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Wrexham are renewing their interest in West Ham's Andy Irving, just months after the midfielder rejected the advances of Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac. The Red Dragons saw a £3.5m deal for the 25-year-old fall through late in the summer transfer window, as Irving opted to remain in east London and fight for first team opportunities with the Premier League outfit.

• Irving struggling for game time at West Ham

  reports the north Wales club has rekindled their interest in Irving. Despite making six appearances in the top flight this term, the Scotland international is deemed surplus to requirements at the London Stadium. Wrexham are expected to log another bid for the 25-year-old. 

  However, they could face stiff competition from Celtic and Rangers, with both Glasgow clubs alerted to Irving's availability as Nuno Esprito Santo looks to revamp his squad in the coming transfer window.

  Irving started the first two games of the Portuguese's tenure after he replaced Graham Potter in October. However, both games — against Brentford and Leeds — ended in defeat for the Irons. Irving has been an unused substitute since. 

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  Irving explains reasons for staying at West Ham

  Irving addressed the links between him and the Red Dragons in an interview back in September. He said: "There was a lot of speculation and media [during the summer], but ultimately for me, I'm in a good place here at West Ham. I really enjoy it here, so I was keen to stay and continue giving my best for the club.

  "There was a lot of speculation and media [during the summer], but ultimately for me, I'm in a good place here at West Ham. I really enjoy it here, so I was keen to stay and continue giving my best for the club."

• Irving's career in brief

  The 25-year-old midfielder joined the Irons during the summer of 2023, completing a €1.7m transfer from Austria Klagenfurt in 2023. Irving rejoined the Austrian Bundesliga side for a loan deal the following season. 

  The Hearts academy graduate has had an unusual career, making it to the Premier League via the German third tier. Irving joined Turkgucu Munchen in 2021 after his contract expired with his boyhood club. 

  Irving has represented his country four times as a youth player, making his debut for Scotland in a 4-0 friendly win over Leichtenstein earlier this season.  

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  Wrexham look to build on promising start to life in the Championship

  While he may not have felt Wrexham was the right move for him in the summer, Irving could well be persuaded given the Red Dragons recent turnaround. 

  Phil Parkinson's side currently sit in 10th place in the Championship table, and are unbeaten in their last seven games, with a statement 3-2 win over Frank Lampard's Coventry City among that run. 

  Wrexham's chief exec Michael Williamson has confirmed that Parkinson will have money to spend in the upcoming January window. Even after making 13 signings in the summer, pundits are calling on the Red Dragons to invest further, as they can push on towards another promotion. Recent reports suggest the Hollywood brains trust at the north Wales club is already drawing up plans for life in the Premier League. Maybe Irving would be wise to take a step down, to maybe return to England's top tier with a club on the rise. 

Manchester United are now in pole position to complete the signing of Ajax youngster Jorthy Mokio, as they look to find a long-term replacement for the ageing Casemiro and exiled Kobbie Mainoo.

The futures of both Casemiro and Mainoo are key talking points at Old Trafford currently, with the Brazilian’s current contract expiring at the end of this season, at which point he will be 34 years of age.

In fairness, the Real Madrid legend has shown improved form this season, but Fabrizio Romano has claimed that a new deal is unlikely, especially on his current £350,000 wages, which make him United’s highest-paid player.

“Casemiro is working hard and is becoming once again in his career a crucial player for the manager. So, in this moment, he is really important for Ruben Amorim, but there will be a conversation about his contract because at the moment, the numbers of his contract, salary is way too high for Manchester United to extend that.

“Or they find a solution on the contract, and this is Casemiro and for Harry Maguire, or the player could leave on a free.

It looks increasingly likely that a replacement for Casemiro will need to be found next summer, especially with Ruben Amorim seemingly not fancying Mainoo in the role.

Man Utd "leading the chase" for Mokio

According to Caught Offside‘s Mark Brus, Manchester United are the front-runners to sign Mokio from Ajax, with the 17-year-old considered a prodigious talent at the heart of midfield.

“Manchester United are leading the chase for Jorthy Mokio. They are already working on a project that could offer Mokio guaranteed minutes and a clear development path.”

