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England Diary: Samson Draws the Cheers While Sooryavanshi Draws the Questions
Vaibhav Tripathi & Rohit Juglan
Sanju Samson is one of the most popular players in the current Indian team. Popularly known as “Chetta”, he is a firm favourite among fans—and with good reason. Three match-winning innings in three games, followed by being named Player of the Tournament at the World Cup, have earned him admirers across the globe. After India’s practice session ended in Durham, Samson noticed a group of fans waiting and calling out his name. The 31-year-old happily obliged, walking over to greet the supporters who were standing on the other side of the closed gate. Even after a disappointing series against Ireland, Samson appeared to be in high spirits as he interacted with his fans.
The weather has been kind to the team since they landed in the UK. In Belfast, conditions were pleasant, allowing the players to enjoy their downtime. After arriving in Durham, the squad even went for a short stroll, and during training the weather caused them little trouble. In the new city, the team has enjoyed the pleasant conditions. liveiplscore.homes
Shreyas Iyer attended the press conference, facing the media for the first time since the series defeat to Ireland. As expected, he was asked a host of questions. Most journalists in the press room were keen to hear his thoughts on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s potential debut. However, the India captain remained tight-lipped about the chances of the 15-year-old making his first appearance. Just as in Belfast, the British journalists were primarily interested in talking about Sooryavanshi. The same curiosity was evident during India’s training session, where the youngster continued to attract most of the attention.
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Experience Counts: England and Belgium Show Why Big-Tournament Know-How Matters
The first two World Cup Round of 32 matches on Wednesday illustrated the value of experience. England were below par for an hour and deservedly trailed the Democratic Republic of Congo. Yet, with a few tactical tweaks and the clinical finishing of Harry Kane, they kept their campaign alive.
Belgium were in even greater danger of exiting the competition after 85 minutes before an extraordinary turnaround took the game to extra time. A dramatic winner in the fifth minute of added time after the mandatory 30 minutes completed a remarkable comeback.
It was an object lesson in the old adage that no match is ever truly over until the final whistle blows, and a reminder of how important it is to maintain concentration and focus at all times.
DR Congo did not lose because they lost concentration. They were beaten because they simply did not have the quality to keep England at bay for the full 90 minutes. They defended manfully, and Lionel Mpasi was in sensational form in goal, but the gulf in quality eventually told.
Whether it was Declan Rice operating as a makeshift right-back or the impact made by substitutes Noni Madueke, Anthony Gordon and Bukayo Saka, before Kane’s ice-cool finishing, England showed there is no substitute for top-level experience in matches of this magnitude.
In Senegal’s case, it was not a lack of quality but the sheer opportunism and resilience of their opponents that proved their undoing. Although Belgium had dominated possession after Senegal’s second goal, the African side enjoyed a purple patch around the 80th minute when it appeared they would comfortably see out the game.
Jérémy Doku and Kevin De Bruyne had already been substituted in the 56th minute, and Belgium had managed just two shots on target all evening. Romelu Lukaku had played only seven games for Napoli all season and was clearly short of match fitness. What he did possess, however, was the experience of 130 international appearances and nearly 100 goals for Belgium. Those predatory instincts were on full display when he glanced home Thomas Meunier’s cross to give Belgium hope.
It was at that point that Mory Diaw, Senegal’s stand-in goalkeeper, made his only significant mistake of the night, allowing Belgium to draw level. Although Senegal continued to threaten, it became increasingly difficult to escape the feeling that, the longer the game went on, the more likely there would be only one winner.
Belgium have done this before, most memorably against Japan at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. England, too, could look back to their comeback against Cameroon in the 1990 World Cup quarter-final, when Gary Lineker did what Harry Kane would do 36 years later by scoring twice to eliminate determined African opposition.
As outsiders, we crave fresh narratives and fairy tales. Yet these major tournaments repeatedly remind us that the most valuable currency of all is experience — having been there before and knowing exactly what it takes when the stakes are at their highest.
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“You want conviction in referee’s decision”: Keane slams official after Belgium handed late penalty in FIFA WC epic against Senegal
Seattle [US], July 2 (ANI): Following Belgium’s remarkable come-from-behind win over Senegal to seal a FIFA World Cup round of 16 clash courtesy of a late penalty conversion from Youri Tielemans, former England footballer Roy Keane blasted the referee for taking too long to hand Belgium a penalty, calling it a “bit harsh" for Senegal.
