The Premier League season has finally reached the half way point, 1 month later than the usual time but these are unprecedented times. But these unprecedented times have called for unprecedented results till date. The league has been nothing short of a roller coaster ride this season. Every team is in with a shout of the much acclaimed European spots and there a fair number of teams now in the relegation battle. Also to note is that although the title does read “half way mark” analysis, only 11 of the 20 teams have actually played 19 matches! Once again, due to the unprecedented well documented factors, there are a lot of matches that have had to be rescheduled. Take Aston Villa for example, they’ve played only 16 games (before the Aston Villa vs Newcastle kickoff). Will these extra matches to be played in the latter half of the season come back to bite these teams in the form of injuries and fatigue? Only time will tell. But for now, we can very much talk about what has happened till date!

1. Four Horse Title Challenge?

Liverpool’s recent shocking run of 3 points from their last 5 games combined with a run of wins accumalated by both Manchester Clubs and Leicester Ciy has thrown this year’s Title Race wide open. The name on top of the league has changed multiple times and beside the aforementioned 4 teams, the spot has also featured clubs like Chelsea, Tottenham and Aston Villa and various stages of the season. At present, although Manchester United currently occupy that spot, Manchester City are the favourties. Pep’s men rallied through a slow start , but a start which saw them focus heavily on their defence and once they sorted that part out, they have been on a juggarnaut. They look unstoppable at the moment, so much so that they have conceeded just 1 goal in their last 10 games. One cant rule out Liverpool as well despite their current form as pretty much every team has been through a slump at some point or the other this season. Just ask Chelsea and Spurs. Rodgers’ Leicester CIty deserves a word of praise but my personal concern is that Rodgers has a tendency to do well in either half of a season. Manchester United have honestly been a surprise addition to the race but their inclusion has ensured that things remain spiced up! It’s gonna be a superb end to an incredible unpredictable season. My money (although an ardent LFC fan) is on Manchester City.

2. 11 contenders for Europe

Its not just the battle for the Top spot that has been intriguiging this season. In fact even more than that has been the competitiveness amongst the rest of the teams! Beyond the above mentioned 4 , there are 7 teams who are legitimate contenders for atleast the Europa league spots! Apart from Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham, teams like West Ham, Aston Villa, Southampton and Everton have been absolutely splendid to watch! Only 7 points separate Spurs in 5th place from Villa in 11th. But what is of more importance is that they haven’t played the same number of matches and so a proper real picture of the table is yet to be established. It is definitely going to be a tense second half of the season. Who knows, one of these teams could also enter the fray for the Champions League spots! Gosh , the Premier League is the best league in the world!!

3. What exactly are Newcastle doing?

I am going to dedicate a separate section just on the Magpies simply because their season has been nothing short of catastrophy. Absolutely aimless, no fight or appetite, Newcastle just seem content to stay on top. They once were a deadly and feared team in Europe and now all that they want to do is just stay up. Removing Rafa Benitez seemed to be a wrong move and things under Steve Bruce have just remained stagnant. They are currently on 19 points from 19 games and slowly but surely getting sucked into the relegation battle. At the moment, they are 7 points clear of the drop but the teams below them are picking up points and moving up while the Magpies are going the wrong way. WAKE UP!!!

4. The Relegation Battle

Sheffield United at long last claimed that elusive win of the campaign at the 18th time of asking but that has just seen them jump from 2 to 5 points at the half way stage. Usually, this would mean that they are all but done but it doesn’t seem so simply because teams like West Brom and Fulham are giving them company in terms of performing woefully. In close quarters to them are the likes of Brighton and Burnley. I for one have a soft spot for Brighton because they are doing their best to play beautiful football but the personnel are lacking, while Burnely on the other hand would be absolutely bouyed by their historic win at Anfield and their position of 16th with 19 points has come down largely due to one man -Nick Pope. Take him out of the equation and Burnley would be below Sheffield. At the moment I see 6 teams in the relegation battle, and my money is on Sheffield, West Brom and Newcastle to make the drop. Why not Fulham, simply because of the character they have shown lately, to fight all the way till the end to stay up.

5. VAR and Injuries

And lastly, we come to VAR and the injury list of all the teams in general. Its been oft spoken about and it will continue to be a topic of discussion. To an extent, VAR has improved over the last 6-8 weeks thanks to the desperately needed tweak in the hand ball ruling, which had earlier seen penalties given for fun. The offside ruling though continues to baffle everyone. Those annoying lines that they draw have been frankly ANNOYING. Players have been offside for showing where the ball is to be played to having a longer half sleeve to having more armpit hair. Such has been the tremendous annoyance of the decisions thus far. And lately to the list of crazy reasons was the incredible non-offside ruling of Rodri who was 10 yards behind Mings, to steal the ball from behind him and result in a goal. The inconsistency has to be looked at. Also, a moment of respect to all the teams and their managers, simply because these players are playing without any support at the stadium, week in and week out, with incredible tenacity, braving the injuries and putting on a show.

The magnitude of what happened on January 19, 2021 will forever be remembered , not only in Cricketing history but in Sports history as well! The story downunder did not start as a tale of the underdog but it certainly finished in that sense and that’s what made this script very unique. Was it the best ever underdog story? Well I wouldn’t say so but its certainly right up there. Certainly it is among the very best in Indian cricket history and can probably be compared to the amazing feat achieved by Kapil Dev’s men in 1983.

Everyone loves the underdog and nearly every person will root for the underdog to create an upset. Each underdog story has its own beautiful backstory. Some stories occur within a match, for example in tennis, if a player outside the Top 20 defeats a player of the Top 4. While there are others which stretch across an entire tournament – the most famous recent example being Leicester City winning the Premier League in the 2015/16 season. But what happened down under in the recently concluded cricket series was a different ball game altogether.

