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Indore was a giant party waiting to take off on Diwali eve. Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur had put together a century stand. Deepti Sharma knocked off a measured half-century after picking up four wickets with the ball.When India needed 57 off 57 balls, with seven wickets in hand, their attempt to scale down their highest-successful chase in women’s ODIs was well on track. But big-match nerves took centre stage, like it often has in the recent past. They collapsed sensationally, and fell short by four runs. England joined Australia and South Africa in the semi-finals.Related

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• 'The emotions took over' – Mandhana takes blame for Sunday heartbreak

India have now lost their third straight game, their campaign threatening to derail swiftly as they next face New Zealand in a crucial clash on Thursday.England’s win was set up by Heather Knight, whose 109 helped overcome a wobble when England were tested by India’s slower bowlers. Her century stand with Nat Sciver-Brunt gave them the platform for a lift-off towards the end. But a late collapse meant they managed 289 when 320 was within their reach.For much of India’s chase, it seemed as if that collapse would come back to haunt England. Haunt it did, but to India, who have lots to ponder – not least the composition of their line-up, after they took a bold call of playing with a batter short – Jemimah Rodrigues dropped in favour of Renuka Singh.3:45

Mandhana: ‘Emotions took over, I needed to be more patient’

India were rocked early, losing Pratika Rawal for 6 in the third over. Harleen Deol started slowly, and managed just 4 off 26 balls outside of her five boundaries as the asking rate crept up. Having spent time at the crease, like she had in each of her four previous knocks in the tournament, she threw it away – lbw playing back to Charlie Dean’s indrifter.Mandhana was far from fluent, but Harmanpreet’s arrival took some pressure off her. The Indian captain was off the mark with a sumptuous flick off Sciver-Brunt, and looked seemingly keen on not allowing Sophie Ecclestone to settle by opening up the off side and repeatedly lofting her inside-out.Harmanpreet’s enterprise helped Mandhana, who had faced just 18 balls in the first 12 overs of India’s chase, settle in. Mandhana was watchful, but every now and then, there were flashes of brilliance – like when she picked off two boundaries behind square off Ecclestone.3:32

Knight: ‘Managed to steal the win at the back-end’

Once she got those two fours, Mandhana switched gears to raise her half-century off 60 balls, barely acknowledging the applause. On 43 at that point, Harmanpreet also turned up the tempo and moved to 70 before she glided Sciver-Brunt to short third, England breathing a sigh of relief at breaking a 125-run stand.Deepti and Mandhana then knocked the ball into the gaps, seemingly intent on taking the chase deep. Deepti’s sensible approach also took pressure off Mandhana, forcing Sciver-Brunt to bring back Linsey Smith for another spell a tad earlier than she might have otherwise. This proved to be a masterstroke as she had Mandhana hole out to long-off on 88. Even so, at 234 for 4 in 41.2 overs, this was India’s game to lose.However, nerves took over. Richa Ghosh drilled one straight to cover, Deepti miscued a slog, reminiscent of the shot she played in that 2017 final, and suddenly Sneh Rana and Amanjot Kaur were left with too much to do. Smith conceded just four in a clutch 48th over, leaving India needing 23 off 12. Then with 14 needed, she came back to finish off India, ensuring none of her first four deliveries went to the boundary.3:15

Review: How did India lose this one?

As well as the spinners bowled, it would be hard to look beyond Knight’s century that gave England a chance in the first place. If her unbeaten 79 in Guwahati helped England overcome Bangladesh’s spin strangle, Sunday’s innings was a masterclass in sweeps and reverse sweeps.After Amy Jones did the early running to construct a measured half-century, it was Knight who injected momentum through the middle overs, putting on 113 with Sciver-Brunt. Having begun sedately, she only shifted gears after the pair raised the fifty of their partnership.While the sweep was Knight’s calling card – no spinner was spared – to say her knock was only about that stroke wouldn’t do justice to her running between the wickets, a mark of the work she’s had to put in to improve her fitness following a career-threatening injury. She also displayed her brute bottom-handed power in shovelling Kranti Gaud for six, the only one of the innings, in the 38th over.Knight was reprieved twice in her nineties, but she soon brought up her century off 86 deliveries before her dismissal led to a meltdown with England managing just 36 off the last five overs. This would’ve cost them on most nights, but Sunday was their night. Thanks to their spinners, England remain unbeaten in the tournament.

It remains difficult to piece together just where the blame lies for Celtic’s current slump – is it the board, is it Brendan Rodgers, or is it a period of dismal recruitment?

