up a swoop to sign Leeds United striker Sonny Perkins on loan this summer.

The report claims that fellow Championship sides Birmingham City and Blackburn Rovers are keen on landing the teenage talent’s signature.

It states that the Whites are prepared to sanction a temporary exit for the centre-forward and are willing to send him to another team in the division, with Kristjaan Speakman now pursuing his services.

Where would Sonny Perkins fit in at Sunderland?

The 19-year-old gem is a versatile player that could be deployed in a multitude of roles across the frontline for Mowbray next season.

He could, however, feature alongside current Black Cats marksman Ross Stewart to play a part in making the Scotland international unplayable.

The 26-year-old finisher enjoyed an immense partnership with former loanee Ellis Simms as a strike partnership at the start of the 2022/23 campaign, which showcased his potential as part of an attacking duo.

Stewart plundered a stunning five goals and three assists in six Championship starts alongside Simms in August of last year. He averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.65 across those matches, which is higher than Ryan Manning’s league-leading average rating of 7.46 last term.

This suggests that the former Ross County star was one of the best performers in the division, if not the best, whilst playing next to another striker.

Therefore, Perkins could get the best out of Stewart as the Leeds prodigy, who can also play out wide or in midfield, has shown immense potential at youth level.

The £1.6k-per-week prospect scored 11 goals and provided three assists in 18 Premier League 2 matches last term, while the hotshot also managed 12 strikes in 21 league outings for West Ham's U21s in 2021/22.

His former youth boss Michael Skubala once described him as a "goal machine" and the exciting teenager's statistics back that up, with more than a goal every other game over the last two seasons.

This suggests that the potential is there for Perkins to be a prolific forward option for Sunderland, albeit he is yet to prove that at senior level, which could make him the ideal player to slot in alongside Stewart.

As was the case with Simms, who scored seven goals in 14 league starts for the club, opposition defenders would have another number nine to deal with and would not be able to focus all of their attention on the Scotland international, which could then open up the space for the exceptional striker to return to the unplayable form he displayed last year.

England allrounder Ben Stokes has become the most expensive overseas player ever bought at an IPL auction, going for INR 14.5 crore (USD 2.16 million approx) to Rising Pune Supergiants. He is also the second highest paid player among those currently active in the IPL, behind Virat Kohli, who is paid Rs 15 crore by Royal Challengers Bangalore per season.England fast bowler Tymal Mills also set a new record price for a specialist bowler: he was the second most expensive sale at the tenth player auction, in Bangalore on Monday, and bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore for INR 12 crore (USD 1.8 million approx). Allrounder Chris Woakes was the third England player to get a hefty payday; he was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 4.2 crore (USD 625,000 approx).Three other England players bought – all at base price – were: batsman Eoin Morgan for INR 2 crore (USD 300,000 approx) to Kings XI Punjab, batsman Jason Roy for INR 1 crore (USD 150,000) to Gujarat Lions, and allrounder Chris Jordan for INR 50 lakhs (USD 74,000) to Sunrisers Hyderabad.While demand for England players was expected, Afghanistan allrounder Mohammad Nabi, 18-year-old legspinner Rashid Khan, and UAE batsman Chirag Suri became the first Associate players after Netherlands’ Ryan ten Doeschate to get an IPL bid. The Afghanistan players were bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad – Rashid for INR 4 crore (USD 595,000 approx) and Nabi for INR 30 lakh (USD 44,000 approx) – while Suri went to Gujarat for INR 10 lakh (USD 14,000).Delhi Daredevils were the most active team in the early bidding. Their purchases of Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews for INR 2 crore (USD 300,000 approx), New Zealand allrounder Corey Anderson for INR 1 crore (USD 150,000 approx), South Africa fast bowler Kagiso Rabada for INR 5 crore (USD 750,000 approx) and Australia fast bowler Pat Cummins for INR 4.5 crore, (USD 670,000 approx) exhausted their quota of nine overseas players in the first 90 minutes of the auction.6:07

IPL auction trends – ‘Left-arm quicks in high demand’