Mokio is a huge talent with so much to offer in the coming years, proving to be the latest great youngster to emerge from Ajax’s famous academy recently, and he should be the type of profile United are looking for in a player.

The defensive midfielder has already made 29 appearances for the Eredivisie giants, highlighting his maturity at such a young age, while scout Jacek Kulig has described him as a “special” player.

Mokio has also now been capped once at senior level by Belgium, and will hope to see his star rise further at next summer’s World Cup, but United should be looking to seal a deal for him before them, before the competition increases further for his signature.

Antoine Semenyo chooses between Man Utd and Liverpool

What a signing this could be…

1

By
Henry Jackson

Nov 22, 2025

Wildcard Casemiro replacement: Man Utd star can "become a world class DM"

The duo shared an unbeaten 212-run stand at Adelaide Oval after the defending champions slumped to 58 for 3

AAP04-Oct-2025Centuries to Henry Hunt and Jake Lehmann have defending champions South Australia early control of their Sheffield Shield match against Victoria at Adelaide Oval.Victoria captain Peter Handscomb’s decision to bowl looked the right call when Mitchell Perry took his third wicket in the morning session, leaving the home side in trouble at 58 for 3.That brought together Hunt and Lehmann, who steadily took the game away from Victoria and at stumps SA were 270 for 3. Hunt carried his bat through the day and scored a grinding 121 from 300 balls, with 10 fours and one six. Lehmann’s 107 from 180 balls, featuring only seven fours on a slow outfield, was his fourth century in as many Shield games going back to last season.Victoria could have had South Australia in even bigger early trouble. Hunt had reached 33 and the score was 114 when he drove at a wide delivery from pacer David Moody and edged straight to Blake Macdonald at first slip. But the chance was grassed and it proved costly for Victoria.It was the slowest of Hunt’s 11 Shield centuries and he said Lehmann’s innings had been pivotal.”The momentum shifted when he came out – his presence at the crease, to put some pressure back on [Victoria],” Hunt said. “To be 270 for 3, that’s almost a perfect day for us.”Perry finished with 3 for 61 from 20 overs while Test quick Scott Boland went wicketless from 18 overs and Fergus O’Neill also failed to a scalp from his 21 overs.

Three players from CSK make it. Find out who else is there on the list

Omkar Mankame28-May-20252:36

Moody: Brevis and Noor will be central to CSK’s plans next season

Ayush Mhatre (CSK)

After going unsold at the auction, Brevis returned to the league as an injury replacement for Gurjapneet Singh. The 22-year-old was part of the MI set-up in 2022 and 2024 and had played a key role in MI Cape Town’s (MICT) maiden SA20 win earlier this year, scoring 38 off 18 balls in the final.At CSK, Brevis made the most of his opportunities. He scored at least 32 in five of his six innings, with the only exception being a first-ball duck against RCB, where he failed to review an lbw decision. His impact can best be illustrated by the fact that he struck 17 sixes during his stint – the second most by a CSK batter this season.Urvil Patel struck at 212.50 this season•BCCI

Urvil Patel (CSK)

The timing of the IPL 2025 mega auction – held before the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25 – meant teams missed out on some of the in-form domestic players. One of them was Gujarat’s Urvil, who topped the sixes charts, with 29 in six innings and also holds the record for the joint second-fastest T20 century.Drafted in as a replacement for Vansh Bedi, Urvil made an immediate impression, dispatching the second ball he faced in the IPL for a six. His 31 off 11 balls helped set up CSK’s first successful 180-plus chase in over six years. He featured in just three innings – one of which ended in a two-ball duck – but he showed glimpses of the aggressive style that could make him a key power-hitter in the seasons to come.2:53

Kumble: Dubey beating batters with pace, not just turn

Harsh Dubey (SRH)

Despite an early exit from the IPL, SRH may have unearthed a long-term prospect in Dubey. The 22-year-old left-arm spinner impressed in his first two appearances, with figures of 1 for 44 and 1 for 20, before delivering a standout performance in SRH’s final match of the season – returning 3 for 34 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). His dismissal of Andre Russell, who walked off even before the umpire raised the finger, was the highlight of his spell.SRH had backed Zeeshan Ansari as their frontline spinner after Adam Zampa’s injury, but Dubey’s performances suggest he could push for a more prominent role next season.Corbin Bosch contributed with the bat, ball and in the field for Mumbai Indians•BCCI

