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The PCB also decided to increase the player salary cap by USD 25,000 after all six franchises unanimously agreed

Umar Farooq13-Nov-2017The PCB has decided to increase the number of players per PSL franchise from 20 to 21 and raise the player salary cap by USD 25,000. Earlier, the purse allowed per team in the PSL was $1.2 million. Along with the existing squads of 20 players, each team will now be allowed to include a local player from the domestic circuit. The minimum squad of each franchise will consist of 16 players and can be extended to 21 with five supplementary players.”All franchises unanimously decided to increase the player salary cap by USD 25,000 allowing teams to pick a squad of 21 players for this season,” a PCB release said. “The newly inducted players will be from Pakistan and may include players unearthed through talent hunt programs or top performers from the National T20 Cup taking place in Rawalpindi currently.”A day after the draft was held in Lahore, the PCB held a meeting with all six franchises at the National Cricket Academy, touching upon a variety of issues for the improvement of the league going forward. The highlights of the meeting included the stance against anti-corruption, counterfeit merchandising and talent hunt programmes.Each franchise has a spending cap as players are picked through the draft system from five different categories – platinum, diamond, gold, silver, and emerging. But each category has a varying range and limit. A player can earn in the range of $140,000 to $230,000 for one full season.The players picked in the diamond category can earn between $70,000 and $85,000 while players selected in the gold category can take home up to $60,000 with the baseline of $50,000. Similarly, players selected in the silver category can earn from $22,000 to $33,000. Emerging players from the Under-19 circuit can be bought in the range of $10,000 and $12,000.

Behind-the-scenes footage has captured the emotional moment David Raya's family witnessed him officially become an Arsenal player.

What's the latest Arsenal transfer news?

The big story emerging from London Colney this week is the arrival of the Brentford goalkeeper in North London.

As per The Athletic, the 27-year-old joins initially on a season-long loan with the option to make the move permanent next summer. The Gunners will pay an initial £3m fee, while then in 12 months' time, if they want to make it a permanent transfer, they'll pay a further £27m.

The goalkeeper only had one year left on his contract at Brentford, but has signed a new two-year deal, with an option for an additional 12 months, to protect his value with the Bees in case he doesn't end up staying at Arsenal.

It appears to be a good deal all-round (except potentially for Aaron Ramsdale who now faces strong competition for the number one spot between the sticks) especially considering the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Tottenham have all reportedly shown interest in the player at some stage in the recent past.

And it seems as though Raya's family are pretty delighted with the move as well, especially his 91-year-old grandfather Joaquin.

Indeed, as seen in a clip now being circulated on Twitter – taken originally from a video shared on the club's official website –– Mikel Arteta presents the family member with a signed, personalised Arsenal shirt with his name on the back.

The Grandfather jokes: "I'm a bit nervous!" Before opening the gift upon which he adds: "This is my biggest dream."

They then go and take a picture together in a wholesome moment as sporting director Edu Gaspar jokes that 91-year-old Joaquin is "the first signing".

Who joined Arsenal in 2023?

The Gunners have made some pretty exciting moves already this summer, with Declan Rice most notably arriving for a club-record £100m fee (which could rise to £105m).

On top of that, Kai Havertz left Chelsea for their London rivals, and Jurrien Timber arrived from Ajax, making Raya the club's fourth signing in the current transfer window.

Arsenal also got a few more signings in through the door at the start of 2023 in the January transfer window as they picked up another player from the Blues in Jorginho, while also landing Brighton winger Leandro Trossard and Polish defender Jakub Kiwior.

Read the latest Arsenal transfer news HERE…

Arteta and Edu will no doubt hope this is enough to see their side fight successfully in the race to win the Premier League but a bad injury to Timber, could force them back into the transfer market to sign another defender before the window closes.

Indeed, transfers expert Fabrizio Romano has said recently: "Arsenal will explore the market, will discuss internally, Arteta will be involved in conversations because, at the beginning of the market, they looked at the possibility to bring in one more centre-back, a traditional centre-back, more than a versatile centre-back such as Timber who can play everywhere basically in the defence.

"They were looking for example at a player that they appreciate is Aymeric Laporte, this is true. The rumours about Laporte are true in the sense that he's one of the players appreciated by Arsenal, but from what I [have] heard, Man City didn't want to sell one more player to Arsenal; they prefer a different kind of destination for Laporte."