Kolkata Knight Riders, on the other hand, did not bid for any of the first 22 players up for sale despite having a squad of only 13 available players before the auction. They were successful in the first player they bid for, buying New Zealand fast bowler Trent Boult for INR 5 crore (USD 750,000 approx).Of the first 108 players that went on sale in the main draw of the auction, only 33 were bought and among them only two from Australia: Mitchell Johnson to Mumbai Indians at his base price of INR 2 crore (USD 300,000 approx), and Cummins to Delhi. More Australians – Nathan Coulter-Nile, Billy Stanlake, Dan Christian and Ben Laughlin – were bought in the second round of bidding after lunch. Coulter-Nile was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 3.5 crore (USD 520,00 approx.) while Stanlake, Christian and Laughlin went at base prices.The trend among Indians was for the more experienced players to get no bids – Ishant Sharma, Irfan Pathan, Pragyan Ojha, Cheteshwar Pujara, Parvez Rasool and RP Singh were unsold – while several uncapped players were picked up at high prices.Fast bowler Mohammad Siraj was bought by Sunrisers for INR 2.6 crore (USD 390,000 approx), left-arm seamer Aniket Choudhary by RCB for INR 2 crore (USD 300,000 approx.), K Gowtham by Mumbai for INR 2 crore ($300,000), T Natarajan by Kings XI for INR 3 crore (USD 445,000 approx), Basil Thampi by Gujarat for INR 85 lakh (USD 125,000 approx), Karn Sharma by Mumbai for INR 3.2 crore (USD 475 approx), Eklavya Dwivedi by Sunrisers for INR 75 lakh ($110,000), Varun Aaron by Kings XI for INR 2.8 crore (USD 415,000) and M Ashwin by Delhi for INR 1 crore (USD 150,000).India allrounder Pawan Negi, who was bought for INR 8.5 crore last year and then released by Delhi, was bought by RCB for INR 1 crore (USD 150,000 approx).

كشف خوان لابورتا، رئيس برشلونة الإسباني، عن رفضه عرضًا خرافيًا لرحيل لامين يامال عن الفريق، مشيرًا إلى أنه مستقبل النادي الكتالوني.

لامين يامال يتألق هذا الموسم بعد أن أصبح من العناصر الأساسية للمدرب تشافي هيرنانديز، وقاد الفريق للعديد من الانتصارات بمختلف البطولات.

صحيفة “ماركا” الإسبانية كانت قد أكدت في وقت سابق من هذا الشهر، أن باريس سان جيرمان قدم عرضًا من خلال خورخي مينديز وكيل اللاعب، للتعاقد مع لامين يامال، بقيمة 200 مليون يورو.

طالع أيضًا.. يامال يعلق على مقارنته بـ ميسي ويؤكد: لن نتخلى عن الليجا

رئيس النادي الكتالوني في تصريحات لقناة برشلونة الرسمية، قال: “لقد حصلنا على عروض للاعبين مثل لامين يامال مقابل 200 مليون يورو ورفضناها، نحن في مرحلة التعافي اقتصاديًا ونحاول الحفاظ على نجومنا الشباب”.

ورغم المشاكل الاقتصادية التي يعاني منها برشلونة، إلا أن لابورتا كشف عن رفض النادي الكتالوني عرض باريس سان جيرمان، مقابل 200 مليون يورو، التي كان بإمكانها أن تنعش خزائن النادي وتكون وسيلة لتسوية الخلل الموجود في اللعب المالي النظيف.

Steven Smith’s Australia are mulling playing three spinners on an “incredibly dry” Pune track

