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Em partida válida pela nona rodada do Campeonato Paulista 2021, A Inter de Limeira superou o Palmeiras por 1 a 0 no Allianz Parque, com gol aos 48 da etapa final com Pedro do Rio. No domingo (2), o Verdão vai ao Canindé enfrentar o Santo André. No dia seguinte, o Leão recebe o São Caetano no Estádio Major José Levy Sobrinho.

>> VEJA A SITUAÇÃO DO PALMEIRAS NO PAULISTA E SIMULE OS RESULTADOS

Com esse resultado, os comandados de Abel Ferreira seguem com 12 pontos no estadual, seis pontos atrás do Novorizontino, segundo colocado do Grupo C, mas ficam em situação muito complicada para conseguir a vaga no mata-mata. Dos nove pontos que ainda há em disputa, o time precisa descontar seis em relação ao Novorizontino. A equipe de Thiago Carpini soma 12 pontos e abre cinco de vantagem para o Botafogo SA, terceiro colocado do Grupo A.

>> ATUAÇÕES: Lucas Esteves tem noite para esquecer em derrota do Verdão

COMEÇO QUENTE

A equipe da casa teve ótima chance de abrir o placar nos minutos iniciais. Aos 3 minutos, Gustavo Scarpa bateu falta na área. Após desvio, Jefferson Paulino espalmou, e Felipe Melo, perto do gol, tocou fraco na bola, que raspou a trave.

A Inter de Limeira apostava em saídas rápidas e lançamentos para o atacante Roger. O veterano centroavante teve uma chance de fora da área, porém impedido. Na segunda, pela direita, ele chutou forte, mas em cima de Weverton.

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A tática da equipe visitante vinha dando certo e o Leão chegou perto de abrir o placar. Após lançamento do zagueiroRenan Fonseca,Rafael Santos recebeu na área e chutou cruzado, obrigando Weverton e mandar para escanteio.

PROMESSA DO VERDÃO DEIXA O GRAMADO LESIONADO

No decorrer da primeira etapa, a Inter de Limeira nivelou a partida e passou a incomodar a equipe da casa, que sofreu uma perda importante. Aos 29, Wesley entrou em uma disputa de bola e torceu o tornozelo. Com muitas dores, ele foi substituído por Giovani.

Apesar da saída do jovem, o Verdão voltou a chegar com perigo no ataque com Scarpa. De fora da área, o meia ajeitou para a perna esquerda e mandou um lindo chute com efeito, forçando Jefferson a realizar ótima defesa.

A equipe da casa ainda teve outra boa oportunidade de gol. Esteves cruzou rasteiro, Zé Rafael fez o corta-luz e Giovani chega batendo, mas errou o chute.

ROGER PARA NO POSTE

Na volta do intervalo, a Inter de Limeira voltou ligada e teve excelente chance de inaugurar o marcador. Roger recebeu ótimo cruzamento. Livre, ele cabeceou e a bola foi com tudo na trave.

O Palmeiras na segunda etapa caiu de rendimento e não conseguia impor pressão nos visitantes. A primeira chance alviverde no segundo tempo veio com Esteves. O garoto acertou bonito chute de primeira, mas a bola saiu por cima do gol

VERDÃO CRESCE COM MUDANÇAS, MAS NÃO MARCA

Perto da metade da etapa final, Abel Ferreira colocou Raphael Veiga, Patrick de Paula, Rony e Luiz Adriano. Com as mexidas, o Verdão cresceu no meio-campo e voltou a flertar com a vitória. Gabriel Menino recebeu pela direita e soltou uma bomba, mas a bola foi na rede pelo lado de fora.

Luiz Adriano e Viña tiveram boas chances em cruzamentos, mas o Verdão não conseguia o gol.

GOL MILAGROSO NO FIM DÁ A ALEGRIA AOS VISITANTES

O Verdão deixava espaços e a Inter de Limeira foi letal nos acréscimos.Após lançamento, Pedro do Rio aproveitou vacilo defensivo do Verdão, avançou e chutou rasteiro, dando a vitória ao Leão.