Rejuvenating the Edgbaston academy is a prime target as an old favourite returns to Birmingham

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Nov-2017Graeme Welch is rejoining Warwickshire as bowling coach after losing out on the same role with England to Essex’s Chris Silverwood.Welch served as bowling coach at Edgbaston for four years from January 2010, during which time the club won the County Championship title in 2012 and the Clydesdale Bank 40 in 2010.He left the club in 2014 to take up a role as elite performance director at Derbyshire but when that did not work out he subsequently moved to Leicestershire as assistant coach in September 2016 only for them to finish bottom of Division Two in the Championship.Welch’s reputation as a bowling coach remains unblemished, however, and Warwickshire were quick to hail his return as the next step in a coaching reshuffle that saw Alan Richardson released from the role last month.Ashley Giles, sport director at Warwickshire, said: “Graeme Welch is an outstanding bowling coach who was part of an excellent coaching team that delivered trophies at Edgbaston.”In our view he is one of the very best bowling coaches in the game and it came as no surprise to us when he was recently connected with the position of England bowling coach.”We are delighted that he has chosen to return to Edgbaston where he will not only be responsible for getting the first team back to winning ways but also building a bowling academy equipped to develop a new generation of bowlers, from all backgrounds, capable of delivering continued success in all formats for Warwickshire and the Birmingham Bears.”Welch said: “I have enjoyed my time at Leicestershire, but the chance to return to Edgbaston was one I could not turn down. I have been lucky enough to be part of successful Bears teams in the past as both player and coach and am very excited by the challenge of building a bowling academy which will bring success to the club on a sustained basis.”Leicestershire responded quickly to fill the vacancy, appointing John Sadler, who initially rejoined them as Second XI Coach last winter before taking charge of first team affairs alongside Graeme Welch for the final three matches of the 2017 season. Sadler and Paul Nixon, Leicestershire’s new coach, played in the same Foxes side and were both key members of the team that in the early years had the most successful record in the country.

A lot of the focus around Arsenal in this transfer window has been regarding incomings. On the Loaded Mag NUFC YouTube Channel though, transfer expert Ben Jacobs’ spoke of a potential departure with interest from clubs both in England and further beyond.

What does the future hold for Arsenal defender?

Arsenal defender Kieran Tierney may well be playing his football in a different colour next season.

Two sides who also boast European football are monitoring the Scotsman with the potential for either a permanent deal, or, more likely, a loan spell away from the Emirates.

Tierney has seen his Arsenal tenure hampered by injuries which is a shame given that this comes in and around some very good runs of form.

Since arriving in London from Celtic back in August 2019, for an SPFL record fee at the time, the fullback has only once surpassed 2,000 minutes. In his first season and most recent season, he fell short of 1,000 minutes.

In 2020/21, Tierney appeared in 27 Premier League fixtures, 26 of which were starts, working out at 2,302 minutes.

What has Ben Jacobs said?

Here is what Ben Jacobs said on the Loaded Mag NUFC podcast.

“The latest news is that a loan option might be expired by Real Sociedad for [Kieran] Tierney, and that may be an indication, depending on if they’re gunning for an obligation to buy or an option, that the player wants game time.

“Arsenal might want that chance to bring him back. Tierney didn’t do much wrong for Arsenal the season before last, it’s just that Zinchenko came in and his game time has been diminished.

“The starting point of Arteta, I understood, was that if Tierney was happy at Arsenal, Arteta was happy with Tierney staying because he’s hugely valued as a squad player and they’re going to have a lot of important games now that they’re back in the Champions League.

“One thing Arsenal learnt last season coming into this season which can help them is that that depth is necessary because as soon as Saliba got injured they faded. What if Zinchenko gets injured? You’d love a player like Tierney there that can come in.

“Obviously, you have to listen to the player and whether he’s happy with that role, which is why a loan might be a solution to buy a bit more time to assess. So that could be one option, a loan somewhere. From Arsenal’s point of view, I highly doubt that they would want to loan to a Premier League team and from Newcastle’s perspective, if they do buy a left back then they’ll want something long-term.