Sidharth Monga in Pune22-Feb-20172:15

Want to change how we play away – Smith

There was a time in the press conference when Steven Smith candidly gave away what Australia made of the conditions. Smith was talking about the importance of having individual plans in place before going out to bat against spin in Asia. And he said you need to prepare beforehand for R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and “the other spinner they are going to choose tomorrow”. Australia have seen a dry pitch, and are expecting it to be a bit like Delhi was the last time around. Whether it is just panic or not will be known only on Thursday.Smith told reporters that the pitch was “incredibly dry”. “I think it will take spin from ball one,” Smith said. “There are a couple of divots out of the wicket as well. I haven’t really seen a wicket like that before a Test match, so I think it is going to take a lot of spin and potentially some up and down movement for the fast bowlers as well.”While Smith was certain India were going in with three spinners, Australia themselves are thinking of three, which could mean Josh Hazlewood or Mitch Marsh might sit out. Smith explained the logic of playing three spinners if Australia do.”When someone started to look a little bit comfortable against one of the spinners, they’d just change it and bowl someone else,” Smith said. “And then when they start looking comfortable against them they go back. And you can chop and change and not let the batter get in a bit of a rhythm against a spinner. I guess that’s part of the thinking behind potentially playing three spinners. But we’ll wait and see.”India’s captain Virat Kohli agreed the pitch was dry, but didn’t seem as alarmed as Australia might have been. “Even in the one-day games that we have played here, the surface was dry underneath,” Kohli said. “It had a decent covering of grass, which you need to keep for the surface to hold itself together. This time of the year when the summer comes in, the wicket tends to get slower and lower. So that’s what we expect from this wicket as well. We expect it to turn from day two, day three, whatever it is. In general, it’s going to be a very basic Pune wicket, what we always expect during summer time because it gets very hot and dry. Very difficult to keep the wicket together. We understand exactly how the wicket’s going to play.”Virat Kohli: ‘Coming to India, playing in summers, wickets are meant to be dry and they are meant to turn’•Associated Press

Kohli didn’t want to make too much of the plans Australia might have. “We are not worried about the opposition’s combinations or what they want to come up with,” Kohli said. “We are pretty comfortable with what we want to do. We are pretty sure about how we want to go about this game and the series. That’s our strength, not focusing on opposition too much. We are aware of their skills, but that doesn’t mean we will wait for the opposition to come out with their XI and then decide how we are going to play.”Certain preparations we have done and we have a good headspace going into the series. Everyone feeling confident, that’s the most important thing. If you are not feeling good mentally, you could have any combination you are up against or you could play with any combination, that won’t work. We are in good space as a team and are not bothered about the opposition combination.”However, Kohli did suggest the pitches were going to be more spinner-friendly now than they were against England because of the weather. It has been quite hot for February in Pune, and the mercury has only one direction to travel in the next month: up.When Kohli was asked about Australia veering away from their strengths of relying quick bowlers and bringing five spinners on tour, he said: “I am not surprised. Coming to India, playing in summers, wickets are meant to be dry and they are meant to turn. You will have a stronger spin bowling attack then getting six-seven fast bowlers. That is a pretty natural selection.”Smith and Kohli made their captaincy debut in the same series, on India’s last trip to Australia. They both have made strides towards taking their team to the next level, but Smith seems to have hit a block with the series defeat in Sri Lanka and at home against South Africa. This series – with lesser spinners at his disposal compared to India’s – is his big test as captain.”I learnt quite a lot out of playing in Sri Lanka,” Smith said. “Things didn’t go to plan there, but as a captain I’ve learnt a bit about how to go about things in the subcontinent. Playing in these conditions, there’s a different tempo that always goes on, times when you need to attack and times when you need to defend. So for me as captain, it’s about identifying these periods quickly and not letting the game get away too much before you start to defend, or attacking quick enough. For me, it’s about identifying those moments and coming up with the right plan at the right time.”

Paris Saint-Germain manager Christophe Galtier was taken into custody on Friday morning amid allegations of discrimination by his former club Nice, as per Goal.

In a fresh update, it's now been revealed that he will go on trial in December as a result of the investigation (via BBC Sport).

Why has PSG boss Christophe Galtier been taken into custody?

An investigation into the alleged discrimination initially began back in April, based on accusations of homophobic and Islamophobic remarks made during Galtier's time at Nice in the 2021/22 season.

Since the start of the allegations, Galtier has reiterated his innocence, with his lawyer previously releasing a statement, which said (via Goal): "Christophe Galtier was amazed to learn of the insulting and defamatory remarks of Mr. Julien Fournier against him.

"Given the seriousness of the charges against him, which he disputes with the greatest firmness, Christophe Galtier immediately seized his lawyer… to initiate, without delay, the necessary legal proceedings which are necessary.”

Galtier also previously said, via BBC: "I have decided to take legal action against those who have violated my honour and I can only be satisfied with the opening of an investigation.

"I was stunned by the comments that were attributed to me and that were relayed in an irresponsible manner.

"I am a child of the HLM estates (subsidised housing estates), raised in diversity, raised to respect others no matter their origin, their colour or their religion."

