No scenario in which draw is good result – Tongue

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There is no circumstance in which England would consider a draw as a positive outcome from their thrilling first Test against India at Headingley, according to fast bowler Josh Tongue.

England will start the fifth day with a target of 271 runs and a score of 350. The hosts’ second-best attempt in a Test and second-best on this ground would be if they could pull it off.

England have made it abundantly clear that they don’t like to draw Tests under captain Ben Stokes. Since Stokes took over as England’s skipper three years ago, only one of its 36 games ended in draws, and that’s because it rained almost two days of the third Ashes Test at Old Trafford in 2023.

On Tuesday, Leeds’ forecast is ambiguous, which could make the run chase for England more difficult.

When Tongue was asked if there was a chance that a draw would turn out to be a positive outcome, Tongue replied, “No. Simply put, win. That’s the clear message in the changing area.

In the first few years of Stokes’ captaincy, England began to run chase, defeating India 378 in Edgbaston in 2022.

Headingley, who has a reputation for producing exceptional results, also has a history of teams winning batting last, which enabled Stokes to win the toss and field match despite the best of day one.

More than any other venue in the world, aside from the Australian Cricket Ground in Melbourne, has successfully chased six totals over 250.

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When asked if a draw had been discussed, Tongue replied, “We’re not in that situation anyway.” We’ll try to be as positive as possible during the opening session, check our lunch schedule, and then proceed.

I believe we can defeat any opponent with our batting lineup. Their bowlers will perform well during certain times, but it’s important to repress those pressure and pressure the bowlers. I don’t understand why we can’t pursue it.

“We’re obviously very confident,” he said. Our batting lineup is very strong, in your opinion. We play cricket that is both good and bad.

KL Rahul, the Indian batter, was also questioned if there was a scenario where his team would draw with a favorable outcome. He responded, “I agree with Josh Tongue.

There will undoubtedly be a result. England has stated this in a very open manner, and their style of cricket also suggests that. It gives us a good chance to take ten wickets.

On day four, Rahul and Rishabh Pant smashed incredible centuries, giving the impression that India was finally taking a decisive turn.

However, Tongue took three wickets in four deliveries to help England start the chase against India for 364 in their second innings.

Tongue, 27, is known by England and Nottinghamshire team-mate Ben Duckett for his habit of running through the lower order.

After taking four in the first innings to wrap up the late order, Tongue removed India’s numbers eight, nine, and 10 in the same over to end with 3-72.

I’ve done it twice now, so tongue said of his nickname, “I’ve got to start calling myself that.”

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India’s Pant, Rahul score centuries to set England 371 to win

England had a fighting chance of winning the first Test at Headingley with a score of 21-0 in their second innings at the close of play on day four, chasing 371 to win.

With three wickets in four balls, Josh Tongue made it 31 runs for the visitors on Monday, matching his first innings form.

The dangerous Jasprit Bumrah had the opportunity to attack England before the game was over because India was 36 for 36 as a result of the collapse. However, neither the opener’s opponent, Zak Crawley, nor Ben Duckett, appeared uneasy as they fought back until stumps.

More than the Ben Stokes-inspired heroics on the same field against Australia in 2019, reaching 371 would be England’s second-highest successful Test run chase, and the second-highest at Headingley.

Tongue told Sky Sports, “Ducky]Ben Duckett] and Zak [Crawley] batted really well to get them all out and not lose a wicket in the final half hour.”

“I thought we were unlucky the first session because we really batted really well.” The point was to “hit the pitch as hard as we can.” In the second session, it flattened out. Simply put, we needed to be patient.

India’s captain Shubman Gill, who had already scored his highest Test score in the first innings, chopped onto his stumps to fall for eight to Brydon Carse, who finished day four 90-2 ahead of the hosts.

After returning to the Test on Sunday, England saw an opportunity. However, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant’s 195-run middle-order partnership gave India a boost.

Josh Tongue of England celebrates taking Mohammed Siraj’s wicket on day four [Ed Sykes/Action Images via Reuters]

Pant Rally, Rahul

The normally box office Pant relaxed and watched as Rahul completed his ninth Test series, which included eight international appearances, with a relatively conservative opening inning.

After crashing two sixes in three balls after lunch, Pant hit the accelerator and unleashed his trademark flamboyant shots from every angle of the field, with the result of his 100th score, the first time ever in a Test match for India.

Pant eventually attempted one shot too many before being caught by Crawley for 118 chasing another six before Rahul, who had just finished tea for 137, cut back once more onto the stumps from Carse’s bowling.

The fast bowler then took three wickets and the catch that saw India’s innings come to an end after losing their final six first-innings wickets for 24 runs.