India and Australia headed into the test series with the tour till then drawn, with Australia securing the ODI series while the Men in Blue secured the T20i series. Not only were they level on series wins in the tour but also the number of matches won until then with the aggregate scoreline reading 3-3. This particular test series had a lot riding on it for both teams for it was said that the previous test series which India won downunder in 2018/19 was considered a fluke and a straight victory simply because the Australian team they faced wasn’t at their best and to a certain degree, that was indeed true. So this series was supposed to be a match up between two sides at the maximum strength. But prior to the series, it was announced that Kohli would leave after the first match and the lead up to the series saw the Indian team without their premier fast bowlers in Mohammed Shami and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar.

So, was it the loss of these players and the more that followed during the 4 match series that made this test series win a fairytale? NO. It was a fairytale win simply because of the players who actually played the series.

Every team during a series will always endure a couple of casualties because that is a part and parcel of sport. But what makes an underdog story special is about the people who were part of it and not the people who were absent. Yes, the only reason why the involvement of the group of players who were part of this piece of history was possible was because of the injuries sustained to the senior men, but it’s the performance of these “replacements” that made it an incredible story. Thus, what I’m going to highlight below is the true reason why the this story was incredible :

36 all out :

Sometimes a solid kick in the back side is needed and this innings gave the Indians just that. Yes it was humiliating but it taught everyone on the sidelines (who would eventually feature in the remaining tests) a valuable lesson, a lesson on survival and the importance of discipline. I doubt if they would have performed like the way they did if this did not happen


Ajinkya Rahane – The Captain :

Rahane always had it in him but he was never given the chance. The composure in his body language rubbed off on all his teammates. Even if Smith or Labuschagne were batting for long periods, he did not show any signs of frustrations, instead kept trusting his young bowling attack to deliver. His field placements were immaculate and it caught the eye of a number of people and his finace’ and grace was displayed while batting especially in that wonderful knock of 112 to help India to a handy lead. He just showed everyone that you don’t need to have an aura of a vocal superstar but instead what is more important is a steady head on the field. Oh and by the way, he’s unbeaten in 5 test matches as captain, 3 of them were against Australia in Australia, just a little note.

Faith in Shubman Gill as an Opener :

Seldom do you recognise talent in a batsman just by his first appearance and young Gill was one such. Finally the management decided to trust him with opening the batting and the youngster didn’t disappoint at all. His fluency and ridiculous ease in which he played was an absolute joy to watch. He made valuable contributions in 5 out of 6 innings , including staying till the end in the 2nd test match and the sensational 91 on the final day of the last test.

Pujara the Warrior –

In Pujara lies the beauty of Test cricket. The importance of holding up one end of the wicket cannot be more emphasized than what he displayed through the series. Yes , his strike rate will always be in question and perhaps he could do just a tad better to rotate the strike but nothing can take away from what he did psychologically to the Aussie bowlers. He faced over 900+ deliveries in the whole series and he absolutely wore down the fantastic Aussie attack. He basically told them that if you needed to get him out, they’d have to bowl unplayable deliveries which requires concentration of a different level and that can mentally drain a player. While he held up one end, the runs came from the other. In Pujara, India had a confirmed ticket. The frequency at which he got out was much lesser than what was happening at the other end. And not just that, he manned up and faced head on each and every blow he received to the body. A well earned rest is the need of the hour for this unsung hero. Stats never always tell the whole story.

Rishabh Pant , The Batsman – A New Beginning?

Rishabh Pant has always been under severe scrutiny ever since he came into the team. And its been unfair because he was dubbed as the replacement for The Goat – MSD. But perhaps, there’s a suggestion to view him as a batsman and not a keeper? Afterall , the counter punches and the mind games that were displayed by the young squashbuckling left hander were just absolutely brilliant. He ensured he threw Paine’s plans all over the place and the importance of having a chaotic batsman who finally knew how to harness his powers at the right time was duly highlighted.

The senior pro in Ravichandran Ashwin –

Ashwin’s contribution this series was absolutely immense. He went missing for the last year, but the smart player/bowler whom we all knew was back and his battles with Aussie Top order was a sight to enjoy. He bowled immaculately and always chipped in just when Australia seemed to run away with it. And finally, Ashwin the batsman turned up in Sydney. He and Hanuma Vihari faced over 42 overs and helped ensure that the series remained at 1-1 heading into the final test match. The grit and will and spirit shown by both during the partnership was of immense quality. In the same breath, I will fail in my duties if Sir Jadeja doesn’t get a mention. He was finally given a chance overseas and he came up full trumps!

Its Never About The Stats, Its what happens at that moment that matters –

Heading into the final test match, India called upon Washington Sundar, T. Natarajan, N.Saini, S. Thakur and M. Siraj. The stat attacks were out , poking fun at the the grand total of 13 wickets compared to the 1000+ wickets of the opposition. But did that really matter? Each of the aforementioned players possessed their own unique style and perhaps it was the “unknown” factor which benefitted them. All 5 of them stuck to the simple basics and ensured they did that as well as possible. The result? Picking up 20 Aussie wickets. And not just that, India FINALLY had a tail that wagged in the form of a stellar 100+ run partnership between W. Sundar and S. Thakur. Sometimes it’s the unknown factor which becomes the X factor.

It really was a remarkable achievement and it shall forever rightly be mentioned as A True Fairytale, a tale that each of the players who were part of it will have the opportunity to recall with pride once they retire!