“There are a few sort of moving parts in the Tierney situation, at the beginning of the summer Tierney made it clear that he would be prepared to fight for his place and then from Newcastle’s perspective, as much as they looked at Tierney, Livramento became more likely and it might sound strange to say because again, with Livramento we’re talking about predominantly or almost exclusively, a right-sided player and with Tierney, left-back.”

Warner’s captaincy has received praise from fellow opener Aaron Finch after the loss in Ranchi, and from his Sunrisers Hyderabad mentor VVS Laxman in the recent past

Arun Venugopal in Guwahati09-Oct-2017David Warner feels his style of captaincy is an extension of Steven Smith’s ethos, as Australia look to his leadership to reverse their trend of losses in India. Standing in for Smith, who injured his shoulder during the final ODI in Nagpur, Warner captained Australia in their nine-wicket defeat in the rain-affected first T20I in Ranchi. He stressed that the team was trying its best to win every game.”From my point of view, it’s about following on from what Steve’s values are and the standards of the team and what we do to respect him,” Warner said ahead of the second T20I in Guwahati. “I try to follow down the same key messages to the guys so we’re preparing as best as we can to go out on the field. We’re doing our best and that’s all I can do to the best of my ability. It’s up to the player to follow directions.”Despite Australia’s loss, Warner’s leadership came in for praise from different quarters. Opener Aaron Finch thought Warner’s experience of playing and leading in India was put to good use. “It can be quite refreshing when another skipper comes in who doesn’t have to worry about the off-field stuff quite as much as the regular skipper does,” Finch said. ” did a fantastic job under the circumstances. Dave’s obviously played a lot and captained a lot over here in the IPL. He knows the opposition very well, he’s very calm under pressure the majority of the time. He’s a fantastic leader. He’s the vice-captain of the country for a reason.”Former India batsman VVS Laxman, who mentors the IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad – which Warner captains in the IPL – felt the opener was a more aggressive leader than Smith. On the subject of captaincy, Warner said it was “great fun” but came with its share of responsibilities.”From where I stand, it’s my mind, Steve’s mind, different players’ minds, we’ve all got minds of our own,” he said. “When you’re out there and you’re not captain, you don’t have the pressure on yourself to keep thinking all the time. I can just sit back and say I’d have done this, I’d have done that but the difference is you’re not captain. The ideas everyone brings to the table, you say that to the captain and bring in some ideas and that’s what we do to help each other out because it’s a tough job when you’re out there.”I think if you ask each individual, you have a sense of responsibility no matter what. It’s not just me but everyone, who puts that captain’s cap on. You’ve got a responsibility, you’ve got to lead your troops. It’s great fun, we enjoy it, but I enjoy going out there and winning games for my country and whichever team I’m in front of. And if I’m leading, I’m doing it to the best of my ability, even more than you normally would just to get the guys in the right direction as a leader.”And despite the team’s frequent middle-order collapses, Warner said he couldn’t afford to worry about them. “I don’t look too much into because if you get out early, then there’s a collapse in the middle after a partnership,” Warner said. “Everyone becomes frustrated with why it happens. No one means to get out.”There are always reasons about why it [collapse] happens. People talk about pressure, people talk about having two batsmen in and two batsmen get out. We have to play like the way we know and that’s the brand of cricket we bring to the table. You can’t worry about a collapse going to happen. No one is worried about that at all. We have to keep backing ourselves 100%. We know that when we do well we do very, very well.”

Sunderland’s Championship season began in frustrating fashion as they lost 2-1 to newly promoted Ipswich Town at the Stadium of Light.

It was a damaging lack of potency and end-product that robbed the Black Cats of any points. In the match, they managed 66% possession and 20 shots, but just four of those were on target.

Sunderland began the affair with recently-signed Luis Semedo up top, but to place an over-reliance on a 19-year-old who has never played English football before is a questionable strategy and they must look to dip back into the market.

This was recognised by manager Tony Mowbray, who said:

“Hopefully there will be some more attacking options in the building in the next week or two, they'll have to settle into the environment and get used to everybody.”

Therefore, another attacking option that Sunderland could possibly turn to is Tom Cannon.

What’s the latest on Tom Cannon to Sunderland?