Meanwhile, PSG backed the boss back in April, saying they: "wish that the judicial system will shine a light on the truth on the serious allegations against our coach".

The investigation into Galtier

A number of key figures have been involved in the investigation, with the PSG manager's son, John Valovic-Galtier, also taken into custody amid the accusations. Both Galtier and his son went to the police station at 8:45am on Friday, June 30.

Following this, the 56-year-old will now stand trial on December 15 before the Nice Criminal Court.

Nice president Jean-Pierre Rivere has been interviewed as part of the investigation, alongside former football director Julian Fournier, the man who made the investigation happen after an alleged leaked email. We will know the outcome of the arrest in the next 24 hours.

The news comes with his PSG future already up in the air, with their on-pitch form coming into question. After all, according to Fabrizio Romano, the French champions were close to reaching a termination agreement with the manager's contract earlier this month.

It remains to be seen if these off-pitch issues will play any sort of role in deciding his coaching future in Paris.

Outgoing Bangladesh T20 captain Mashrafe Mortaza says that he felt he would be holding back the next generation of fast bowlers if he continued to stay on

Mohammad Isam04-Apr-2017Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza said that his aversion to T20s ultimately pushed him to retire from the format. Speaking on the day that he announced the current T20I series against Sri Lanka would be his last for Bangladesh, Mashrafe said that he was asked to rebuild the T20I side when given the captaincy in 2014, but now he was blocking the path of other fast bowlers like Rubel Hossain.”It is always tough to hang up your jersey,” Mashrafe said following Bangladesh’s six-wicket defeat in the first T20I at Colombo on Tuesday. “But I thought that if I look behind me, someone like Rubel is missing out. He should have been in the first XI, but he is missing out because of me. Since he is performing better than me, he should be in the team. I still feel this team is the best place for our youngsters to grow for a bigger stage like Tests and ODIs.”I never enjoyed that format when T20 started. I played five World Cups but I never enjoyed it. Maybe because of my injuries. This format is quick and sharp so you don’t get enough chances to warm up your body, especially my legs which hurt a lot. I still kept going because cricket board was respecting me as a captain. I was trying really hard to build this team as much as I can. I don’t know how much I did but it was a real pleasure to captain in T20s.”Bangladesh had picked four fast bowlers in the game on Tuesday, with Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed and newcomer Mohammad Saifuddin accompanying Mashrafe. The captain had taken just one wicket in Bangladesh’s previous T20I series, against New Zealand, while Rubel took seven wickets but still missed out. Interestingly, it was the exiting Mashrafe who bowled better than the rest in the game, finishing with figures of 2 for 32 in four overs.Mashrafe didn’t reveal too many details about what pushed him to take such a decision, but said that the final call was made the night before the game. He informed the BCB president Nazmul Hassan almost immediately but also stated his intention to continue in one-day cricket.”I am not thinking about [quitting ODIs] at this moment,” Mashrafe said. “I don’t plan out many things, but [retiring from the T20I team] was a tough decision. A lot of people are involved in such a decision, like my family, friends, team-mates and the media. I thought it would be the same if I took the decision today or two days later.”The only thought was that I would leave the format. Perhaps it was a sudden decision. I didn’t think too much about it. I felt that I didn’t want to play T20s.”

Everton could be about to boost their frontline it seems, with TuttomercatoWeb reporting that the Toffees are in "advanced" talks to bring in Rodrigo from Leeds United.

How many goals did Rodrigo score for Leeds United?

The current Leeds striker has been with the club for the last three seasons but really found his stride in the top flight in the 2022/23 campaign. Having never managed a double-digit goal tally for the Whites prior to this year, he managed to bag 13 goals and one assist for them in just 23 starts.

It wasn't enough to keep the Whites in the Premier League, with the Toffees surviving on the final day, but it was a valiant effort from the 32-year-old.

That total was also his best goals tally for six years and shows that the player still has plenty to offer when leading an attack. Further proof that he is still at the top of his game comes when you look at his stats compared to other strikers across the Men's 'Top Five' big leagues in Europe.

His non-penalty goal rate of 0.56 per 90 for example puts him in the top 12 percent in that category and his shot total of 3.07 also puts him in the 77th percentile in that area. It shows that the Spaniard can be prolific at the highest level – and is one of the most clinical in his position – but also regularly gets into the spaces where he can attack the opposition goalkeeper and get those goals.