Ahead of a crucial Match Day 18 in which a lot of key clashes will be taking place in the Premier League, here are a few talking points :

1. Covid is a REAL Problem

Covid 19 will take primary position as a talking point simply because it is real and it is affecting the Premier League in a way that isn’t pleasant. Around 4-5 matches in the Premier League have been called off due to Covid and the result of that is a further congestion in an already congested fixture list. Although technically the coming weekend is supposed to feature teams playing their 18th game of the season, till date only 12 teams have completed 17 with some of the remaining 8 teams having more than one game in hand. A fixture pile up in this shortened season isn’t needed and the eventual result is more injuries and players unable to give their best when the Euros come around.

2. Sheffield United are breaking unwanted records

Just 6 months ago, before the restart of the 2019/20 season, The Blades were soaring in the Premier League and were challenging for a Top 4 finish. Chris Wilder and his men were reputed for their staunch defense and terrific home record. But post restart, everything has disappeared and in the current season, they are without a win in 17 games with JUST 2 POINTS on the board. The loss of Dean Henderson in goal has certainly impacted this and their strike rate in front of goal has worsened. Despite the arrival of Rhian Brewster who arguably isn’t playing in his natural position, goals are hard to come by for the Blades. Derby County are said to have been the worst Premier League team ever to have played during the 07/08 season and with just 11 points in total. If things don’t improve rapidly, Sheffield could be worse off than Derby.

3. Who is gonna win the league actually?

Liverpool’s 2 points in their last 3 games has thrown the Premier League wide open. Only 11 points separate Liverpool on top with 33 points, from 14th place Crystal Place on 22. The Premier League table at the moment gives an incredible reading. 2 teams (Liverpool and Man Utd) on 33 points followed by Leicester on 32, followed by 4 teams on 29, 3 teams on 26, 2 on 23 and 2 on 22. ITS THAT TIGHT!! A result here and there either against or for a team will see them jump up and down the table. Manchester Untied have surprised many lately with a string of wins, Manchester City seem to be coming into their own with an added defensive resolve, Leicester continue to knock on the doors, Chelsea’s woes have given hope to teams like Arsenal who at one point never knew how to win but have won 3 games on the bounce and are on 23 points, and how can one even forget about West Ham, Southampton and Aston Villa who are having an absolutely sensational campaign till date. There are NO clear favourties, either at the top of the table or for the European spots and this has made for interesting viewing! Next few weeks , fans are in for a wild treat in what has been an incredibly crazy season thus far!

4. Who is going down?

So while there are 14 teams competing with each other on top, the remaining 6 are in a battle for relegation. One would argue if Newcastle could be included in the list but the truth is the Magpies are playing without any real aim for themselves. Apart from Sheffield United, the teams who were initially struggling like Fulham , West Brom and Burnley , have all made a steady upward progress with a host of drawn results. Brighton have been the biggest disappointment though. Under Graham Potter, the Seagulls are actually a wonderful team to watch as they play beautiful football. But it isn’t consistent and they don’t quite have the players to do so and of course they have been very unfortunate with the post always coming in their way. Perhaps they should look to play a drab game and get 3 points than a good game with no points. At the moment though, Fulham and West Brom are giving Sheffield company in the relegation zone.

That’s it from us then. There are a number of matches that will be played during the week along with the matches in the weekend which features a huge top of the table clash between Liverpool and Manchester United and we will review all the games after the conclusion of an action packed week!

Until then, take care and stay safe!

Is it the 2020 effect or is the Premier League this season genuinely full of unexpected surprises? Whatever it is, we are 15 match days in and not a week has gone by without twists and turns and talking points. Every team within the Top 10 are in with a chance and every team in the bottom half barring Sheffield United (unfortunately) have a chance to get relegated.

The results of Match Day 15 ensured that the unpredictability of the Premier League was kept alive.
There’s a reason why the Premier League is the best league in the world and although I have mentioned that statement multiple times, it continues to live up to the tag. Having said that, lets look at all the drama that unfolded in Match Day 15 :

Arsenal FC 3-1 Chelsea FC

Yes, you read it right!! Arteta and his men finally won a match after what seemed like ages! This result itself was enough to get everyone rolling and the fact that they did it over huge spending Chelsea in comprehensive fashion, was all the more a lot to take in for the week!! This result didn’t see them move many places but saw them get to 17 points and send shockwaves across the footballing land! The Gunners are back! Or are they??

Leicester City 2-2 Manchester United

Manchester United were looking to extend their stellar run of consecutive away wins in the Premier League but Brendan Rodger’s Foxes were in the way of ruining that. Leicester City came back twice from behind to ensure that the run ended as both sides secured what looked like a point either side would have no issue with.

Liverpool FC 1-1 West Bromwich Albion

A routine win was on the cards for the Men in Red and 3 points would help extend their lead at the top. But Sam Allardyce, the man responsible for Liverpool’s last defeat at Anfield in 2017, ensured that he wouldn’t be outdone in his resolute tactics of a Smash and Grab manner of play, as West Brom did the unthinkable of preventing a LFC win at Anfield, only the 2nd time in 33 games did they drop points.

Aston Villa 3-0 Crystal Palace

Aston Villa have been the dark horses this season, performing like a team in mood for a title contention and they delivered yet another fantastic 3 points as despite going down to 10 men in the first half, they rallied not only to score 3 goals but also keep a clean sheet! Their goalkeeper Emi Martinez deserves special praise as he has been one of the signings of the season with his stupendous performances at goal.

Other results around the country :

Mourinho’s Spurs continued to stutter and this time in their latest game , their tactics of an extremely conservative approach once again hurt them as Wolves ensured that the game ended in a 1-1 draw.

Manchester City strolled home to a 2-0 win over a listless Newcastle. The one change that Pep has made this season is that although they aren’t firing all cylinders in front of goal, he has ensured that the other end has completely dried up as well in stingy displays of defense thus far.

