India’s KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja have been ruled out of the second Test against England, denting the home side’s hopes of hitting back from their stunning opening match defeat.

The tourists secured an unlikely 28-run victory in Hyderabad yesterday after India were bowled out for 202 in their second innings chasing 231 – left-arm spinner Tom Hartley claiming seven for 62 on his Test debut.

Read our other sports news stories here:
Newport County 2-4 Manchester United: Red Devils survive huge scare in FA Cup
Rashford wasting his talent – Shearer
Stokes hails ‘greatest triumph’ as England clinch stunning win in India

Rahul and Jadeja will not play in Visakhapatnam with the match starting on Friday. The former has a hamstring injury and the latter a problem with a quadricep.

Middle-order batter Sarfaraz Khan, spinner Sourabh Kumar and all-rounder Washington Sundar have been added to the India squad as replacements.

The news comes as another blow for India, who relinquished a position of control against Ben Stokes’ men to suffer just their third Test defeat on home soil since 2013.

Rahul made an impressive 86 in India’s first innings while Jadeja claimed five wickets in the match.

India will also be without key batter Virat Kohli for the second Test due to a personal matter.

Marcus Rashford is “wasting his talent” and needs “strong management” after missing Manchester United’s FA Cup win over Newport County due to what boss Erik ten Hag described as “an internal matter”.

That is the view of former Newcastle United and England striker Alan Shearer, who believes Rashford will look back on his career with plenty of regrets if he continues down his current path.

Rashford was absent from United’s squad for Sunday’s 4-2 triumph at Rodney Parade after reporting ill for training.

However, Ten Hag suggested there may be more to the matter ahead of the game, after Rashford was pictured at a Belfast nightclub on Thursday, mere hours before he missed Friday’s session.

Read our other sports news stories here:
Newport County 2-4 Manchester United: Red Devils survive huge scare in FA Cup
Liverpool 5-2 Norwich City: Reds win thriller in first game since Klopp exit announcement
Stokes hails ‘greatest triumph’ as England clinch stunning win in India

Speaking in his role as a BBC Sport pundit before Sunday’s match, Shearer called on Rashford to change course before it’s too late.

“If it’s an internal matter, you’d think something is up. There’s a huge talent in there with Marcus Rashford,” Shearer said.

“We’ve seen him be disciplined last season when he was late to a meeting before a game but something is clearly wrong, either at home or in his relationship with the football club.

“He can’t keep doing this, he can’t keep wasting his talent because it’s not right.”

A watchful eye 👁️#MUFC || #FACUP PIC.TWITTER.COM/V92ZO0KUVQ

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) JANUARY 27, 2024

Rashford has only scored four goals in 26 appearances across all competitions this season, having netted 30 times in 56 games during Ten Hag’s first campaign at the helm.

This week’s incident is the latest in a long line of disciplinary issues to face Ten Hag since he took over at Old Trafford.

Rashford was dropped for being late ahead of a trip to Wolves last season, while Cristiano Ronaldo was released by the club after criticising the Dutchman in an inflammatory interview and Jadon Sancho recently returned to Borussia Dortmund on loan after a public spat with his manager.

“He needs strong management, someone to get hold of him and tell him there’ll be huge regrets come the end of his career if he continues doing this,” Shearer said of Rashford.

“You can’t keep doing it, it needs sorting now. Thirty goals last season, four this season.

“When I see him play, it looks like he’s got the world on his shoulders so it needs sorting now because he can’t really deal with it.”

Manchester United survived an almighty scare to reach the fifth round of the FA Cup on Sunday, recovering to beat fourth-tier Newport County 4-2 after blowing a 2-0 lead.

Embattled United boss Erik ten Hag endured a troubled build-up to the game, with Marcus Rashford absent from the squad after reporting ill for training. The forward was pictured in a nightclub in Belfast earlier this week, with his manager describing the incident as “an internal matter”.

Things looked like they may get worse for the Dutchman when Bryn Morris and Will Evans scored either side of half-time for Newport, cancelling out early goals from Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo and raising hopes of a famous upset.

However, Antony pounced on the rebound after Luke Shaw struck the post with just over 20 minutes to play, then Rasmus Hojlund added a fourth in stoppage time to kill Newport’s chances of forcing a replay.