Corbin Bosch (MI)

Picked as a replacement for fellow South African Lizaad Williams, Bosch joined MI after playing a key role in MICT’s SA20 title run, where he finished as their joint-third-highest wicket-taker.Bosch featured in only three matches this IPL season but made useful contributions. With the bat, he chipped in with 20 off ten balls and 27 off 22 – both timely efforts in tight situations. With the ball, his most economical performance came against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), when he returned 1 for 26 in four overs.Shardul Thakur picked 13 wickets in ten innings for LSG•AFP/Getty Images

Shardul Thakur (LSG)

After eight consecutive IPL seasons, Shardul went unsold at the 2025 auction. He was preparing for a county stint with Essex when LSG called him up as a replacement for the injured Mohsin Khan.Shardul made an immediate impact, taking six wickets in his first two games, including a match-winning 4 for 34 against SRH. However, he couldn’t sustain that form and was left out of the XI – or XII – in subsequent matches.Mustafizur Rahman reminded the IPL of his worth•BCCI

Mustafizur Rahman (DC)

Delhi Capitals (DC) signed Mustafizur as a replacement for Jake Fraser-McGurk once IPL 2025 resumed post suspension. His best performance came in DC’s final league game against PBKS in Jaipur, where he dismissed Priyansh Arya, Shashank Singh, and Marco Jansen.However, since he was brought in as a temporary replacement, Mustafizur will not be eligible for retention by DC ahead of IPL 2026, in line with the revised replacement regulations.

The Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds will play in front of a record-setting crowd Saturday as they meet for Major League Baseball's new Speedway Classic event at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Bristol Motor got a makeover for the occasion with a fully constructed MLB field in the middle of the track. With such a large venue, which has a capacity of just below 150,000, the event is bound to set a single-game MLB attendance record.

On Monday, the league announced that the Speedway Classic sold more than 85,000 tickets to date, which will break the previous attendance record of 84,587 that was set at Cleveland Stadium back in 1954.

Even though Bristol Motor has a larger capacity than Cincinnati's Great American Ball Park and Atlanta's Truist Park combined, the Speedway Classic is shaping up to cost more to get in compared to your average baseball game. Outside of the attendance record the game will break, the contest is the first MLB game played on a race track and the first in the state of Tennessee. The league brought out all the stops for the occasion, planning a pregame concert and giving both squads custom NASCAR-themed uniforms. And fans are coming from all over to witness the unique game.

Here's how much it would run you to catch the first ever regular season MLB game in the state of Tennessee:

Cheapest Tickets for the 2025 MLB Speedway Classic

The get-in price for the Speedway Classic between the Braves and Reds is $67 on TickPick and $75 on SeatGeek as of Friday evening. Of course, fans won't be able to call balls and strikes from those seats at Bristol Motor Speedway which has a capacity of just under 150,000.

As of Thursday, TickPick reported the average purchase price for the game was $99 which is 106% more expensive than a typical Reds home game at the Great American Ball Park, which has an average purchase price of $48 for Reds home games.

Most Expensive Tickets for the 2025 MLB Speedway Classic

To get closer to the action, fans can sit in the constructed stands just off the field inside the race track. That option will cost a pretty penny, though. On SeatGeek, there are a pair of seats available three rows behind the Reds dugout for a whopping $1,273 apiece. To shift a section over to sit right on top of the action just beside the Reds dugout, that will cost a pricey $1,528 a seat. TickPick has some seats behind home plate just aside from the Braves' dugout, but that top-notch experience is going for $1,850 a seat. To pay a bit less but stay on the floor, SeatGeek has two seats for $985 each. Those are in the ninth row on the third-base line.

Ibrahima Konate has revealed that a final decision on his future at Liverpool will be made soon amid strong interest from Real Madrid. The French centre-back has entered the final part of his five-year contract with the English champions that he signed in 2021. The Reds are yet to agree a new deal with the defender, with only weeks left before he can initiate pre-contract talks with foreign clubs.