Everton continued their recent surge up the table as a single Gilfy Siggurdson goal was all that was needed for the Toffees to secure all 3 points and condemn Sheffield United to yet another defeat.

Leeds United bounced back from their 6-2 defeat last week with a stern display as not only did they win their match but also managed a clean sheet, winning 1-0 over Burnley.

West Ham and Brighton played out an entertaining game as the Seagulls once again drew yet another game, but a point they wouldn’t mind as they desperately needed it. The match ended 2-2!

Southampton have hit a sort of road block recently and were yet again guilty of dropping points as they were held to a 0-0 draw to Fulham.

Wow, what a weekend of football! Why am I going all crazy about it, its because while Liverpool are on 32 points at the top of the table, Everton who are in 2nd place ( on 29 points) are just 9 points ahead of 12th place Leeds United! Its that tight in the middle of table that a slip or a winning streak for a team could see them catapult either up or down the table. Once again the question beckons, is it the 2020 effect or is this season genuinely unpredicatable ? Whatever the reason may be, it certainly makes for a brilliant watch!!

While in the second half of table, Arsenal are sending shockwaves in both a good and bad way while Sheffield United look certain to get relegated at this point with just 2 points from 15 matches, while the remaining spots seem to be contested by Fulham, West Brom, Brighton and Burnley.

We once have matches midweek and we shall be there to bring the latest again! Until then, take care, stay safe and God bless!

Good day to you all and Merry Christmas everyone ! Today we thought we would do a special edition where we once again call upon our friends to give their opinion on how the Premier League has shaped thus far after 14 Match Days.

The current season has been nothing short of surprises and its been full of unanticipated entertainment thus far. So we decided to ask Drs Nikhil, Elisha and Mathew to answer a few questions.

Surprise Team of the Season?

Nikhil (N) : Everton. Everton under Carlo Ancelotti have really shown their true colours and charisma especially Calvert-Lewin who has been putting up a show in all the games he’s been playing. Everton have been winning most of their games so far and have shown that they are capable of producing highly energetic displays (including Richarlison’s red card) like they did against the reigning champions in the Merseyside derby . Their latest conquest was Arsenal at Goodison Park and they look set for a good Top 4 finish provided their players remain fit and disciplined!

Elisha (E) : This season has been quite a tumultuous one echoing the general vibe of a crazy 2020 with just a 10 point gap between league leaders Liverpool and 10th placed West Ham.

Everton has performed very well this season and sits at 4th place with 26 points, with its lead scorer Calvert Lewin hitting 11 goals so far. Ancelotti’s side showed promise early in the season but have dwindled in between due to red card incidents involving Lucas Digne and Richarlison, but have steadily gained ground and look to challenge for the top 4 this season.
James Rodriguez’s reunion with his boss has been a welcome one and it remains to be seen how consistent his performances will be with the Toffees.

Mathew (M) : Despite the LFC fan in me urging me not to do so, I will have to agree with the boys and say Everton as well as Southampton have been the surprise thus far. Both teams have been punching above their weight in their own way. Both teams have also been at some point or the other on top of the table as well! Everton did lose their way a bit in November but their recent string of back to back wins against Leicester, Chelsea and Arsenal have boosted them back into Top 4 contention.
Southampaton FC under Ralph Hasenhuttl have been superb! Firstly I would like to commend the Top Brass for sticking with the German despite THAT 0-9 defeat to Leicester last year. Since then they have performed admirably. They are a little over reliant on Danny Ings but since his injuries, Che Adams, James Ward-Prowse and co have stepped up! Definite Top 6 finish at the current rate !

VAR and Injuries :

N: Injuries in the Premier League really tests teams. Liverpool have been adding names to their list like a Christmas shopping list but this haven’t stopped them from the spectacular. VAR!! It’s a blessing and a boon when VAR helps team your rooting for but otherwise they aren’t as good. This season VAR has had a few funny offside calls, like the one against the outstretched hand of Patrick Bamford of Leeds. United benefited the most under the VAR with multiple penalties. But overall, VAR has definitely been refined compared to when it was initially set up.

E : VAR has been the subject of controversy this season in the Premier League.
Be it the increase in the number of penalties awarded or the millimeter-accurate offside calls, managers and players alike have expressed their displeasure about VAR as it has had tremendous effects on the outcome of the game.
We have sadly witnessed a side of football that is not pleasing to the eyes as well, be it unfortunate penalty incidents to players going down too easily to benefit from the same.
It has a lot of positives as well and with a bit of changes here and there it can definitely improve the quality of the game when it comes to fairness and correct calls.

Injury-hit Liverpool looks to not be affected so far, brushing aside concerns regarding their defence without their talismanic Van Dijk as well as Joe Gomez. Summer arrivals Thiago and Diogo Jota are out as well, but Liverpool seem up to the challenge, sitting at the top of the table at 31 pts after 14 games.

M : VAR has unfortunately become the talk of the league yet again. Not a single week has gone by without VAR producing a controversial decision. Thankfully that ridiculous hand ball rule has changed and has provided the defenders a little relief. But VAR needs a lot more changing to occur. Don Hutchinson had stated that the VAR refs should look at the offside calls with their own eyes instead of drawing those controversial lines. I mean, that Bamford offside against Crystal Palace was SHOCKING. I was a big fan of VAR, but it really is just spoiling the ebbs and flows associated with the game we love.
Injuries – Well, the FA needs to start thinking about the players who get them the money than just about their revenue from broadcasting. True, there are no fans in the stadiums but the health of a player cannot be put at risk. If quality football needs to be on display, it will only happens when the players are healthy and fit!

Who’s Gonna Win the League and Who’s Going Down?