According to The Sun journalist Alan Nixon, several second-tier sides including Preston, Stoke, Birmingham, and Sunderland are interested in signing the 20-year-old.

However, that bid has not been formalised due to Ross Stewart’s presence at the club. The Scot is currently out injured and Mowbray expects him to return to action in “six or seven weeks”, but if he does leave then Cannon can be considered as his replacement.

Would Tom Cannon be a good signing for Sunderland?

Cannon is a youth product of Everton and has been at the club since 2012, before signing his first professional contract in 2021.

For the Toffees’ U18 and U21 sides, the striker has registered 65 goal contributions in 97 outings. However, despite forming a spectacular reputation, the Irishman has been limited to just three appearances for the senior team.

The £7.5k-per-week man may feel especially overlooked when you consider Everton’s rotten goal-scoring record.

Last term, the Merseyside outfit only bagged 35 times in the Premier League and dramatically avoided relegation on the final day.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin only started 15 games due to persistent injuries, whilst Neal Maupay has netted just once in his Everton career.

Meanwhile, Cannon was sent out on loan to Preston in January 2023 and scored eight goals in 19 starts.

Hull City boss Liam Rosenior described the youngster as “outstanding”, with Preston midfielder Ryan Ledson extending this praise, saying:

“Tom Cannon has been absolutely brilliant. He’s a credit to himself and Everton Football Club. Since the second he’s come through the door he’s worked hard, got his head down and he’s a nice kid.

“He’s 20 years of age, has the world at his feet and all he needs to do is focus on himself and scoring goals because he can go wherever he wants to be.”

If Sunderland moved for Cannon, it could see a repeat of their Ellis Simms trick.

Last summer, the Wearside giants signed the Englishman on loan from Everton, and he notched nine goal involvements in 14 starts.

Whilst in impressive form, he was recalled by Everton to aid their relegation battle. He admirably deputised for Stewart, who has missed 38 games for the club through injury.

If Simms had spent the whole season at Sunderland, he could've allowed the Black Cats to formulate a more threatening promotion bid, paving an interesting storyline for Cannon if he follows suit.

Therefore, counting on Stewart and his patchy fitness record is a risky strategy and with Cannon waiting in the wings with the promise of more regular minutes, it could be an inspired piece of business.

Liverpool will sign at least one more player during the summer transfer window, according to a key update from journalist Fabrizio Romano.

What's the transfer latest at Liverpool?

It has been a curious summer transfer window at Anfield to date – one that started promisingly, but is now threatening to peter out the longer it goes on.

The arrivals of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai from Brighton and RB Leipzig respectively were undoubtedly exciting, with the pair expected to make a big difference in midfield, providing fresh legs and technical quality in the middle of the park.

Read the latest Liverpool transfer news HERE…

Since then, however, no new players have come in, while a host of midfielders have moved on, from out-of-contract trio James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, to ageing duo Fabinho and Jordan Henderson, who have gone to Saudi Arabia.

It is clear that further reinforcements are required before the window shuts at the end of this month, but with the Reds' Premier League opener away to Chelsea now less than a week away, it is a concerning situation, considering there isn't a single out-and-out defensive midfielder at the club currently.

Will Liverpool sign more players?

Speaking to Born and Red on YouTube [via Empire of the Kop], Romano provided a key update on Liverpool's transfer situation, saying he believes more new faces are on their way to Anfield:

"In the final few weeks of the window I expect Liverpool to sign for sure one player, at least two, could be three if they find a good opportunity.

"They’re really working on that. They’re having daily contacts. Their style is to go player-by-player and negotiation-by-negotiation because this is how Liverpool work. But I think they will be very busy in the final weeks."

This is clearly an update that many Liverpool fans will want to hear, at a time where plenty of them are growing restless at the lack of business on show. Last summer, owners FSG were negligent in not making enough transfer funds available, and it led to very few reinforcements and a bitterly disappointing campaign.

The same simply cannot afford to happen this time around, and between now and the end of August, at least one midfielder and a left-sided centre-back need to come in, although two players who are capable of thriving as a No.6 would be ideal.

Southampton's Romeo Lavia has been a long-term target, and while things have gone a little muted on the situation of late, it would be a surprise if Liverpool didn't snap him up at this point, with Saints eventually accepting a bid for him.