• Defender's five-year spell at Liverpool so far

  Konate joined Liverpool in 2021 from RB Leipzig when Jurgen Klopp was still their manager. The French defender slowly established himself as a key figure in the Reds' backline, first under Klopp and then under Arne Slot. He played a key role in helping the Merseyside club win their record-equalling 20th English top-flight title last season. He has regularly featured for the club at the heart of their defence alongside Virgil van Dijk.

  Despite being a key member of Slot's side, Konate is yet to commit his future to the club beyond 2026, while the Merseyside giants are also yet to offer a new deal to the player. The Frenchman can formally hold pre-contract talks with clubs outside England from January. Real Madrid continue to remain interested in the player and want to convince him not to sign a new deal and then join them as a free agent next summer. Madrid are also joined by Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, who are also in search of a quality centre-back option. 

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  Konate to decide on his future soon

  Ahead of France's dead-rubber World Cup qualifying game against Azerbaijan in Baku on Sunday, Konate addressed questions on his future as he told reporters: "My agents continue to discuss with Liverpool. I hope my decision will be made very soon so I can announce it."

  The defender rubbished rumours which claimed that Liverpool have already approached with a new contract, as he added: "I don’t know where that’s coming from."

• Madrid using Mbappe to convince Konate

  In a chat with , Konate also revealed that he gets constant phone calls from his France team-mate and captain Kylian Mbappe, as he said that the 26-year-old Real Madrid star "calls me every two hours to sign for Real Madrid." Mbappe is determined to convince the Reds defender to join him at the Spanish capital next summer. 

  There is no urgency in the Madrid camp when it comes to Konate's transfer, as Liverpool have only a few weeks to convince the player and make him sign a new deal before he starts to negotiate new offers. The La Liga side would want Konate to reject a new contract offer from the Premier League champions and then join them in the summer for free, quite similar to the way they landed Trent Alexander-Arnold this season.

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  Liverpool are not dependent on Konate

  Earlier this month, Reds legend and pundit Jamie Carragher claimed that while he would love to see Konate stay back and continue at Anfield, if he leaves for Madrid next summer, the Merseyside club won't miss the centre-back much. 

  Carragher told the : "I’d like him [Konate] to stay but if he doesn’t stay, Liverpool will sign someone else. Liverpool won’t fall apart if Konate leaves. He's not Virgil van Dijk. He's a good centre-back who you hope will sign, but if he doesn’t want to sign, Liverpool will be absolutely fine. He's a very good centre-back, he's a title winner at Liverpool, he's played in the Champions League final against Real Madrid. He's obviously a quality centre-back. It's not poor management [if he goes for free]. You can't physically make somebody sign a contract. Then it's your decision, do you keep him to the length of his contract or do you sell him?"

How RCB silenced the crowd at a ground and against a team they’ve historically struggled

Alagappan Muthu29-Mar-20251:32

Rapid Fire Review: Is this RCB’s season?

For a little while on Friday, Josh Hazlewood held all the power and he had the good sense to use it indiscriminately. He produced two wickets and nine dots with his first 12 balls.For a little while, a little earlier, Rajat Patidar held all the power and he had the good sense to use it indiscriminately. He gave up all of his stumps to one of India’s best spin bowlers and did not care one bit. He had lined up Ravindra Jadeja. He felt in no danger whatsoever. That inside out cover drive went to the boundary like it was racing to meet an appointment.For a little while, a little later, Virat Kohli held all the power and he had the good sense to use it indiscriminately. He was walking over to his mark at long-on and a whole host of people – many of them wearing yellow – were going crazy for him. When he looked up, waved, touched his heart and raised his hand in a thumbs up, a crowd that is famously partisan started chanting his name.Related

• Patidar, bowlers lead RCB to first win over CSK in Chennai since 2008

• Stats – RCB end 17-year Chennai jinx against CSK

• Gaikwad: 'Happy we didn't lose by a big margin'

• Fleming: 'No home advantage at Chepauk'

• Hazlewood: 'This is probably the freshest I've been in a long time'