🤝#MUFC || #FACUP PIC.TWITTER.COM/FZHCWQ9FDG

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) JANUARY 28, 2024

The Red Devils will now visit either Nottingham Forest or Bristol City in the last 16, but Sunday’s result will do little to quieten criticism of Ten Hag after his team made heavy work of their League Two hosts.

Read our other sports news stories here:
Liverpool 5-2 Norwich City: Reds win thriller in first game since Klopp exit announcement
Sinner revels in ‘unbelievable’ comeback after stunning Medvedev to win Australian Open
Stokes hails ‘greatest triumph’ as England clinch stunning win in India

If there were any pre-match nerves in the United ranks, they looked to have been settled within seven minutes as Antony’s cutback found the onrushing Fernandes, who drilled his low finish past Nick Townsend.

Antony missed a good chance for 2-0 when he lifted his left-footed effort over, but Mainoo doubled United’s lead in the 13^th minute, guiding Diogo Dalot’s cutback across goal and in for his first senior strike.

Alejandro Garnacho’s shot clipped the crossbar as United pressed for a third, but Newport refused to be deterred and found themselves back in the contest nine minutes before half-time.

Out of nowhere, Morris unleashed a rasping long-range strike which took a slight deflection off Lisandro Martinez before flying past United’s stand-in goalkeeper Altay Bayindir and into the top-left corner.

Things got even better for the hosts just three minutes into the second half, with Adam Lewis sending a low cross to the near post, where Evans’ finish flicked off Raphael Varane and in to spark wild celebrations.

AGAINST THE ODDS 🤯@NEWPORTCOUNTY have come from 2️⃣ goals down to level against Manchester United 😱#EMIRATESFACUP PIC.TWITTER.COM/VLLN1H77XO

— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) JANUARY 28, 2024

Martinez then had a goal-bound shot inadvertently blocked by Hojlund, but United had more luck in the 68^th minute, when Antony side-footed into a gaping goal after Shaw’s curling effort struck the upright.

Evans went close to a dream equaliser as the end of the 90 approached, flashing a long-range drive just wide to the right of goal with Bayindir beaten.

But it wasn’t to be for Newport despite their brave performance, with Hojlund converting into an empty net after Mainoo was denied by Townsend in stoppage time, clinching United’s place in the fifth round.

Ben Stokes hailed the “greatest triumph” of his tenure as England captain after Ollie Pope and Tom Hartley starred in the tourists’ dramatic 28-run win in the first Test against India.

England completed one of the best away wins in their history on Sunday, recovering from a first-innings deficit of 190 to topple India in a remarkable finish in Hyderabad.

Pope’s incredible knock of 196 set India a target of 231, then spinner Hartley posted figures of 7-62 on his Test debut as England made the most of the extra half-hour at the end of the fourth day.

Read our other sports news stories here:
Liverpool 5-2 Norwich City: Reds win thriller in first game since Klopp exit announcement
Sinner revels in ‘unbelievable’ comeback after stunning Medvedev to win Australian Open
Klopp leaving Liverpool: Alonso, Gerrard and the other candidates to be next Reds manager

After an alarming middle-order collapse put India under pressure, KS Bharat and Ravichandran Ashwin put on a defiant stand of 78 to inspire hope among the home fans.

Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj stepped in after their dismissals to drag India within 28, but Siraj was stumped by Ben Foakes off Hartley to spark wild celebrations among the touring party.

GET IN! 🦁 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 This team ❤️

One of our greatest ever wins 🙌

From a 190-run deficit, to victory!

Match Centre: HTTPS://T.CO/S4XWQQPNLL PIC.TWITTER.COM/45DW0QIORI

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) JANUARY 28, 2024

Stokes has overseen plenty of memorable successes since replacing Joe Root as red-ball skipper in 2022, but he believes this was the pick of the bunch.

“We’ve had a lot of fantastic moments as a team, great wins. But given where we are and who we are playing, I think it’s our greatest triumph since I have been captain,” he said.

“Before the series started, we knew how much of a beast India are at home.

“But the way we responded to being so far behind, it was testament to everything we have said and lived and breathed over the last two years.

“But we’ve got four Tests left. It’s about backing up this performance now. We know that India are going to come back harder at us.

“They are an incredibly tough team but if we can keep standing up to them, it’s a good sign for us. We are very proud to be 1-0 up but there is a long way to go.”