Fluminense midfielder Andre is another who could possibly come in and bolster the Reds' midfield options, while someone like Sporting CP's highly-rated defender Goncalo Inacio would be just what Jurgen Klopp is looking for at the back, coming in and providing competition for places, and acting as an upgrade on both Joel Matip and Joe Gomez.

It cannot be stressed how key the next few weeks are at Liverpool, and if no business is done in that time, FSG will deserve every ounce of criticism that comes their way.

Tom Westley rushed for a precautionary x-ray on a hand injury as Yorkshire secured their Division One future, and the news was good for Essex’s England No. 3

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Sep-20171:24

County Championship Round-up: Yorkshire secure safety

Steven Patterson and Jack Brooks took three wickets each to help Yorkshire secure their Division One place for another year on the first day of their last Specsavers County Championship match of the season.Yorkshire started the day knowing that a six-point swing with Somerset would finally allay any lingering fears they had of joining Warwickshire in Division Two next season. When Somerset collapsed to 236 all out at Taunton against Middlesex, and lost batting points in the process, Yorkshire knew that a decent bowling display at Chelmsford would ensure their safety.There was a similar sigh in the Essex ranks that it was announced Tom Westley had suffered no more than bruising to his right thumb when rapped on the glove trying to fend off one that reared up unexpectedly from Patterson. The ball looped to second slip, but the Essex No 3 did not hang around to wait for the umpire’s raised finger.Never has a batsman dashed quite so quickly from the scene of his demise. Westley barely broke stride as he bounded up the pavilion steps straight into the physio’s room. With England’s party for the Ashes due to be named on Wednesday morning, the sizeable Chelmsford crowd awaited news of the injury. Westley went for a precautionary X-ray that showed no break; he will bat in the second innings.It was the first of Patterson’s three wickets. Later he would dismiss both Ryan ten Doeschate and James Foster after the sixth-wicket pair that lifted Essex from the depths of 80 for five. That the county champions would take one batting point for their 227 all out was largely due to some lusty late hitting by Neil Wagner and Simon Harmer, who recorded his maiden fifty for Essex.The day started half-an-hour late and ended with 24 overs unbowled because of combination of drizzle and bad light. Varun Chopra made up for lost time, taking 10 runs off Brooks’s first over. He found the pitch sufficiently slow that he was moving several yards down the wicket before the bowler was in his delivery stride. He connected with one from Patterson which sailed so far over long leg that there was a delay while another ball was found.Nick Browne settled into characteristic studiously mode. He took 18 balls to get off the mark before denting Coad’s parsimonious start with an imperious straight-drive to the boundary. Coad gained his reward, however, when he had Chopra, on 28, hanging his bat outside offstump to give Alex Lees the catch at first slip.Westley cover-drove Patterson gloriously for one of three boundaries in his 13 before the same bowler caused him his discomfort.Westley’s departure precipitated a collapse with four wickets in the 11 overs that preceded lunch as the pitch suddenly became spiteful and Essex fell from 63 for one. Dan Lawrence, centurion in the morale-boosting victory at Hampshire last week, was third to go, playing across one from Brooks for eight.Browne, having faced 92 balls, became Coad’s second victim when he played down the wrong line and was bowled for 29, and Ravi Bopara was trapped plumb to Brooks in similar fashion to Lawrence for just for one.Ten Doeschate and Foster set about post-lunch reparations with a stand of 55 in 16 overs that was full of typical sharp singles and some lusty blows. Foster swept Coad effortlessly for six, but the ball after lofting Patterson straight past the bowler for a one-bounce four, the veteran pair were separated.Foster attempted to hammer Patterson over the midwicket boundary but failed to clear Kraigg Brathwaite stationed there for that eventuality, and departed for 25. Ten Doesechate followed seven runs later, nicking behind to give Patterson his third scalp. The Essex captain had faced 50 balls for his 30.Wagner weighed in with a crucial 44 at Southampton, and he carried on in the same vein. He bounced down the wicket and arced Coad over midwicket for six before his big-hitting came to a premature end when he miscued to mid-off to give Brooks a third wicket. The eight-wicket stand with Harmer was worth 41 in nine overs.Harmer was also nimble on his feet to drive spinner Karl Carver through mid-on for four and his eighth boundary, a straight-drive off Patterson, took him to his maiden fifty for Essex from 63 balls. He finally went lbw sweeping at Carver for 64. Jamie Porter’s contribution to a ninth-wicket stand of 39 was a single, and he was last man out when heaving Carver to long-off.