FICHA TÉCNICA
Palmeiras 0 x 1 Inter de Limeira – Campeonato Paulista

Data: 29 de Abril de 2021
Horário: 22h (horário de Brasília)
Local: Allianz Parque, em São Paulo.
Árbitro: Raphael Claus
Assistentes: Marcelo Carvalho Van Gasse e Evandro de Melo Lima
VAR: Marcio Henrique de Gois, Pericles Bassols Pegado Cortez e Marcelo Rogério

GOLS: – Pedro do Rio (47/2ºT) (0-1)
Cartões amarelos:Zé Rafael, Giovani (PAL); Deivid, Roger (IDL)
Cartão vermelho: –

PALMEIRAS(Técnico: Abel Ferreira)
Vinícius Silvestre; Mayke, Danilo Barbosa e Matías Viña; Gabriel Menino (Luiz Adriano, 27/2ºT), Felipe Melo, Zé Rafael (Raphael Veiga, 16/2ºT), Gustavo Scarpa(Patrick de Paula, 16/2ºT) e Esteves; Wesley(Giovani, 30/1ºT) e Willian(Rony, 27/2ºT)

INTER DE LIMEIRA (Técnico: Thiago Carpini)
Jefferson; Matheus Alexandre, Renan Fonseca, Thalisson e Rafael Santos; Deivid, Igor(Thiaguinho, 16/2ºT) e Rondinelly (Pedro do Rio, 32/2ºT); Lucas Batatinha (Bruno Xavier, 1/2ºT), Felipe Saraiva(Welinton, 20/2ºT) eRoger

Points: India Red 3, India Green 1India Green qualified for the final of the Duleep Trophy 2019-20 on the basis of a superior quotient despite Avesh Khan’s 56-ball 64 from No. 10 denying them a first-innings lead against India Red on day four in Alur.India Green had to avoid a collapse in the second innings to make it to the final. Although they lost their openers – Faiz Fazal and Akshath Reddy – with just 24 on the board, Dhruv Shorey’s unbeaten 44 ensured they were always well ahead of India Blue’s quotient. With no result in sight, the captains shook hands at tea.The final, to be played between the same two teams, will start on September 4 at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.India Red started the day on 404 for 9, still 36 in arrears. But Avesh’s maiden first-class half-century took them to 441, one run ahead of India Green’s first-innings total. Avesh, who struck two fours and seven sixes in his knock, added 73 for the tenth wicket with Sandeep Warrier, the latter contributing only 5.On the third evening, Avesh had come in with the side on 368 for 8 and saw Akshay Wakhare falling on the same score, with India Red trailing by 72 at that stage. But in one Dharmendrasinh Jadeja over, he smashed four sixes, three off them on successive balls, and took the side past 400. On Sunday morning, he hit two more sixes – both off Rahul Chahar – but the shot that brought the loudest cheer from the dressing room was a reverse hoick off Chahar that almost went for a six. With the legspinner targeting the rough from around the wicket, Avesh hit with the spin and found the deep-cover boundary to level the scores.In the 138th over of India Red’s innings, Priyam Garg was hit on the back of the neck while fielding at silly point. Garg found himself in the line of the ball while taking evasive action against a back foot punch by Avesh Khan. Garg’s helmet had a neck guard, which softened the impact.Garg was conscious but in pain and lay down near the pitch as the team physio applied an ice pack to the injured area. An ambulance was brought on to the field and, as a precautionary measure, he was taken to hospital where he cleared the first concussion test.

Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham continues to nurse a shoulder injury and could be ruled out for up to three months if forced to undergo surgery.

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Midfielder suffered shoulder dislocationHas been playing through pain ever sinceDecision required on summer operationWHAT HAPPENED?

No operation is being planned as yet, with the 20-year-old midfielder – fresh from helping the Blancos to La Liga and Champions League glory – readying himself for international duty with England at Euro 2024. His fitness is, however, having to be managed carefully.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Bellingham suffered a dislocation to his left shoulder during a meeting with Rayo Vallecano on November 5, 2023. He took in 47 appearances for Real across all competitions in the 2023-24 campaign, hitting 23 goals, but often had to play through pain in order to aid the Madrid cause.