Are Everton interested in Rodrigo?

With Leeds now facing Championship football though, the player could be allowed to move on and it appears that the Premier League is a real proposition for the attacker.

That's because according to TuttomercatoWeb, Everton are in talks with Rodrigo over a potential transfer move. Not only that, but these "contacts" are described as being "advanced" and it adds that a deal could even be completed "as early as next week." It means that the Toffees appear to be fairly far along in negotiations and a transfer could soon be completed for the striker, who currently earns around £100,000-a-week with the Whites.

Rodrigo has arguably earned his place back in the Premier League next season, impressing with his performances up front for the relegated outfit, with football journalist Josh Bunting stating that a strike from the player was "class." It shows the level that the attacker is at and if the Toffees could indeed snap up the player, it could give them a good chance at trying to push on next season.

Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim has said they have to play to their potential, after they weren’t even at “half their ability” in Galle, in order to get a result in the Colombo Test.The visitors were crushed by 259 runs, with their bowlers lacking enough penetration while their batsmen were unable to bat out crucial periods in the game. Fielding too remained ordinary, dropping three chances on the fourth day alone. Mushfiqur was the standout performer, playing with conviction and batting long periods.

Mahmudullah to remain in Sri Lanka

Mushfiqur Rahim said that Mahmudullah will remain with the team during the Colombo Test, adding his presence won’t affect the team much.
“He is possibly not playing in the second Test but since he is in the ODI squad, he will stay with the team. It can happen to any cricketer that he might fall into a bad patch. It won’t have much of an impact in the team but he is a senior cricketer so you feel bad. But we are 1-0 down, so whoever plays, has to focus on making it 1-1,” he said.

“We couldn’t even play to half of our ability in Galle which was very disappointing,” he said. “We have to try to get the result in our favour in Colombo. We have to take every chance that comes our way. We weren’t sticking to the basics, so we must improve on those things.Throughout their Tests this year in Wellington, Christchurch, Hyderabad and Galle, seamers Taskin Ahmed, Subashis Roy, Kamrul Islam Rabbi and Rubel Hossain have been slack in the third session. Mustafizur Rahman has relied on cutting down his pace in latter spells.Courtney Walsh, Bangladesh’s bowling coach, said one of the areas they are looking at is the pace bowlers’ physical ability to bowl later in the day.”They are not fully experienced on how to come back in the third spell,” Walsh said. “You get it by playing a lot. It is something that we have been working on, how to bowl that last spell. Our seamers have been little bit jaded in the last session of most of the Tests we’ve played. It is obviously an area of concern and it is something that we are looking to fix.”Walsh said that despite their lack of experience, the Bangladesh fast bowlers are wicket-takers.”It is not unjustified [to expect them to take 20 wickets] because they are going to learn at some point in time. When you play Test cricket, you have to take 20 wickets. It is going to be hard work because of the inexperience. They will get better the more they play, but the other factor is that they are playing in different tracks.”By the time they realised what happened in New Zealand and India, we had left those places. And now we are here. It is about adapting quickly. So far I think we are getting reasonable batting tracks. With more experience, you will only get better. I am hoping on the special occasion of the 100th Test, pride alone will kick in and the boys will do everything that they can to try to win this Test match,” Walsh said.Mushfiqur also believed they are capable of winning the milestone Test. “There are expectations about every Test,” he said. “But Bangladesh cricket is in such a stage that they are expected to win a Test, ODI or T20. This itself is a big achievement, which inspires the players to give their best in the field. We didn’t fulfill our expectations in the last game but we will give our best in the next game. Our main target will be to play consistently.

Tottenham Hotspur are among the main contenders to sign Borussia Monchenglacbach defender Ko Itakura, who is open to leaving the German club this summer, according to a report from Sky Sports.

What's the latest Tottenham transfer news?

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that Tottenham's next priority target is a centre-back, having held discussions over both Micky van de Ven and Edmond Tapsoba, with talks over personal terms with the former's camp now at an advanced stage.

While Spurs have progressed in talks with the Wolfsburg defender, the same report claims that Tapsoba is seen as the more ready-made addition to Ange Postecoglou's defence, due to his ability on the ball, strength and acceleration.