N : I was hoping it would be a literally any other team than Liverpool, just so that I can see someone else, someone new probably lift the trophy. But Liverpool have been nothing short of spectacular under Klopp. The team with its huge injury list have had to count on their new signings to step and they’ve done just that. The teams only going to get stronger when all the injured players are back on the pitch.

The team that’s going down??? Is there any doubt about it ? Arsenal.
They started off really well under Arteta but they haven’t played good football since the end of the last season. Someone needs to remind them that they are close to the bottom three and that if they get relegated and the way their playing no one’s counting on them to win the championship next season. The number of Arteta’s outcast have been steadily increasing, sad. Arteta definitely needs some finical backing to sign a few players the team desperately needs like a creative midfielder, a few defenders…… Arteta is walking on thin ice, he has to be very careful about the players he decides to outcast and buy. Hoping for a change after the winter window.

E : Winner:
League leaders Liverpool look highly likely to defend their EPL title this season and it remains to be seen whether the rest of the top 4 can pose a significant title challenge to last season’s champions, with Tottenham spurning a chance to go top and suffering two consecutive defeats against Liverpool and Leicester respectively.

Losers:
Arsenal started their season on a bright note as Arteta’s men beat Liverpool to win the community shield, but mid-season it all went wrong for the Gunners.
With their last win in the PL being against Manchester United via an Aubameyang penalty, Arsenal have failed to win since with only 2 points from the last 7 games.
They are currently at 15th place with 14 points from the same number of matches, and unless Arteta can somehow bring his team back on track, his future with the club looks unpleasant.

M : Liverpool are going to win the league again provided Covid 19 doesn’t have any other plans. Its not been as straightforward as last season where they were unstoppable. They’ve shown that they too are human, but human with a plan under Klopp. To be able to perform without their first team players in the manner that they are doing so is just a testament to their ever spoken about MENTALITY.
Teams that are gonna get relegated – Sheffield United, Fulham and … well, I want to say Arsenal. But that isn’t going to happen no matter how much that would be a sight to behold. The 3rd team is going to be a toss up between Burnley, West Brom and Brighton.



Hope you enjoyed their opinions! Feel free to voice out your own as well and do leave a comment or two! Until next time, take care, stay safe and goodbye!

Match day 13 and 14 occurred just 3 days apart and they were the Pre-Christmas matches and so we thought we would talk about them together.

As mentioned, being Pre-Christmas matches, the results were literally in according to the theme of the season. Those who were “naughty” saw themselves slip in just a matter of a week while those were “good” saw them climb up the table! That’s the Premier League for you, absolutely no guarantees and because of the level of intensity that a team needs to maintain, one week of 3 matches can turn the table on its head! Just ask Everton and Tottenham in particular! 

Unlike the previous match day reviews where we brought the results from across the country, we thought we’d highlight who were the Biggest Winners, Losers and the rest :

The Winners … 

Liverpool FC

Prior to Match day 13, LFC were on 3rd on the table with clashes against Tottenham and Crystal Palace to come. But LFC made the most of it, firstly a 90th minute Bobby Firmino header saw the Reds beat Mourinho’s men 2-1 in a cagey tactical battle and they followed up this win with an astounding result over the Eagles with an absolutely thumping record breaking 0 – 7 away win to move to the Top of the Table come Christmas Day!

Everton FC

Merseyside neighbours Everton too had a productive week. Ancelotti’s men prior to their 1-0 win over Chelsea, endured a poor November which saw the slip to 8th in the table. But with momentum on their side following a big win over the Blues, they had to face Leicester and Arsenal and came up trumps over both with a resounding 0-2 and 2-1 win over the respective teams and with 3 wins over 3 Big Teams, saw them move up to 4th and just 1 point behind 2nd place Leicester City

Manchester United

At one stage of the season, Ole seemed to have lost control to have lost control of the wheel but with 2-3 over a bottom placed Sheffield United and a blockbuster 6-2 win over old rivals Leeds United, saw Ole’s men climb up to 3rd on the table, level on points with Everton. The main contributing factor to this climb up has to be their 10 away match winning streak.

Burnley FC

Burnley were languishing at the bottom of the table in the relegation zone prior to the start of the week and were finding it hard to score goals. But a win over Arsenal gave them some impetuous to restart their batteries. They held on to a valuable point against Aston Villa despite being completely outplayed and followed that up with a huge 2-1 win over Wolves and as a result, they moved from 19th to 16th! 

The Losers …

Tottenham Hotspur

Where do you start? Prior to the game against Liverpool, Mourinho tried his best to play mind games against the current Champions but all it did was back fire and in a pretty bad way. As mentioned, they lost 2-1 to LFC , the first time a 90th minute was scored against a Mourinho team and this was followed up by a shambolic display against Leicester, deservedly losing 0-2 at home and in just one week , they slipped from 1st on the table to 6th place, 6 points behind leaders Liverpool FC!

Southampton FC 

The Saints have been punching above their weight this season and had a chance to further secure their Top 4 spot, but a draw against a woeful 10 man Arsenal side and narrow 0-1 loss to Manchester City saw them slip out of the Top 4 and down to 7th place. 

Arsenal FC

When will the rot stop? Arteta’s men are just 4 points above the relegation zone and look like they may even enter into the relegation battle! They seem to play better with 10 men on the field as shown in their desperate draw against Southampton but once again went back to their old ways as a loss to Everton saw them suffer their 8th loss of the season.

Brighton Hove and Albion :

Brighton had a huge opportunity to move far away from the relegation zone with games against fellow relegation strugglers, Fulham and Sheffield, but instead got sucked into it! They could only muster a draw in both matches and as a result of that, they lie in 17th, just 2 points above safety!

The Rest ….