Leeds United have gone through a summer of change so far as they have had to deal with relegation from the Premier League and a host of players moving out of the door at Elland Road.

Who has left Leeds this summer?

Tyler Roberts, Adam Forshaw, Joel Robles, and Rodrigo have all departed on permanent deals, whilst Marc Roca, Rasmus Kristensen, Brendan Aaronson, and Robin Koch have left on loan.

Manager Sam Allardyce also moved on at the end of last season, after he failed to maintain the club's place at the top table, and has been replaced by German head coach Daniel Farke.

Read the latest Leeds transfer news HERE…

The former Norwich tactician has been able to make one addition to his side to date, as Ethan Ampadu has joined on a permanent deal from Chelsea.

One player who could be on his way to Elland Road before the summer transfer window slams shut is Coventry City star Gustavo Hamer, as he has been linked with a switch to Yorkshire.

How good is Gustavo Hamer?

The Dutch maestro is an exceptional Championship performer, as his Sofascore rating of 7.35 placed him third within the entire league last term, whose ability to create for others could allow him to get the best out of misfiring Leeds forward Patrick Bamford.

Farke could get the ex-Chelsea striker back on the goal trail by signing Hamer to be an outstanding provider of opportunities from a midfield position.

Last season, the 26-year-old maestro racked up ten assists and created 16 'big chances' for his teammates. He also provided 1.8 key passes per game across 41 appearances outside of the play-offs.

Meanwhile, no Leeds player produced more than 1.5 key passes per match and Jack Harrison created the most 'big chances' for the team with nine.

Journalist and transfer insider Dean Jones compared Hamer to ex-Leeds star Pablo Hernandez, who assisted 21 goals in his last two second-tier seasons with the club, by saying that he could be a "Hernandez-type" figure under Farke.

This suggests that Hamer has the potential to be the German's main creative threat in the heart of midfield, which could benefit Bamford by allowing more room for error with his finishing as opportunities would come his way more frequently thanks to the Coventry gem's playmaking invention.

The Leeds centre-forward only scored six goals in 37 Premier League matches over the last two seasons but when fully fit, he had plundered 17 goals in 38 top-flight outings during the 2020/21 campaign.

He also managed an impressive 16 strikes in 45 Championship clashes throughout the 2019/20 title-winning campaign under Marcelo Bielsa, which shows that the ex-Middlesbrough loanee has the quality to be a terrific goalscorer for the Whites in each of the top two divisions.

Hamer's creativity could be the key to helping Bamford to rediscover his touch in front of goal as the Coventry star, who also scored 11 goals last term, has the ability to consistently provide the striker with the chances he needs to be a lethal scorer next season.

Therefore, Farke must push the club to complete a deal for the £5.2k-per-week whiz over the coming weeks in order to revive the former England international whilst also adding a sensational midfielder to his squad.

A blistering 219-run stand between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma laid the platform for India to inflict upon Sri Lanka their biggest defeat in a home ODI

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy31-Aug-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details2:01

Agarkar: Sri Lanka haven’t shown any fight

The last time Virat Kohli had elected to bat after winning an ODI toss, Rohit Sharma made an unbeaten 264 in an India total of 404.Now, against the same opponents, it seemed as if Kohli and Rohit were on course to become the first pair of batsmen to score double-hundreds in the same ODI. By the end of the 29th over, they had put on 219 in 165 balls. Kohli was batting on 131 off 93 balls, Rohit on 86 off 75. On a hard, flat Premadasa Stadium pitch bounded by one of the quickest outfields anywhere, India were 225 for 1 and the record ODI total of 444 seemed under serious threat.SL’s World-Cup spot in focus

Thursday’s loss means that Sri Lanka’s chances of an automatic place in the 2019 World Cup now depend on the results of the one-off ODI between West Indies and Ireland and the five-match series between West Indies and England before the September 30 cut-off.
Sri Lanka needed to win both of the final two matches against India to secure automatic qualification for the tournament. A win in the final ODI on Sunday will take Sri Lanka to 88 points on the ICC table. However, that may not guarantee them a World Cup spot – if West Indies beat Ireland in the one-off ODI and beat England 5-0, they can reach 88 points and edge Sri Lanka out on decimal points.
If Sri Lanka lose Sunday’s fixture, West Indies can qualify for the World Cup with a win over Ireland and a 4-1 series win over England.
If West Indies seal automatic qualification for the World Cup, Sri Lanka will have to play the World Cup Qualifier, scheduled for March 2018.