That said, the Burkina Faso international's value is much higher than Van De Ven's, with the aforementioned report detailing that Bayer Leverkusen could look to hold out for a fee of around £50m this summer.

Fulham's Tosin Adarabioyo may be a more affordable option for the Lilywhites, with journalist Fabrice Hawkins previously claiming the Cottagers may sanction his departure for as little as €10m (£8.6m).

Sky Sports report that Itakura is now emerging as a target for Tottenham, however, there may be competition for his signature from Serie A champions Napoli, who are also named as one of the main contenders.

The centre-back is threatening to leave Monchengladbach this summer, despite only joining the club in the summer of 2022, with reporter Florian Plettenberg adding:

"Itakura is open to a change. I hear that very clearly."

The Japan international is a player that Postecoglou knows well from the time he spent at Yokohama F Marinos, having also attempted to sign him for Celtic in the summer of 2021.

Who is Ko Itakura?

The 26-year-old made his first-team breakthrough with Japanese side Kawasaki Frontale, before eventually completing a £1m move to Manchester City, however, he failed to make a single appearance for Pep Guardiola's side.

Instead, the Yokohama-born defender spent time out on loan at Schalke, subsequently joining Borussia Monchengladbach for a fee of around £4.5m last summer, despite interest from the likes of Bournemouth and Fulham.

Having made it clear he would consider leaving, the former Man City man may finally get his chance to play in the Premier League, with Tottenham very much in the mix for his signature, and he could be a solid acquisition for Postecoglou.

Former Monchengladbach manager Daniel Farke praised the £25k-per-week defender last season, saying:

"Ko Itakura is another important player for us. He is a top character and has become a leading figure, despite only being here a short time. He has been outstanding so far and long may it continue."

Last season, the Monchengladbach ace averaged a 7.01 SofaScore match rating in the Bundesliga, the fourth-highest figure in the squad, and he ranks in the 95th percentile for blocks completed per 90 over the past year.

Itakura is also a versatile player, who is capable of playing in defensive midfield, indicating he could potentially slot in for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who faces an uncertain future in north London, and by the looks of things, a move for Itakura is one to watch.

Virat Kohli has said he won’t engage with Steven Smith’s suggestion that Australia are “one or two sessions” away from retaining the Border-Gavaskar trophy

Melinda Farrell in Bengaluru03-Mar-20170:50

I know about Australia’s mind games – Kohli

Steven Smith turned the heat on India on the eve of the second Test in Bengaluru, declaring Australia are just “one or two sessions” away from retaining the Border-Gavaskar trophy, while Virat Kohli dismissed Smith’s words as “mind games.”After starting the series as underdogs and given little chance of drawing, let alone winning a match, Australia would take an unassailable lead in the four-Test series if they win at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, a ground where Australia has an encouraging record of two wins, two draws and just one loss.”I think they will feel under a little bit of pressure,” Smith said. “Obviously, going into this series, all I heard was 4-0 to them. So they’re one down and need to come back. We’re one win away from [retaining] the Border-Gavaskar trophy. Things can happen pretty quickly here.”So we might be one or two sessions away from getting that back. I’m sure they’ll feel under a bit of pressure.”But Kohli was quick to brush off the suggestion that India would be feeling under pressure when he learned of Smith’s comments.”Me? As a team? Does it look like [we’re under pressure]?” Kohli said, smilingly. “I’m pretty relaxed. I’m happy. I’m smiling. It’s fine, those are his views and [he can say] whatever he wants to say. I think it’s time we focus on our skills more than what Australia is saying or preparing like. I know these minds games in these press conferences are something they’re very good at.”We’re still going to play the cricket that we’ve played for the last two years and see where the series ends after the fourth game.”Kohli also refused to be drawn on the importance of stopping Smith, whose gritty knock at Pune defied the conditions and was his third century from his past seven Test innings, instead pointing to the fact that India gave Smith several lives during his second innings.”The whole team has to play well against Australia to win a Test match, that’s something we’ve identified,” said Kohli. “We’re not focusing on one player at all.”If we don’t hold onto our chances it doesn’t matter, at the end of the day, how many runs we score. We’re not focusing on one player only. The whole ten wickets have to be taken twice to win a Test match. The comments and headlines don’t matter. They never have, and we won’t base our cricket on it.”