There wasn’t much movement across the table but with a lot of results going both for and against for a lot of the teams, there is a mid table congestion at the moment with just 7 points separating 2nd place Leicester and 11th place Wolves. Aston Villa and West Ham continue to make good account of themselves and as a result are in the Top 10. 

Sheffield United continue to remain at the bottom of the table but managed to secure just their 2nd point of the campaign courtesy a draw against The Seagulls. Fulham and West Brom languish in 18th and 19th  with the latter securing the managerial expertise of Sam Allardyce to help them move out of the relegation zone.

And so, Christmas has arrived in the Premier League. But usually atleast 18 – 19 games would have been played in a usual season. But as we all know this is no usual season. Having said that Liverpool for the 3rd season in a row are on top at Christmas while Sheffiled United will be hoping for a Christmas Miracle to help them out of the bottom of the league, sooner rather than later!

That’s it from the team! See you all next week!

And that’s a wrap ladies and gentleman on what was nothing short of a roller coaster of a season.

What makes this year special to me will be the fact that F1 wasn’t just a racing championship, it was so much more. Let’s have a look shall we?

It began with uncertainty just as the shroud of Covid was taking over the world with the first race in Australia being cancelled just days before curtain call.

During the brief gap, the teams used their resource and their engineering par excellence for the greater good designing sustainable low cost ventilators for the NHS, WHO and other charity organisations. The teams truly stood for something bigger than 4 wheels.

Following that remarkable feat, as the weeds of racism took centre stage, the teams rose up , standing for our brothers and sisters fighting for their human rights.

On the backdrop of health and political turmoil, it was time to race again!
Using the Biosphere Bubble concept that involved extensive serial tests and restricted movements, paving the way for other sports to adapt.

Without getting into the details of each race let’s see as a whole the season 2020.

1. Mercedes dominance as expected from winter tests continued winning their record breaking 7th world constructors championship.
2. Lewis Hamilton sets the history books straight also winning his 7th World Drivers Championship equalling the great Michael Schumacher.
3. The F1 circus tried new waters in the tracks of Portimao, Mugello, Imola, Turkey to name a few. And oh boy! They gave us some of the best racing.
4. The midfield has never been this close fought before. With Mclaren, Racing Point, Alpha Tauri all fighting it out for glory. McLaren emerged victorious owing to a consistent perfomance from both its own drivers and consistent mechanical problems of its closest rival, Racing Point.
5. The drivers musical chairs for seats in next season continues as this article is being written. What started with Danny Ric moving to Mclaren set off a cascade of events, causing numerous shifts. In the end it’s bittersweet, some dear loved older drivers bid farewell and we welcome the next gen of raw fighters.
   Romain Grosjean, Kevin Magnussen, Checo Perez (not confirmed) say adios to the sport they do dearly love and dedicated their life to.
6. Sebastian Vettel leaves the Scuderia after 5 years of toiling hard to salvage the dying pride of the prancing horse. He moves onto more greener pasteurs with Aston Martin next year.
7. The billionaire blockade : F1 has long been the most expensive sport in the world owing to its cutthroat competition to develop the fastest car possible. Hence money is always a dire need, especially for the back marker teams. For long it is known that talent is only part of the equation of Formula 1 , sponsorship and money brought in play a even major role in securing a drive. Slowly Billionaires with deep pockets have started splashing their wealth and securing drives for their offspring’s. What this does is it makes them immovable objects on the driver roster forcing the others to work around them due to the money they bring. Even more concerning is that these billionaires have invested in smaller teams and put their immovable objects there. The smaller teams are the ones who pick up the talent from the grassroots level and nurture them for the bigger teams to take them on. Now with the immovable objects, and expect more , the entry point for young talented Formula2 drivers is essentially blocked.
8. This season we had 5 different race winners including first timer Pierre Gasly in a Wiley Monza Grand Prix and Checo Perez who after nearly 190 starts secured a win.
9. A Schumacher is back in Formula1 !
10. Romain Grosjean”s crash in the opening Sakhir GP shooked every single fan and person involved in the sport. A testament to the technologies that was in place that saved his life.
11. George Russell who got the drive in the W11 for Mercedes in place of a covid recovering Hamilton ,if not for technical issues showed the world he’s ready to sting like a bee when the moment arrives.

In the end, they did it!
They gave us a season,
They gave us hope,
Something to look foward to each passing weekend
It was a season of all tastes, moving on we still await the fate of the 2nd Red Bull seat closely contested by Perez and Albon. The young drivers tests are currently on, with the ever youthful Fernando Alonso also taking part.

Next season will be using the same cars mostly following which the new Formula arrives. So we can’t expect mostly a similar performance to what was witnessed this year.

But this is Formula 1 my friend, everything changes in seconds.

See you next season, Gratzie Regazzi

– An article by Dr. Aswin Michael

After winning the T20i series, New Zealand were looking to assert their dominance in the 5 day format. West Indies on the other hand were looking to bounce back and salvage some pride in the test series. With 60 points on the line in each of the 2 matches of the test series, let’s see how it all unfolded.

1st Test Match : New Zealand win by an innings and 134 runs

West Indies won the toss and opted to bowl first on a green wicket. But that was all that went their way as the bowlers failed to capitalise on the conditions. Tom Latham set the foundations for a big score with a steady 86 before New Zealand talisman and popular figure Kane Williamson took charge. The Kiwi’s captain steered the innings, was involved in Five 50+ stands including a century stand with Latham. Williamson was the last man dismissed before NZ declared, but not before he notched up an absolutely stellar knock of 251, his highest test score. NZ declared their innings on a mammoth 519/7.