DID YOU KNOW?

Little rest will be taken in this summer, as he looks to chase down a European Championship crown, and that could become a concern for those at Santiago Bernabeu. reports that if “conservative treatment” does not work over the coming weeks, then an operation will need to be booked.

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GettyWHAT NEXT?

If Bellingham goes under the knife, then he will miss pre-season and the start of the 2024-25 campaign. It is claimed that he could be sidelined for three months, with medical professionals having already stated that the problem will not “repair itself” and there is only so long that discomfort can be endured before a surgical procedure becomes the only option.

Lauren Hemp admits she signed a contract extension at Manchester City because she can see the club is on an "upwards trajectory".

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Hemp signed new deal until 2027Put an end to Barcelona interestHas faith Man City can win silverwareWHAT HAPPENED?

The Lionesses star signed a three-year extension with City following another impressive Women's Super League campaign. Hemp admitted she feels at home in the north of England and made the big decision to stay despite Spanish giants Barcelona showing significant interest in the 23-year-old,

AdvertisementWHAT HEMP SAID

The City striker opened up on her thought process after signing a new deal, saying: "We're getting closer and closer and I know City is on an upward trajectory and it's an exciting time to be part of the club. That's why I stayed and signed a new contract. I knew we were going to be successful and it's only a matter of time before we start winning trophies and picking up league titles.

"It's such a special group to be a part of and the togetherness within the squad is second to none. I feel like we can bounce back from things so quickly and, having had some time to reflect over the past couple of weeks, I've got nothing but pride when I reflect on the season."

Manchester CityTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Securing Hemp for three more years is a massive boost for Gareth Taylor's side as they look to build on a positive campaign. The former Bristol City forward bagged 11 goals and tallied eight assists in the WSL in 2023-24 but it was still not enough to secure the title. She will need to be on top form again in 2024-25 if they are to take Chelsea's crown.

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR HEMP AND CITY?

With the season over for City, Hemp will now turn her attention to England's upcoming matches. The Lionesses have a series of Euro 2025 qualifiers over the next few months as they prepare to defend their crown next year. The new domestic season will offer Hemp and City the chance to go one step further than their last campaign after seeing the title snatched away from them on the final day by Chelsea. But with Emma Hayes having departed the Blues, City will see the new season as a chance to assert their dominance in the Women's game.

Glasgow Rangers are set to face off against Ross County in the Scottish Premiership at Ibrox this evening in their penultimate match of 2023.

The Light Blues will head into 2024 top of the table if they can win their next two matches – today and against Celtic on Saturday – and that is a fantastic incentive for Philippe Clement and his players.

They are coming into this match off the back of a 2-0 win over Motherwell in the top-flight on Sunday, thanks to first-half goals from Kieran Dowell and Todd Cantwell.

With three games in the space of six days, the Belgian head coach could look to rotate his squad. With this in mind, the ex-Monaco boss must finally unleash Leon King from the start as a defensive midfielder over Dujon Sterling.

Dujon Sterling's performance against Motherwell in numbers

The summer signing from Chelsea has been deployed in a new role in the middle of the park by Clement and produced some impressive displays.

However, the 24-year-old ace did not enjoy his best afternoon on Sunday as the English whiz struggled in and out of possession throughout the game.

Sterling lost 60% (6/10) of his duels throughout the match, which included two of his three on the deck, and did not make a single tackle or interception in 90 minutes on the pitch.

He also lost possession a staggering 20 times and did not create a single chance for his teammates, to go along with a pass success rate of just 64%.

These statistics show that the ex-Stoke City loanee struggled to impact the game at both ends of the pitch positively and this could open the door for King to be unleashed.

Why King should start against Ross County

The Gers academy graduate has spent the vast majority of his senior career at Ibrox as a central defender but was brought on as a number six against Motherwell.