In the end, India got as far as 375. Kohli’s 30th-over dismissal, which gave Lasith Malinga his 300th ODI wicket, sparked a slump that saw India lose four wickets for the addition of only 49 runs, in 49 balls. Without a whole lot of batting to follow, MS Dhoni and Manish Pandey had to ration their risk-taking somewhat in an unbroken sixth-wicket stand of 101 off 74 balls. And so, instead of a world-record chase, Sri Lanka were left merely the task of bettering their own highest successful chase. By 52 runs.In the end, they never even threatened to get close, eventually folding for 207 in the 43rd over of their chase and slumping to their biggest defeat – by a runs margin – in a home ODI.The target was a speck that grew smaller and more distant with each over, and regular wickets meant Sri Lanka never got enough of a foothold to even think of going for it. Apart from Angelo Mathews, who made 70, and Milinda Siriwardana, who scored a punchy 39, no one got past 30 as Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav finished with two wickets apiece.Kohli based his decision to bat – it was only the second time he had done so, having won 16 tosses – on letting his bowlers and fielders put their feet up in the heat and humidity of the Colombo afternoon. Given those conditions, and the utter lack of help from the pitch for both seam and spin, Sri Lanka looked like they were serving a sentence during the first 29.2 overs of the Indian innings.Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma added 219 for the second wicket in 168 balls•Getty ImagesTheir only moment of joy, in that time, came in the second over, when Shikhar Dhawan sliced Vishwa Fernando straight to third man. Given the form he was in, he would have rued that shot as he settled in the dressing room and watched Kohli and Rohit dominate the bowling.Kohli set off in a blaze of boundaries, hitting three successive fours off Fernando, off only the ninth, tenth and eleventh balls of his innings. None of the three balls were half-volleys. He drove the first ball to the cover boundary, on the up. The next two, near-identical balls closer to off stump, went past mid-off and midwicket. It took him only 23 balls to get to 30, with six fours, all either driven or flicked.At that point, Rohit was batting on 3 off 7. A lofted drive over extra-cover, off Mathews, moved the opener into his stride, and from there on, no matter who the bowler was, both batsmen did as they pleased. There were two mix-ups early in the partnership, with Kohli at the danger end on both occasions, and a run-out seemed the likeliest way, by far, for Sri Lanka to break it.After the first Powerplay, Rohit and Kohli turned on a steady stream of ones and twos, and manufactured a boundary every now and then to keep the run rate rattling along at well above seven an over. A bottom-handed whip from Kohli enabled him to hit Siriwardana against the turn and bisect long-on and deep midwicket. A deliberate, open-faced slice from Rohit sent the ball curling past the diving backward point fielder. Given the speed of the outfield, anything that beat a fielder on the circle left the boundary-rider no chance.By the 25th over, Kohli had already raced to his hundred, off just 76 balls, reaching the landmark with a whippy pick-up shot off Siriwardana. His next 19 balls brought him 31 runs, and he seemed unstoppable when he fell to one of the most innocuous balls he faced all day: a wide, full ball from Malinga that he slapped straight to sweeper cover.A total of at least 400 still seemed a formality, though, with Rohit reaching his hundred in the 34th over and Pandya, promoted to No. 4, clattering Akila Dananjaya for a couple of early lofted boundaries. But Mathews, carrying his injury-ravaged body creakily to the crease and delivering two short balls, dismissed both off successive balls, Pandya picking out the deep fielder with a pull and Rohit cramped for room while trying to ramp him over the keeper. When KL Rahul failed to keep a flick down off Dananjaya in the 38th over, Sri Lanka had done as much damage limitation as they could have hoped for. From there on, India’s dominance would resume unabated.