In reply, the West Indies showed no character in their batting display. They collapsed from 53/0 to 138 all out as all the NZ pacemen especially Southee in particular ran riot. He ended up with figures of 4/35.

Trailing by 381, the second innings was no different. The WI slumped to 89/6 and were starring at a record innings defeat. But that’s when second innings man Jermaine Blackwood and Alzarri Joseph stepped. The two put on a brave front and put on a wonderful counter attacking partnership of 155! The two of them were in no defensive mood as they played their shots all around. Blackwood notched up another 2nd innings century while Alzarri Joseph made a career best 86. Neil Wagner (4/66) finally broke the partnership and that was that as WI were all out for 247, handing NZ 60 points and a 1-0 series lead.

MOM : Kane Williamson for his stellar 251

2nd Test Match: New Zealand win by an innings and 12 runs

New Zealand entered this match without their talismanic skipper as Kane Williamson took paternity leave. But West Indies couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity despite winning the toss and choosing to bowl first. This time around for the Kiwis it was Henry Nicholls who put his hand up. The Kiwi innings was constructed around him, with the all rounder involved in Five 50+ stands during his career best knock of 174. Wagner added quickfire runs worth 66 as Kiwi piled up 460!

It was the same story for the Windies in the first innings as a familiar collapse saw them bundled all out for 131 with Jamieson and Southee sharing all 10 wickets with 5 apiece. Blackwood once again stood as the lone ranger with a knock of 69.

In the second innings, following on, West Indies showed some spirit as their batting display was much better. John Campbell, Jason Holder and debutant Joshua da Silva made half centuries as West Indies managed to cross the 300 run mark. The Kiwi bowlers had wickets shared all around and despite a resolute batting display, the West Indies weren’t able to prevent an innings defeat as they didn’t follow on by 12 runs and thus yet another innings defeat.

MOM : Henry Nicholls for his knock of 174.

Man of the Series : Kyle Jamieson for his bowling display through the series.

And so with New Zealand winning the series 2-0, they notched up 120 Championship Test points while the West Indies have to make the long journey back to their home empty handed. Pakistan are up next to face the Kiwis in their own backyard but the Kiwis look very strong at home especially in Test format.

Until then, take care and goodbye!

There’s a reason why the Premier League is proclaimed to be the toughest football league in the world and Match Day 12 was a perfect example to back that claim. – None of the so called “ Big 6” teams won a match, while all the others gained valuable points around them to close the gap and rise up the table. Well almost all the others, the exception being Sheffield United. If you wished to know what a team in free fall looks like, just look at Sheffield United this season. Having said that, Arsenal aren’t far behind in considering themselves as a team in free fall as well.

Usually by Match Day 12 , the table shapes up into the usual groups of the Top 6, The Mid table 8 and The Relegation 6. But this season, like how this year 2020 has been, is as unique as it gets atleast for the time being but this uniqueness has added to that extra bit of excitement.

Having said all that, once you read through all the action that took place over this weekend, the aforementioned narrative becomes a lot more clearer.

Manchester United 0 – 0 Manchester City

It was supposed to be the match of the weekend but it turned out to be an extremely dull affair.

Everton FC 1 – 0 Chelsea FC


In the past few weeks, Chelsea has been the real deal, rollicking results around since their slow start to the season while Everton’s journey thus far has been the complete opposite. But Chelsea’s title credentials came into question after a Siggurdson penalty helped The Toffees secure valuable 3 points against The Blues. Despite their position in the league, Chelsea has failed to beat any of the teams they have faced in the top half of the league. Yes, all of their wins till date have been against the bottom half of the league and their next 6 fixtures feature 4 teams from the current Top 10 with the other 2 teams being Wolves and Arsenal who are no pushovers themselves. That’s something to look at.

Crystal Palace 1 – 1 Tottenham Hotspur

Despite the usual combo of Son and Kane combining once again for Spurs with the former this time assisting the latter, Mourinho’s men were unable to hold on to all 3 points as a splendid second half rally egged on by the Selhurst Park faithful of 2000, saw Eagles’ player Shlupp ensure that the spoils were shared between the two clubs from London.

Fulham FC 1 – 1 Liverpool FC


Fulham played their best match of the season till date as their hustle and bustle was too much to handle for a depleted Liverpool side especially in the first 30 minutues. The Cottagers seemed in inspirational mood and were playing on the front foot unlike their previous games, possilbly due the support of their fans who welcomed the players back for the first time at Craven Cottage. In form player Bobby Decordova Reid got the hosts in front with a splendid strike but a late Salah penalty ensured that a point was shared between the two sides.

Leicester City 3 – 0 Brighton Hove and albion

Leicester’s juggernaut to the top continued, this time with a comprehensive 3 goal win over the Seagulls. Maddison secured a wonderful brace while Vardy was at it again as this result propelled them to the third spot in the table just 1 point behind joint leaders Liverpool and Spurs.

Arsenal FC 0 – 1 Burnley FC


Pierre Emerick Aubamayang finally found the back of the net but it was at the wrong end as his own goal helped Burnley secure a massive 3 points which saw them climb out of the Bottom 3. Arsenal’s misery was compounded further with Xhaka getting sent off for an absolutely stupid piece of reckless behaviour wherein he manhandled one of the Claret’s players. On the back of this result, The Gunners are languishing at 15th just 5 points above the drop zone. Things are going awry for Arteta and time is running out to get things right.

Other fixtures around the country :

West Ham United’s impressive start to the season continued , this time courtesy of an 80th minute winner off the head of Ogbonna to help the Hammers secure a vital 1 – 2 win over Leeds United, a result which sees them climb to 6th on the table.

10 man Aston Villa were handed a penalty in the 92nd minute which was duly converted as the Villains secured a tight 0 – 1 win over Wolves. The affair saw 13 cards dished out by Mike Dean including 2 red cards!