This is not a new position for the 19-year-old enforcer, though, as he has played five matches as a central or defensive midfielder for Scotland U21s this season.

Clement has clearly seen enough from the 6 foot ace in training, and those appearances for his country, to suggest that it is a viable position for him in the Premiership, as evidenced by his cameo on Sunday.

King as a central midfielder for Scotland U21s
Statistic	vs Hungary U21s (14/10/2023)
Sofascore rating	7.1
Pass accuracy	78%
Duel success rate	71%
Tackles won	Two
Interceptions	Three
Blocks	One

King, who was once described as a "big Rolls Royce" by ex-Gers defender Allan Hutton, has the defensive abilities, given his upbringing as a centre-back, to be a terrific holder in front of the back four.

As you can see from the table above, the teenage talent can dominate the opposition midfield with his ability to come out on top in physical duels.

King, who completed 88% of his attempted passes in 15 Premiership games last season, is also reliable in possession and could retain the ball to distribute it to the likes of Cantwell and Dowell ahead of him.

Therefore, Clement must unleash the £8k-per-week titan for his first league start of the campaign ahead of Sterling as the anchor of the midfield.

India’s premier strike bowler picks up injury during Mumbai Indians’ IPL 2019 game against Delhi Capitals

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Mar-2019

Jasprit Bumrah grimaces after hurting his shoulder•BCCI

Indian cricket held its collective breath as Jasprit Bumrah seemed to hurt his left shoulder after falling over in his follow-through on the last ball of the Delhi Capitals innings in Mumbai Indians’ first match of the IPL 2019.The official word from the Mumbai camp at the end of the game was “Jasprit Bumrah has recovered well. We will be assessing him tomorrow as well.” But Bumrah didn’t come out to bat even as Mumbai’s innings ended on 176 in reply to Delhi’s 213 for 6 with four balls left.Despite the update from Mumbai, the Indian selectors and team management would likely have their fingers crossed on the fitness of Bumrah, their main strike bowler, with the World Cup just over two months away.The incident took place when Rishabh Pant dug out a perfect toe-crushing yorker speared in by Bumrah from around the wicket. Bumrah attempted to intercept the ball with his left hand, but could not pick it up cleanly. As the ball rolled to his left, Bumrah scrambled to stop it, but immediately lay flat on the ground grimacing in pain while holding his left shoulder.Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma, Pant and others were around him straightaway. Nitin Patel, the Mumbai physiotherapist, dashed into the middle to check on Bumrah. On his walk back to the dressing room, Bumrah did not move or raise his shoulder even once.Last July, Bumrah had picked up a freak finger injury while unsuccessfully trying to take a return catch in the first match of the T20 series in Ireland. That injury grew into a finger fracture, forcing Bumrah to sit out the limited-overs series in England as well as the first two Tests of the tour.

After a near-perfect season last year, Arsenal endured a pretty miserable end to their campaign as they crashed out of the Europa League and saw their Premier League title chances go up in smoke.

However, instead of simply melting away this year – as some predicted they would – Mikel Arteta's men have found themselves right in the middle of another title race, only this time they have the know-how to go one step further.

The Gunners have shown a new maturity this season built upon an impressive defence and gritty midfield, although to really push on, that midfield could do with some reinforcements.

Arsenal could sign Saliba's dream in potential £87m+ defender

Mikel Arteta is interested in signing an exciting prospect from the Eredivisie.

ByTom Lever Dec 22, 2023

The north Londoners have been consistently linked with Douglas Luiz since the summer of 2022, but the latest player touted for a move to the Emirates could be an even better fit, Amadou Onana.

Arsenal transfer news – Amadou Onana

According to the Daily Mail, Arsenal are keen to add another midfielder to their ranks in 2024 as they look to cover themselves over Thomas Partey's increasing injury concerns, and while Aston Villa's Luiz remains a target, Everton's Onana is also 'being watched closely.'

The 22-year-old Belgian only joined the Toffees from Ligue 1 side LOSC Lille in the summer of 2022 for £34m, but he has already proven his ability to impact games at the highest level.