Of course, it is likely a mixture of all of those factors, with the latter point particularly key. Indeed, of those signed amid Rodgers’ return in the summer of 2023, only Paulo Bernardo and Yang Hyun-jun remain part of the current first-team squad.

Far too many deals have backfired over the past two years, although that’s not to say that the departed coach is himself free of criticism, having not exactly got the best out of those at his disposal.

You only have to look at the case of Callum Osmand, a player largely ignored by the Northern Irishman, to see where Rodgers was misguided. While now cruelly struck down by injury, the Wales youth international was the hero at Hampden, before winning a penalty during his lively, albeit brief cameo at FC Midtjylland.

Although Rodgers’ return did see two further Premiership titles secured, prior to him walking away for the second time, the magic of his first spell in charge didn’t appear to be there.

The Hoops, hopefully, will be targeting a figure who can replicate that first version of the former Liverpool boss at Parkhead.

Celtic's ongoing manager search

A clear frontrunner has yet to truly emerge with regard to Celtic’s managerial vacancy, with a romantic return for Ange Postecoglou having been deemed ‘very unlikely’, despite the Greek-Aussie now out of work following his dismissal from Nottingham Forest.

Interim boss Martin O’Neill does remain an option to see out the season, alongside Shaun Maloney, although such a decision would likely be a last resort considering the 73-year-old last took on a top job back in 2019, following his own brief stint at the City Ground.

The nature and timing of Rodgers’ shock resignation has no doubt complicated matters, although with the international break now to come, it presents the perfect time to finally nail down a preferred pick.

Manager Focus

Who are the greatest coaches in the land? Football FanCast’s Manager Focus series aims to reveal all.

According to Football Insider, one of the current frontrunners is Ipswich Town boss, Kieran McKenna, with the 39-year-old deemed to be the “number-one target”, albeit with a potential obstacle likely to be his “big compensation package”.

As the report notes, it is believed that it would take a fee of around £5m to prise McKenna from Portman Road, with it yet to be seen whether the Glasgow side would be willing to fork out such a figure to get their man.

McKenna, for what it’s worth, did not wholly shut down talk of the move when quizzed on the speculation in recent weeks, having described Celtic as a “really big club”, amid suggestions that he is a rumoured Hoops supporter.

Why Celtic could be targeting the next Brendan Rodgers

An exciting young Northern Irish coach with a potential affinity to the Scottish champions – that certainly sounds familiar?

Yes, there are certainly real similarities between McKenna and his compatriot Rodgers, with Celtic no doubt hoping that the in-demand Ipswich coach can replicate the success that the latter man enjoyed following his first move to Parkhead in 2016.

While the ex-Swansea City, Liverpool, Watford and Reading boss had garnered far more experience at the time of his move north of the border, he had made the first major stride of his coaching career in the youth ranks at Chelsea, having been given the backing of Jose Mourinho at Stamford Bridge.

McKenna – who initially worked in the youth ranks at Tottenham Hotspur – was also something of a favourite of Mourinho at Manchester United, having eventually become an assistant to the Portuguese coach in 2018.

Like Rodgers, the rising star had seen his own playing career cut short by injury, with the pair seemingly following in Mourinho’s footsteps by trying to make up for that on-field disappointment by shining in the dugout – as McKenna himself has admitted:

While Rodgers first truly made a name for himself by steering Swansea into the Premier League, the 4-2-3-1 coach has enjoyed similar success in the EFL with his current club, having claimed back-to-back promotions in what is his first managerial role.

Days in charge

1419

Games

187

Wins

87

Draws

50

Losses

50

Points per game

1.66

Players used

81

Promotions

2

Relegations

1

Although the Tractor Boys’ stay in the top-flight was short-lived, that hasn’t stopped interest mounting in this “incredible” coach – as hailed by Ipswich’s Wes Burns – with former club Man United believed to have been considering him in the summer of 2024.

That would’ve been like Rodgers’ own Anfield switch, although perhaps McKenna can skip a step and head straight to Celtic instead, with the Glasgow outfit no doubt in need of an exciting, young and fresh voice to try and reinvigorate the current first-team crop.

For all the frustration over his decision to twice leave his post at Celtic Park, it’s worth remembering the glittering success that Rodgers has achieved when at the helm, namely overseeing that invincible domestic season in 2016/17.

With a raft of promising young talents, and with an attractive, front-foot style of play, the now 52-year-old was just what was needed to breathe new life into the club, amid the mixed stint of Ronny Deila.

Now, again, Celtic need to be revitalised. Can the next bright young manager, McKenna, be the man to do just that?