All of this happened at a ground and against a team that Royal Challengers Bengaluru have historically struggled. But by the end of the night, they conquered both the place and the opposition. They recorded the biggest win, in terms of runs, by a visiting team against Chennai Super Kings at MA Chidambaram stadium.Fast bowlers have had to stomach all manner of evils as T20 cricket has progressed, to the point that they have been forced to admit that for their own survival they had to give up the very thing that makes them so special. Their speed. Their ego. Their gravitational pull.The new ball, though, reminds them that they matter. And Hazlewood is so good with it. Seven of his 16 wickets at the 2023 ODI World Cup were the result of his work within the first 10 overs, including a peak performance in the semi-final where his first spell – 6-1-12-2 – left South Africa – a side that scored over 400 earlier in the tournament – at 28 for 4. By then, he was pushing through on adrenaline. At the start of this IPL, he said he was feeling fresh. In Chennai, he was pure fire. His dismissal of Ruturaj Gaikwad left CSK at 8 for 2 chasing 198. The entire ground was drowning in silence. Kohli, and one billion people, slumped the last time an Australian fast bowler did that. Here he (literally), and eight million people (figuratively), leapt on top of Hazlewood and took a piggy back ride.Josh Hazlewood gave RCB a cracking start with the ball•Associated PressThe war cry that always goes up at the Chinnaswamy stadium had found its way across the border. “Arr-Cee-Bee! Arr-Cee-Bee.” The enemy had breached the gates. Chepauk had fallen. And the worse was to come. When DRS revealed the spike on Deepak Hooda’s edge, several pockets of RCB fans celebrated it with not screams or claps but with something deeply synonymous with the CSK fan base – whistles.RCB have waited for 17 years to win against this team in this place and they were very aware of it.”Yeah, it was actually at breakfast,” Phil Salt, their newest member, said at the post-match press conference. “Some sort of an article came up on my phone, and it was all the things that have happened since RCB beat CSK here. [We had] a pretty light-hearted conversation. There wasn’t too much in it. But yeah, it’s a good win.”To beat the champions in their home ground, and then come here, which is a very, very tough place to come and get a win, we’re really happy with the fact that we’re sitting two games, four points, obviously with a boost in the net run rate as well. But we’re very aware of how good a side CSK are, especially at home, so we’re pleased.”It is not easy to spot a captain’s influence on a T20 game. But it is possible to spot what it does to their own game. In Patidar’s case, the extra responsibility is bringing the best out of him. In three previous matches at Chepauk, he had made only nine runs. He made nearly six times as many from just tonight – though did have the benefit of being dropped on 17.Patidar’s presence through much of the RCB innings prevented R Ashwin and Jadeja from finishing their full quota of overs. They bowled just five, and were taken for 59 runs. The dressing room was in awe of their leader.”I think he’s brilliant in all areas, if I’m being honest with you,” Salt said, “I think the batting is right up there with the best around. I’ve not seen anybody hit spin the way that he can. Obviously, he rode his luck a little bit tonight, but that’s the game. You get that in patches.”And then you come to his captaincy, and he’s a cool head and very calm under pressure. He’s got very good cricket brain. He thinks about the game very deeply. As I’ve already said, the way that he spun the bowlers around tonight to make sure that we’re keeping the pressure on at all times. There’s not much more you can ask for. There’s a reason he’s got a [Player] of the Match trophy as well.”RCB had done such a number on CSK at Chepauk that when the living embodiment of both this place and this team finally made his way out at No. 9, he took strike with a slip and short leg crowding him. At the end of the match, his coach felt compelled to get up close and personal with the pitch, a member of the ground staff in tow. Stephen Fleming’s next stop was the press conference. He left it in a huff with echoes of “Arr-Cee-Bee! Arr-Cee-Bee!” still ringing in the air.

India needed a big win to keep their World Cup campaign on track, and their captain delivered a blockbuster like old times

Shashank Kishore10-Oct-20242:59

‘The timing of Harmanpreet’s knock makes it special’

As the buzzer hooted to signal drinks during the India-Sri Lanka clash in Dubai, Harmanpreet Kaur, who had been slouching on her chair and gently massaging her neck, suddenly picked up two bats and galloped down the steps from the gallery to a wider space around the boundary edge.One bat tucked behind the other, Harmanpreet went through the full range of motions of the kind she would practice at the driving range, focusing on her neck position and movements while completing her swing. Once happy with where she was at, Harmanpreet quickly jogged back up and pulled up a chair next to coach Amol Muzumdar.The head coach had just returned after having a chat with openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma at the drinks interval. India had set themselves a strong base at 78 without loss; now it was time to inject momentum. After a quick chat with Muzumdar, Harmanpreet was ready to rumble having selected her weapon of destruction.Related

• Nearly 24 years on, Sharjah set to rekindle love story with India

• 'Bad playing through and through' behind Sri Lanka's winless run at T20 World Cup

• Scenarios: How can India make it to the semi-finals?