Perhaps his best performance of last season came against the Gunners, when Everton fought their way to a 1-0 win over Arteta's side at Goodison Park, largely thanks to the Belgian's imposing presence in midfield.

While displays like this are encouraging to prospective buyers, they have also driven up the price substantially, with Football Insider reporting earlier this year that Everton will not entertain selling their star midfielder for anything less than £70m and with the team's place in the Premier League table, there is unlikely to be much wriggle room on that price.

Amadou Onana could be the perfect alternative to Douglas Luiz

There is no denying that Villa's Luiz is a fantastically talented footballer – his seven goal involvements in 16 league games this season prove so – but with a move for him seeming an impossibility at the moment, Arsenal could do a lot worse than Onana.

In fact, it could be argued that the midfield "monster", as described by football writer Raj Chohan, would be the better option for what the Gunners are looking for.

The former Lille man doesn't necessarily have the same attacking output as the Brazilian, but his ability to disrupt opposing teams and break up play from the midfield is more impressive.

Dubbed a "complete package" and a "true Swiss army knife in midfield" by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, Onana could be the player that takes Partey's mantle as Arsenal's number six and unlocks Rice to play the left-eight role that was vacated by Granit Xhaka.

When comparing the underlying numbers of Luiz and Onana, it becomes increasingly clear that the Toffees star could be a more practical acquisition as he comes out on top, aside from Progressive passes and carries.

Stats (per 90)

Onana

Luiz

Non-Penalty Expected Goals + Assists

0.31

0.24

Progressive Passes

4.53

4.94

Progressive Carries

0.77

2.27

Tackles Won

1.62

1.56

Tackles + Interceptions

3.25

2.99

Clearances

1.20

0.84

Miscontrols

0.94

1.23

Dispossessed

0.26

0.65

Ball Recoveries

6.75

6.56

Aerial Duels Won

2.99

0.71

All Stats via FBref for the 2023/24 Domestic Season

Where he really shines is in his defensive numbers, utterly dominating the Villa man in aerial duels, tackles and interceptions, and clearances.

Ultimately, while fans might initially view a move for Onana over Luiz as a downgrade, his sheer talent and hard work would win them over in no time at all.

Andrew Jones acknowledged that David Warner faces a tougher road back although hopes he will be allowed the chance at redemption

Andrew McGlashan05-Jan-2019

Getty Images

The outgoing CEO of Cricket New South Wales, Andrew Jones, believes that Steven Smith can have five prolific years at Test level when he returns from his ball-tampering ban but acknowledged that David Warner faces a tougher road back although hopes he will be allowed the chance at redemption.Both Smith and Warner are expected to come straight back into the Australia side when their bans elapse at the end of March – perhaps as quickly as a couple of days later depending on the dates of the Pakistan one-day series – and are earmarked for positions in the World Cup and Ashes squads.Lee Germon named new Cricket NSW CEO

Former New Zealand captain Lee Germon has been appointed the new chief executive of Cricket NSW to replace Andrew Jones. After finishing his New Zealand career in 1997, Germon gathered a lot of administrative and management experience with the Tasman Rugby Union, Canterbury Cricket and Sydney Thunder.
“Although I have only been with Cricket NSW for one and a half years I am acutely aware of its proud history and the leading part it will play in driving the future of cricket in Australia,” Germon said.
Germon captained New Zealand in all of his 12 Tests and 36 of the 37 ODIs he played. He then spent three years as the CEO of the Tasman Rugby Union, became CEO of Canterbury Cricket in 2008, where he was integral to the development of the Hagley Oval that hosted the opening match of the 2015 World Cup. He then took over as general manager of Sydney Thunder nearly two years ago after a decade with Canterbury Cricket.
“Lee stood out [compared to other candidates] because of his extensive leadership experience at two elite cricket organisations, his experience in stakeholder management and building a culture of success on and off the field,” Cricket NSW Chairman John Knox said.