O'Neill upgrade: Mjallby tells Celtic which manager is "the perfect fit"

Former Celtic star Johan Mjällby has told the club which manager would be the perfect fit for the club.

ByDan Emery Nov 8, 2025

The spin-bowling consultant has also taken on the role of being motivator-in-chief at the Women’s T20 World Cup

Firdose Moonda16-Oct-2024Most teams are made up of certain key characters: the responsible one, the serious one, the young one, the popular one, the talented one and most importantly the funky one. In South Africa’s case, the last of those is a position taken up by one of their support staff: spin bowling lead Paul Adams.He has assumed the role of motivator-in-chief, alongside his technical coaching, and taken some of the burden off captain Laura Wolvaardt, who also has opening the batting to focus on.”I found it one of the hardest parts of the job – finding something new to say every single game,” Wolvaardt said at her pre semi-final press conference. “A lot of it doesn’t really change, especially in the series where we play the same opposition six times, so to come up with a new pre-game speech is tricky. But we’ve had Paul Adams and every game he’s come up with something really creative and really new.”Related

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Adams started off by introducing the team to the ancient but now-popular practice of grounding, which traces its history back to ancient Egypt, and does exactly what it says on the tin. All it is is standing barefoot on a surface, preferably grass but beach sand or if circumstances are extreme, artificial turf or concrete might do just as well, and feeling the earth below. The team did it ahead of their first match to feel as though they had arrived in the UAE, the place where they will compete to win the World Cup for the first time.Then, he moved to poetry and composed four verses for the team ahead of their final group stage match against Bangladesh to urge them to stay in the moment. A taste of it reads: “So focus hard, embrace the fight, each second is our only right,” and Tazmin Brits described it to ESPNcricinfo Powerplay’s podcast as emotional and inspiring.Laura Wolvaardt: It’s an amazing opportunity we have tomorrow to have all those lights on us and have a good time•ICC/Getty ImagesNow, ahead of the semi-final, Adams has had to pull another trick out of the bag and he managed to come up with one. “Today we had a video about ebbs and flows and going with the game,” Wolvaardt said. “He absolutely loves it. He runs our spin meetings as well and every meeting there’s some kind of a video about birds that fly together and stick together and teamwork and all of that stuff.”Of course, we shouldn’t forget that spin coaching is Adams’ primary role and he has done some innovative things in that department too. He has worked on Nonkululeko Mlaba, Chloe Tryon, Sune Luus and Seshnie Naidu’s actions, not by passing on his own contortionist means of delivery, but by using weighted balls to align their hips over their feet and get their arms into the optimal position for accuracy and the results, especially for Mlaba, are obvious. She is the second-leading wicket-taker of the tournament and has rediscovered an element of threat that left her after the last World Cup.Adams, who has himself been through a harrowing time after the Social Justice and Nation-Building hearing in 2021, will not necessarily be with the women’s team through all of their next series. Since the SJN, he coached a bit at the provincial team Border and has now been employed to work across all South African teams, but for now, the impact he is making is clear. “He’s very creative, he loves it, he always reads into things and he’s been really great for the group,” Wolvaardt said. “We’ve needed someone to really pump us up and bring our little fun element to each game as well, which has been awesome.”That comment is telling because this South African team, until earlier this year, had been under the same management for most of their careers. Hilton Moreeng, who oversaw the development to professionalism and years of succession in reaching semi-finals and eventually a final, was in charge for almost 12 years. Post last year’s World Cup, there was talk of a need for change in order to inject new ideas and move the team forward. That half-happened with the promotion of assistant coach Dillon du Preez to interim head coach and the appointment of other, new support staff.For the first time, the South African women’s team have a batting coach in Baakier Abrahams, and a spin-bowling consultant in Adams. They mention the pair almost every time they are asked about how this side is different, and perhaps better, than the one that reached the final in 2023. “We have a year of experience, we line up a little differently and we’ve also had a bit of change in staff,” Wolvaardt said. “So, a couple of fresh faces, fresh ideas. It’s been a bit of an up and down year for us. I think we’ve played some really good cricket in Australia and had a few disappointing series as well.”For South Africa, their first wins over Australia in an ODI and T20I earlier this year is what they are holding on to as they take on the world champions again. But whatever happens, they know they’ve already done something “very special,” as Wolvaardt put it by qualifying for another semi-final and doing it with a smile. “We don’t even realise how many people at home are following us and watching us. My mum keeps texting me that she’s been to the dentist today, and the dentist is asking about our game tomorrow, and they seem super excited,” she said. “It’s an amazing opportunity we have tomorrow to have all those lights on us and have a good time.”

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