When Mandhana rocked back to pull Chamari Athapaththu to the deep-square-leg fence in the 13th over to bring up her half-century, Harmanpreet was fully charged, slapping the bat with her gloves. And when Mandhana was run out in the 13th over, Harmanpreet pranced to the middle and took guard at No. 3.It’s a spot that had become such a massive talking point in the lead-up to this tournament – India have tried as many as five options since Muzumdar became coach in December 2023 – that she put her hand up and decided to embrace the challenge head-on. It was now time for her to walk the talk with almost everything on the line.India needed not just a win but a big one to steer clear of the net run rate conversations, at least momentarily. And the India captain served up a blockbuster, of the kind you knew she could play, but hadn’t as often as she would’ve liked.A part of the allure in watching Harmanpreet bat without scoreboard pressure is to see her induce fear in the bowlers. The quick trigger movement to off, where she sets herself to sweep, is followed by quickly getting into position with a crouched back knee that forms her base. The bat swing then comes into sync as she generates immense power. By now, the bat seems like a sledgehammer in her hands.The ability to sweep anywhere between the arc from fine leg to wide-ish long-on can often have the bowlers contend with a lot of pressure even before they have delivered the ball. And when she executed on Wednesday, it felt like the coming together of a proper rediscovery and not reinvention. She made this possibly by simply reverting to her “in the zone” avatar where anything in her arc simply gets swept or slogged.Harmanpreet Kaur’s 52 lifted India to 172•ICC via Getty ImagesIt can’t be denied that Harmanpreet has been a victim of her own lofty standards. Derby 2017 made us believe she can be a miracle woman who can conjure magic out of nothing. And when it didn’t come as often as Harmanpreet, and India, would’ve liked, it made you wonder if her best years were behind her.All said, Wednesday’s innings wasn’t flawless. She attempted to paddle her first two deliveries and quickly realised with the bowlers giving her little pace to work with, it was more prudent trying to force the pace herself. When she premeditated a sweep, she survived a close lbw shout with a thin edge saving her through UltraEdge.With five overs left, Harmanpreet was on 4 off 7, struggling for timing, not fully tuned to the pace and grip of the pitch that made it hard to score off spinners. And then a full toss from Sugandika Kumari unshackled her. As she stepped out to drill it over the infield, it was as if a weight had lifted off her shoulders; she has flicked on ‘in the zone’ mode.Two balls later, this couldn’t have been more evident when she unleashed her slog sweep for her first six. This shot truly got her into the elements, and because the bowlers weren’t sure if she would slog or sweep, they attempted to take pace off. Harmanpreet showed her full range by bringing out a powerful, fine paddle, reminiscent of Sachin Tendulkar’s off Shane Warne from the rough outside leg.Harmanpreet should have been out in the 17th over when she hit a full toss straight to Inoka Ranaweera at cover. Had it been taken, it may have elicited chatter around how she flattered to deceive yet again. But like quality players do, she made Sri Lanka pay.On 22 off 16 at the time, she went on to make 30 off the next 11 balls, during which she made a mockery of the fields, boldly accepting the challenge of clearing mid-off, not once, but twice, with bullet-like straight hits with razor-sharp precision, fueled by forearm strength and immense bottom-handed power to raise her half-century.The knock laid the foundation for a massive win that India hope will have reinvigorated their T20 World Cup campaign. Everything about her innings from that dropped chance rolled back time to memories from over a decade ago, when she first made the world sit up and take note with a seminal century in a World Cup game against England at Brabourne Stadium, long before playing that epochal knock against Australia.It may have only been a half-century, but in it was a Harmanpreet classic of old, where she was energised, outrightly dominant and in the zone.