As Crawley continued to record unbeaten on 12 and Duckett will start a enthralling Tuesday on 9 while Bumrah, the world’s top-ranked Test bowler, took five wickets in the opening innings.

On the final day, England faces a tough competition, but there is at least hope. India only lost once in 59 Tests against opponents who had over 350 winning combined. However, that was in 2022 against England.

Rahul told Sky Sports, “Someone has got to win tomorrow, it will be an interesting day.”

The first innings were not as straightforward as the wicket. They won’t be as quick to hit the ball up. We’ll be in the game just fine if they get a significant partnership and a few wickets.

KL Rahul in action.
[Ed Sykes/Action Images via Reuters] KL Rahul led India in the second innings with 137 runs.

Man City’s Lewis given further two-match ban

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Rico Lewis, the club’s defender, received a second two-game suspension for his red card against Wydad Casablanca.

The England full-back, age 20, was dismissed in the opening minute of City’s 2-0 victory over Morocco on Wednesday.

He was immediately given a one-game suspension and was unable to play for Al Ain in Atlanta until after his 6-0 defeat by United Arab Emirates, but a Fifa disciplinary panel decided the incident was “serious foul play.”

The academy graduate will miss Thursday’s game against Juventus and their final-16 tie because City attempted to appeal the extension but was unsuccessful.

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How extensive are Israel’s intelligence operations inside Iran?

The Israeli press reported that Israel’s recent targeting of key military positions and leaders in Iran was the result of intelligence operations.

An Israeli intelligence agency, which is alleged to have infiltrated much of Iran’s security apparatus, is responsible for the strikes that destroyed a large portion of its key defensive infrastructure and killed military commanders.

On June 13, 2025, people in Tehran, Iran, gather near damaged vehicles. [Majid Asgaripour/West Asia News Agency]

Numerous people have reportedly been detained and accused of spying for Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, supporting Israel in the media, or infuriating the general public.

To prevent Israeli hackers from stealing sensitive communications, the Iranian government recently instructed senior officials and their security teams to avoid using smartphones connected to the internet. Meanwhile, it is believed that Iranian security services have reportedly asked the public to report any buildings they’ve rented to businesses or individuals over the past few years.

How extensive has the infiltration been, and how long has it been planning, and what has been characterized as an unprecedented Israeli intelligence operation that led to its recent strikes on Iran?

How significant a part did Israeli intelligence play in the country’s initial counterattacks?

a significant one.

Shortly after Israel launched its attacks on Iran, reports of intelligence operations that came before the “unprecedented” attack began to surface. Details about how both human intelligence and AI were used to carry out the attack, which senior members of Israel’s intelligence community claimed hampered a large portion of Iran’s air defenses, were revealed in interviews with senior officials.

The Associated Press published interviews with 10 Israeli intelligence and military officials who were aware of the strike on June 17 and shortly after.

Sima Shine, the former Mossad research director, told the AP, “This attack is the culmination of years of work by the Mossad to target Iran’s nuclear program.” Additionally, the article provided details on how Israeli agents were able to smuggle a number of drones and missile systems into Iran, which were then used to attack numerous targets created by a US AI model based on information that Israeli agents had provided to it from previous strikes.

Are there still intelligence operations?

They appear to be.

Saeed Izadi and Behnam Shahryari, two senior officers in Iran’s Quds force, were found dead over the weekend, according to Israel’s claim that its intelligence networks had located them.

Major-General Ali Shademani was found and killed by Israel on June 17; that was just four days after his predecessor was killed in a targeted airstrike.

A target would have to completely rid themselves of any electronic devices that could connect to the internet in order to avoid detection, according to Israeli military intelligence specialist Miri Eisin, who spoke to The Observer in the United Kingdom. She said that “most people don’t take themselves out of the grid.” You can reach anyone, they say.

According to defense analyst Hamze Attar from Luxembourg, “Israel likely has around 30 to 40 cells operating inside of Iran,” the majority of which are made up of collaborators, rather than Israeli agents, which also contributes to Iran’s weakening, he said, citing assembly instructions found on the hardware that was seized by authorities.

He said that some of those cells will be accountable for bringing weapons into Israel, others for carrying out attacks, and others for gathering intelligence.

How long has this been occurring?

Israeli intelligence operations inside Iran are not recent. According to analysts, operations designed to monitor, infiltrate, sabotage, and undermine Iranian defenses date back to the 1979 Iranian revolution.

Ali Larijani, a senior adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, acknowledged the scope of Israeli operations in Iran in a speech released in November 2024, telling ISNA news agency that the “problem of infiltration had become very serious in recent years.”

The former parliamentary speaker and nuclear negotiator continued, “There have been some instances of negligence for years.”