The pair is currently in the Bangladesh Premier League with Smith having returned to the public spotlight in recent weeks with an advertising campaign for Vodafone and his first media appearance since the ball-tampering scandal. Warner has kept his counsel although he did speak on his arrival in Bangladesh.Smith and Cameron Bancroft, who returned from his nine-month ban at the end of December in the BBL, emphasised the central role Warner played in the ball-tampering episode and there remains uncertainty how Warner will respond – if he chooses to – about what happened in Cape Town.When asked if Warner’s comeback would be as simple as Smith’s, Jones told : “No, is probably the short answer, the more credit you have in the bank the easier it is and the less credit you have the harder it is. But that said, and I’ve had this discussion with Davey in 2013, we all like watching David Warner play cricket and we all just want him to make it easy for us to enjoy him as a player and a person.”He’ll have learnt a lot through the episode, treat people as you want to be treated and things will probably work out pretty well. Everyone is happy with redemption so if he shows humility and good grace, scores lots of runs, time will do the rest.”For Smith, the enforced break to his international career could even serve to allow him to be a prolific run-scorer for longer. “I can’t speak for Davey as much, but I’m very confident Smith will get 1000 runs a year in Tests for another five years,” Jones said. “The effect of this will be a refreshment break and then he’ll have a point to prove. There’s going to be a revenge mission on the bowlers for the next five years. Hopefully Davey does the same.”Jones was comfortable that while the punishments handed out were at the “heavy end” of the scale, they were “fair” given the events in South Africa. “The corollary of that is, they are very heavy, so once time has been served there’s no double jeopardy, the guys come straight back into the system and, on current performance, you’d think straight back into the team,” he said.On the wider repercussions of the ball-tampering scandal which led to the Longstaff review into the culture of Cricket Australia, Jones, who has been involved at state and CA level during a 14-year career in cricket administration and was a key figure in the 2010-11 Argus review, had his reservations over whether it had been handled the right way.”If it was me I wouldn’t have commissioned the review. CA managed to get itself sucked into an issue related to ball-tampering,” he said. “David Peever [former CA chairman] did some stuff he could have done better, but he’s not saying go and sandpaper the ball. How’s he carrying the can for sandpapering the ball? I think they managed to get sucked into a washing machine they didn’t need to. The two things got conflated that didn’t need to. I think it was overblown to some extent and by and large CA has a lot of excellent people who care deeply about the game.”Jones was, however, critical of some aspects of the Cricket Australia set-up, chiefly the selection process of the national team which he believes should be solely in the hands of the head coach. On Saturday, new CEO Kevin Roberts said the board would assess whether potential overrode performance too much in selection.”I do think our selections have been haphazard for a number of years, that came up in the Argus review and not much has changed to be honest,” Jones said. “We often don’t pick the players with the best records – especially in batting – your Test batting is heavily correlated to your first-class record and there’s a reason for that, the job’s the same.”In my view, the players and coach are accountable for performance of the team. The coach needs to pick the team…he has to live and die by the decisions, he has to make the call and be judged on the results. It’s what we’ve done in NSW, sometimes you get good results and sometimes you don’t.”The selection issue is a bigger issue than the schedule issue, but it also depends on great players being great. We have a fantastic bowling attack which is under the pump but the records show out batting line-up doesn’t have great players.”

اكتفى فريق تشيلسي بتحقيق التعادل مع نظيره إنتر ميلان، في مباراتهما الودية اليوم، استعدادًا للموسم الجديد 2024/25.

وتلاقى الفريقان، مساء يوم الأحد، في آخر المباريات الودية الاستعدادية للموسم المرتقب، حيث تعادلا بهدف لمثله. أهداف مباراة تشيلسي وإنتر ميلان الودية

كان ماركوس تورام قد سجل هدف التقدم لصالح فريق إنتر ميلان، في الدقيقة 26 من عمر الشوط الأول.

وظل تشيلسي متأخرًا في النتيجة حتى الدقيقة 90، حيث تمكن شيموانيا أوجوشوكو من تسجيل هدف التعادل القاتل للفريق اللندني.