Just absolute scenes 😍

🇮🇳 #INDVENG 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | #ENGLANDCRICKET PIC.TWITTER.COM/QAMSNLN96Z

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) JANUARY 28, 2024

India skipper Rohit Sharma, meanwhile, believed the hosts lacked courage during the chase, saying: “When you are put against a wall, you need to show character and you need to be brave enough, which I thought we weren’t.

“We wanted to take some chances… we didn’t take chances with the bat. But that can happen.

“You got to take your hat off and say ‘well played’ to Ollie Pope. That was some serious knock. Having gotten the lead of 190, we thought we were very much in the game, but then it was exceptional batting, probably the best that I have seen in Indian conditions by an overseas batter.”

The teams now head to Visakhapatnam for the second Test, which begins on Friday.

Liverpool kept their hopes of ending the Jurgen Klopp era with a quadruple alive on Sunday, beating Norwich City 5-2 to reach the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Ahead of the Reds’ first game since Klopp’s surprising announcement that he will leave the club at the end of the season, the Anfield crowd gave a rousing reception to their popular German boss.

😁📸 PIC.TWITTER.COM/IRKLUCV1R1

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) JANUARY 28, 2024

He was then able to watch on in comfort as Liverpool raced away from David Wagner’s side, the only major blip coming when Ben Gibson cancelled out Curtis Jones’ opener.

Goals from Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota either side of half-time put Liverpool firmly in control, then Virgil van Dijk came off the bench to head in a fourth.

Borja Sainz reduced the arrears by firing a brilliant finish into the top-right corner, but Ryan Gravenberch headed in Liverpool’s fifth goal as they teed up a last-16 meeting with either Watford or Southampton.

Read our other sports news stories here:
Klopp leaving Liverpool: Alonso the ‘natural heir’, says Carragher
Klopp leaving Liverpool: Alonso, Gerrard and the other candidates to be next Reds manager
Sinner revels in ‘unbelievable’ comeback after stunning Medvedev to win Australian Open

On what was always likely to be an emotional day at Anfield, Liverpool started well and could have gone ahead within 10 minutes as Nunez cut inside from the left before bending a shot against the far post.

The hosts had their opener 16 minutes in, though, Jones sending a cushioned header past George Long after being picked out by a fine cross by teenage midfielder James McConnell.

Their lead lasted just six minutes as Gibson got across his man to divert Gabriel Sara’s corner across goal and in, though there was a hint of fortune about the leveller as the ball struck Gibson’s back as he attempted a glancing header.

Nunez soon restored Liverpool’s advantage, however, capping a flowing move with a calm finish across goal after taking Conor Bradley’s pass in his stride.

Klopp’s men gave themselves a two-goal cushion when Jota seized on Grant Hanley’s misguided header to fire home with 53 minutes played, then two substitutes combined for their fourth goal five minutes later, Van Dijk powering Dominik Szoboszlai’s corner in.

“Watch him defend… and we watch him score…” 🎶 PIC.TWITTER.COM/UKSIIQQJIN

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) JANUARY 28, 2024

Sainz gave the travelling fans something to celebrate with 21 minutes left as he brought Jarell Quansah’s header down before gliding forward and crashing a long-range strike past Alisson, but there was to be no nervy finish for Liverpool.

Indeed, Long made two excellent reflex saves to deny Jota and Gravenberch, but he couldn’t keep the latter out at the second time of asking as the midfielder headed Bradley’s centre in from close range deep into stoppage time.

Jannik Sinner savoured an “unbelievable” moment after recovering from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev in the Australian Open final and capture his first grand slam crown.

Sinner’s first major final looked set to end in disappointment when Medvedev cruised through the first two sets on Sunday, with the Italian struggling to cope with his opponent’s speed early on.

However, Medvedev – who spent almost six hours more on court than Sinner during his run to the final – tired in his fourth five-set contest of the tournament.

Read our other sports news stories here:
Klopp leaving Liverpool: Alonso the ‘natural heir’, says Carragher
Klopp leaving Liverpool: German’s exit bad for the Premier League, says Ten Hag
Klopp leaving Liverpool: Alonso, Gerrard and the other candidates to be next Reds manager

Sinner had the physical advantage from the third set onwards but paired his athleticism with several big forehand winners, ultimately sealing a 3-6 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-3 success after three hours and 44 minutes.