The Israeli-led Lebanese rebel group Hezbollah only gained access to its supply chain after its infiltration by Israeli intelligence in September 2024, allowing the group to detonate communication devices. Hassan Nasrallah, its leader, was killed in the same manner after Israeli agents found out where he was hiding. Similar plots were employed in the Hamas political leader’s assassination in Tehran in July of that year when an explosive device placed in his residence a few weeks prior to his death exploded.

Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was killed by a remote-controlled gun mounted on the back of a pick-up truck in the past 20 years by Israel. The Stuxnet computer virus, which was thought to have infected 30, 000 computers across at least 14 Iranian nuclear facilities, was also caused by Israel.

Does Iran have an Israeli spy agency?

Absolutely.

Seven Israeli citizens were detained in late October on suspicion of spying for Iran, according to Israel’s internal security agency, Shin Bet. Authorities in Haifa had earlier detained a further group of seven people on suspicion of aiding Iran’s intelligence ministry during the war.

According to Israeli police sources at the time, additional covert networks with Iran-linked connections may exist there.

Why do we know so much about this covert operation?

Because, in the opinion of analysts, publicity can also be a valuable addition to an intelligence agency’s toolkit.

While gaining points at home from other countries, revealing the extent to which a foreign nation’s security infrastructure can be compromised and infiltrated undermines that nation’s morale.

How did Archer fare on his red-ball return?

Images courtesy of Getty

The timing was essentially perfect.

A glimmer was offered 90 miles up the A1 as India celebrated its century, one that threatened to take England’s first Test away from Headingley and add to their bowlers’ labor.

Emilio Gay was pinged by Jofra Archer in his first first-class match in four years.

Given the larger picture, it was significant for Sussex to fight Durham, but it was even more significant.

England hope that Archer, who made a fantastic start to international cricket in 2019, will start playing Test cricket as soon as the second Test against India at Edgbaston on July 2 with serious elbow and back injuries.

the encouraging moments

National selector Luke Wright confirmed Archer might be available for the second India Test at the start of June, suggesting that he might be interested in this summer’s international schedule, despite the possibility of a box office reunion with Australia in the winter against Australia in the Ashes.

After six overs, he replaced another former England Test bowler, Ollie Robinson, who had given Durham the ball, making the score 9-0.

With England bowling coach Neil Killeen present, Archer made an appeal for caught behind down the leg side, but the umpire did not hear back.

The eye was drawn to a pacey second spell 45 minutes after lunch, despite Archer’s first four wicketless overs for 11 runs being accurate.

In his third over, Archer had Durham left-hander Gay fending off from in front of his helmet while Will Rhodes was hit in the back of his helmet, and he had a loud lbw appeal turned down.

Archer, who also featured Robinson, Durham’s England bowler Matthew Potts, and Australia’s Gurinder Sandhu, would not be denied. He was the quickest bowler on display in a match that also featured Robinson, Robinson, and Gurinder Sandhu, an international from Australia.

With the second ball of his next over, he found a hint of inswing and sat in front of the Durham opener. He went fuller to Gay from round the wicket.

Archer celebrated with a beaming smile after raising the umpire’s finger in a match against Kent on May 14, 2021. This was his first white wicket.

By the end, he was cruising to the crease after two more overs.

Jofra Archer bowls for SussexImages courtesy of Getty

Improvements could be made.

However, it was never going to be a day where Archer would completely destroy a starting lineup to claim a Test spot.

The pitch was slow, with strong gusts of wind sweeping across the ground for much of the day, and this round of County Championship matches were also being played with a Kookaburra ball, which is typically used in Australia but swings less than the made Dukes.

It created a bowling rig that was neither fast nor swinging.

Given that he has only played limited-overs cricket as his injuries were managed, Archer has not bowled more than 10 overs in a game since May 2021.

After tea, he returned for a further spell after which he had a 10 in his legs and returned with figures of 0-9 from his sixth maiden overall.

His second delivery, which fell horribly short of wicketkeeper John Simpson, was lacking in bite in the final outburst.

What was Archer’s opinion?

During his red-ball absence, Archer’s elbow injuries, which have required numerous surgeries, and a stress fracture in his back have been his most pressing issues.

However, he claimed that those issues have now “looked fine” after the break.

The mental aspect of the game, he said, “is a bigger issue now that I know my body can hold up to it,” he told BBC Radio Sussex.

“I’m going to have a battle with it over the next few days.” Everything is fine. I’ll continue to truck along.

When the scoreboard reached 50 overs, I said, “It’s time to come off now,” but by the end of the day, the situation was okay.

“It was fine,” he said. The pitch was not very effective. The ball feels a little more exciting when it moves around.

A typically relaxed Archer responded, “I guess so,” when asked if he was ready to resume his Test game.

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