ويبدأ تشيلسي مشواره في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز بمواجهة صعبة ضد مانشستر سيتي، يوم السبت المقبل.

وخسر تشيلسي من مانشستر سيتي، في مباراة ودية الأسبوع الماضي، بأربعة أهداف مقابل هدفين.

Captain challenges team to keep up the pressure and seal rare series whitewash in Sri Lanka

George Dobell in Colombo21-Nov-2018Joe Root feels England are “pretty much on track” to achieve their goal of becoming the No. 1-ranked Test team.Their series victory in Sri Lanka means England are guaranteed to rise to No. 2 in the world irrespective of the result in the final Test, which starts in Colombo on Friday.But Root feels his side would take “a huge amount of confidence” by becoming just the third side to complete a 3-0 whitewash over Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka and suggests “it would be nice” if England’s next tour was in India where they would have, he believes, “a good chance of success”.”From the start, we tried to plan out how to get to No. 1 in the world and we’re pretty much on track,” Root said. “It’s a great incentive to the group.”Only two side have won 3-0 here: India last year and Australia in 2004. And they were both the No. 1 side. So it would give the guys a huge amount of confidence if we could carry the momentum, skill levels and smart nature with which we’ve played these first two Tests into the next one.”It would be a nice follow-on to this tour to be going on and playing in India now. It’s a very difficult place to go and play, but we would have a good chance. Better than we had previously.”It’s hard to say [how we would do], but the most important thing is that we’re on that upward curve. We’re where we want to be.”Root’s confidence is based on the success England have had with their new method in Sri Lanka. Where once England’s batsmen tended to take a cautious approach to spin bowling, they now appear determined to take the attack to it.Meanwhile their usual reliance upon their seamers has been replaced, in part at least, by trust in a three-man spin attack which, in offering variety and depth, has tended to be worth more collectively than the sum of its parts. And, both at home and abroad, they are currently blessed to have several allrounders in their side which has deepened their batting and bowling resources.Root’s confidence does have to be tempered, though. This is not a vintage Sri Lanka side and England have won only two – the last two – of their most recent 15 away Tests. They are still no closer to finding a No. 3 (Jonny Bairstow will be their fourth No. 3 of the series in Colombo and Jos Buttler had also been told he was going to fill the role if England bowled first in Galle).England warm up during training in Colombo•AFPAlso, there is no obvious replacement for James Anderson in the pipeline and, while the opening batsmen have enjoyed an impressive start to their period together, it is too early to draw firm conclusions about the long-term futures of Rory Burns and Keaton Jennings.”We’re not the finished article,” Root admitted. “We’re still learning and still improving. But we’re going in the right direction and sometimes you have to tinker with things to get to where you want eventually.”Bairstow’s recall for this Test does provide him with an opportunity to stake a claim for that No. 3 position in the long term. With Ben Foakes having appeared to have nailed down the keeping position – despite being leading run-scorer in the series, he will still bat at No. 8 in Colombo – that No. 3 spot could be Bairstow’s only way back into the side.”That’s definitely a strong option,” Root said. “He’s more than capable of doing it. He bats at the top of the order in one-day cricket and one thing we all know about Jonny is that whenever he’s got a point to prove, or he is up against it, he generally comes out and does something pretty special. Hopefully we see that determination and drive to really hammer that spot home for himself this week.”It’s a really good opportunity for him to take his batting to another level. Over the last couple of years he’s been statistically one of the top 10 players in the world in Test cricket. It would be nice to see him really grab No. 3 by the scruff of the neck, use it as an opportunity and start consistently scoring big runs in this format.”At the minute, keeping is not an option for him in this team. Jonny’s not done anything wrong [as keeper], but he has had a freak injury and is going to have to continue to work hard at his keeping and quietly wait for an opportunity if it comes.”Ben Foakes has come into the side and batted magnificently well. We all know how good a wicketkeeper he is, but I think he’s probably exceeded expectations in that department as well. He deserves his opportunity.”