Despite an absolutely stellar strike by Furlong to help West Brom equalize against Newcastle after they went behind just 20 seconds into the match, a superb cross which was met by a bullet header by Dwight Gayle helped the Magpies secure all 3 points , beating West Brom 2-1 !

Southampton’s wonderful run to the top of the table continued as they secured a comfortable 3 – 0 over Sheffield United, a result which saw them move to the Top 4 of the table.

The results over the weekend were truly staggering as it threw the Premier league wide open. No team seems secure and this inconsistency in performance is in all probability down to the fact that the games are coming thick and fast in a very congested fixture list and even more so for those involved in Europe.

Liverpool’s injury crisis have been absolutely woeful with Matip being the latest on the list, this after being dealt with the fact that Jota and Tsmikas will be out for 2 months. Will their depleted squad soon affect their performance? The fact that they are still joint on top of the league (in terms of points) , is testament to their squad depth, but how long can this go on?

Are Southampton and Leicester City going to form the New Top 6? Their results definitely seem to suggest so and with wonderful talent in both ranks, it can certainly happen, especially with Arsenal’s free fall which is currently occurring with no brakes to stem the fall.

West Ham too need a note of mention. They negotiated a horrible fixture list at the start of their campaign in superb fashion and are now reaping the rewards with a Top 5 standing currently.

Both the Manchester clubs are in 8th and 9th with Aston Villa who have 18 points but with 2 games in hand and if the Villains (hypothetically speaking) won those 2 matches, they’d be in the Top 3 themselves.

At the bottom of table though, Chris Wilder and his men need help, They have JUST 1 Point from 12 games. If something doesn’t happen soon, they can say goodbye to the Premier League this season.

Phew! What a weekend of footballing action. That’s it from us. We have a mid week round of matches over Tuesday and Wednesday which sees a Top of the Table clash as Liverpool host Tottenham in what promises to be an enticing affair! Until next time , Goodbye!

With Australia drawing first blood, the onus was on India to ensure that pride was restored in the T20i series. Both teams headed into the series with different squads, with Australia having to making enforced changes due to injuries to Warner and Cummins while India had already planned to play the series with a different squad.

India continued to don their 1992 retro jersey while Australia’s jersey was inspired by their indigenous culture!

So, here’s what happened in the series :

1st T20i match : India win by 11 runs

Australia put India into bat first who lost Dhawan and Kohli fairly cheaply. However KL Rahul (51) and Sanju Samson (23) stitched a decent partnership before the latter , who looked in fine touch, hit one straight to mid off , which resulted in a collapse as India went from 86/2 to 92/5. Some rear guard action was once again needed and it was provided yet again by Jadeja as his cameo of 44(23) ensured that India posted a challenging total of 161.

Chahal was on as a concussion substitute, for Jadeja who sustained a head injury in the last over while batting, which did not please the Aussies at all, as his spell changed the complexion of the match. Australia had gotten off to a good start , not losing a wicket for 56 runs before the leggie was introduced who turned things around. His spell of 4-0-25-3 along with a wonderful debut performance by Natarajan who also picked up 3 wickets , helped India defend their total by 11 runs!

MOM : Yuzvendra Chahal

2nd T20i match : India win by 6 wickets

With a host of changes for both sides owing to injury concerns, the match was well poised to be unpredictable. Kohli won the toss and elected to bowl first. The Aussies got off to a flyer thanks largely to Wade’s scintillating fifty. The Aussies continued to pepper the Indian bowling attacking, including smashing Chahal for 51 in his quota. T. Natarajan once again starred with the ball with figures of 2/20 as all the other bowlers went above 8.5 too , resulting in Australia posting 195!

India capitalised on an inexperienced bowling attack as both Rahul and Dhawan took on the bowlers. Desptie the best efforts of the two leg spinners, Kohli and co ensured a steady flow of runs to keep them within range of the hunt. With 46 runs needed of the final 4 overs, the slog overs flourish was provided by Pandya as his explosive batting towards the end ensured that The Men in Blue won the match with 2 balls to spare and with it the series!

MOM : Hardik Pandya for his 42 off 22 balls

3rd T20i match : Australia win by 12 runs

India opted to bowl in this final match and Australia got off to a bad start with returning captain Finch departing for a duck. But thereafter, Matthew Wade took over and continued his good form, smashing the bowlers around and once again notched up a wonderful half century. He was ably supported by Glenn Maxwell who was at his destructive best as his quickfire 54 along with Wade’s 80 helped the Aussies to 184!

India didn’t have the best of starts as well, losing KL Rahul in the second ball of the innings. Dhawan and Kohli tried to steer ship thereafter stitching together a 74 run partnership, with Kohli in particular looking at his dangerous best. But the Aussies legspinners Zampa and Swepson in particular pinned the Indians back as they slumped from 74/1 to 100/4. With Kohli still at the crease along with Pandya, the chase was still on but with 36 needed of 2 overs, Kohli departed for a wonderful 85 and Australia managed to defend the rest, helping themselves to a consolation win!

MOM : Mitchell Swepson for his figures of 3/23

Man of the Series : Hardik Pandya

Right then, 2 series down! And the white ball phase of the cricket series between these 2 sides read 1-1 or more specifically 3-3 in terms of matches! The 4 match test series awaits us in what promises to be an absolutely mouth watering affair. India will be playing their first ever Day Night Test Match at the Gabba no less on Dec 17! With Kohli set to depart after the first test, will India be able to handle the Aussies juggernaut and prove their previous test series win was no fluke or will Australia re-asscertain their dominance at their own backyard!

Well, we just need to wait and watch! So until then, take care and goodbye!