The 22-year-old clinched his victory with a forehand winner down the line, then dropped to the ground as he became the first Italian man to win a major since Adriano Panatta claimed the French Open title in 1976.

A childhood dream realised in Melbourne 💫#AUSOPEN PIC.TWITTER.COM/ARHLMM8MAO

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) JANUARY 28, 2024

Speaking during the trophy presentation, a visibly emotional Sinner said: “I am very proud. It was a very tough match. He started off really well, he moved me around the court.

“I could not make my game plan work but somehow in the third set I was looking for the small chances, which I used.

“The match changed and I am really happy with how I corrected it. There are so many emotions right now. I have to sit down and process it but it’s an unbelievable feeling.”

Sinner reeled off 28 winners in the final two sets as he was roared on by a vocal crowd, smashing a forehand into the open court for the all-important break in the eighth game of the decider.

“Thanks [to] my team, everyone who is in the box and watching from home, who works with me,” the Italian continued.

“We are trying to get better every day and even during the tournament, we were trying to get stronger and understand the situation a little bit better.

“It is not easy as I am still young but I want to thank everyone.

“I wish everyone could have my parents as they let me choose what I wanted when younger. I played other sports too and they never put pressure on me. I wish this freedom was possible for as many young kids as possible, so thank you to my parents.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A POST SHARED BY JANNIK SINNER (@JANNIKSIN)

Medvedev also blew a two-set lead in the 2022 Australian Open showpiece, going down to Rafael Nadal on that occasion. His total of 24 hours and 17 minutes on court at this year’s tournament is a new record for any player at a grand slam.

“It hurts to lose in the final but being in the final is probably better than losing before,” the Russian said. “I always want to win and I guess I have to try harder next time.”

Farceur Du Large completed a memorable hat-trick for the Racing Club syndicate today after cruising to victory in the Grand Military Gold Cup at Sandown.

Ridden by Major Will Kellard, Farceur Du Large romped home by over four lengths at odds of 11/1 from Rose of Arcadia and Fil D’Ariane to record Racing Club’s third win in three days.

Read our other sports stories here:
Alonso the natural heir to Klopp, says Carragher
Klopp legacy secured as an Anfield great
Medvedev sees off Zverev to set up Sinner final

The syndicate has had a stunning week with Wendigo winning at Catterick on Wednesday and Dunstan following that up with victory at Southwell yesterday. Farceur Du Large’s success fulfils a lifetime dream for Racing Club co-founder Jordan Wylie and trainer Jamie Snowden, former military colleagues who worked on tanks in the army.

Wendigo got the ball rolling by backing up his recent win at Hexham with victory by half a length in the 16.10 at Catterick. Ridden by Gavin Sheehan and under the guidance of Cheltenham Festival-winning trainer Snowden, the 7/4 favourite edged out Wilful to take first place with Magical Hill third.

Dunstan got in on the act with an impressive ride on the all-weather track at Southwell.

Ridden by Kieran O’Neill and trained by Barry Brennan, the three-year-old finished strongly to triumph in the 12.25 ahead of favourite Pagliacci and Trojan Storm.

The treble win demonstrates the potential at Racing Club and vindicates the hard work put in so far.

Racing Club co-founder Richard Jaques said: “This is unreal, it’s like a dream come true. Some syndicates and owners never make it to the winners’ enclosure or it takes them years of endeavour to get there. 

“For Racing Club to land three winners in three days is an amazing achievement for all concerned including the trainers, the jockeys, the stable staff and the small team at Racing Club who have brought the dream to reality over the last six months.”

Racing Club is an innovative provider of racing syndicates aiming to bring like-minded individuals together to build a community with the focus on great entertainment. Shares start from as little as £45 per year! As well as providing regular updates on the syndicate horses, opportunities to visit the stables and gallops and a share in any prize money, Racing Club also runs monthly ballots to win hospitality tickets to The O2, Wembley, Southampton FC and Newbury Racecourse. 

In addition, Racing Club offers a VIP service for those looking to purchase a bigger share or outright ownership of a horse. Full details of all horses currently for sale can be found at www.racingclub.com

For more information visit www.racingclub.com or email [email protected] and follow Racing Club on Twitter@racingclubvip