After Habib Diarra (24th minute) and Ismaila Sarr (51st minute) scored and another giant seemed to be on its way out, Romelu Lukaku (86th minute), Tielemans (89th minute) changed the course of the game, taking it to extra time.
Tielemans took the penalty after the VAR review awarded his team one for Lamine Camara’s foul on Tielemans, sealing one of the tournament’s most dramatic victories and rewriting the World Cup record books. His winning penalty in the 124th minute and 44th second broke the previous timeline records for late game-winners, becoming the latest goal ever scored in FIFA World Cup history.
Following the match, Sky Sports expert Roy, a former Manchester United stalwart, said on ITV Sport, as quoted by Sky Sports, that the African nation “found a way to lose the game".
“Senegal found a way to lose the game, and it was a great reaction for Belgium. The penalty is a bit harsh, and the referee took so long to look at the screen. You want conviction in the referee’s decision, and he was hesitating for a long time," he said.
Also, Gary Neville, another England and Manchester United legend, said that a FIFA WC is a “place for dreams and then it is a place for dreams to be shattered."
“They [Senegal] gave up a two-goal lead with five minutes to go. Credit to Belgium, I do not know how they got out of it," he signed off. (ANI)
(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)
IND vs ENG: Angry Indian Fans React As Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Benched In 1st T20I
Although both captain Shreyas Iyer and assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate had already hinted that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi would need to wait for his turn, it still came as a shock to the Indian fans that the 15-year-old teenage sensation was benched in the 1st T20I against England.
The five-match IND vs ENG T20I rubber got underway on Wednesday evening at Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street, with Iyer winning the toss and electing to bat first. This is the first time since November 2024 that India opted to bat first after winning the toss in a T20I outside Asia.
England had already announced their playing XI a day before the game, while India rang in a couple of changes to their side that went down by 1 run against Ireland in Belfast in the IND vs IRE 2nd T20I.
Surprisingly, India went in with three spinners: Varun Chakaravarthy, who is back from a foot injury, and Ravi Bishnoi replaced Prince Yadav and Suryansh Shedge. This meant India had only two frontline seamers in Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh, with Shivam Dube’s medium pace to boot.
But the talking point among the Indian fans was the exclusion of Sooryavanshi, who was the Orange Cap winner in an epic IPL 2026 season where he broke Chris Gayle’s record for the most sixes in a single edition.
In Ireland, India had decided to stick with their successful opening combination of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma, but Samson had come under the scanner, not so much because of his low scores in Ireland but more so owing to Sooryavanshi being on the bench.
The theme carried on in England as India didn’t change their batting personnel at the top. However, pressure on Samson is now going to mount further as he departed for only 1 run off 7 balls in the IND vs ENG 1st T20I, where speedster Saqib Mahmood had Samson caught at backward point.
IND vs ENG: Angry Indian Fans React As Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Benched In 1st T20I
Indian cricket team fans were upset over Sooryavanshi’s omission from the 1st T20I against England. Fans expressed their rage on Twitter through strongly worded tweets against the team management headed by Gambhir and Iyer. Some fans even claimed that they wouldn’t be watching today’s game since the youngster is not playing.
Check out some of the tweets by Indian fans on Sooryavanshi’s exclusion:
Again , No Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
— Harshubh Shah (@harshubh) July 1, 2026
What's gng on @BCCI ?#ENGvIND
1 off 7 balls Sanju
— Cricket
This is so embarrassing, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is running in his mindLover // ICT Fan Account (@CricCrazyV) July 1, 2026
Sanju samson is the only person who is supporting Vaibhav sooryavanshi openly.
— Pradeep Gupta (@Pradeep_G7) July 1, 2026
He is hell bent on giving Vaibhav sooryavanshi an opportunity, even at his place.
What a kind hearted playerpic.twitter.com/IWJ5LFtXC4
Destiny gave India Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
— mukesh vig (@vigmukesh) July 1, 2026
Bad luck gave India some of these fools aka “Selectors”.
Thanks to these fools, India is now paying the price for keeping Sooryavanshi ‘Chained’ to the dressing room.
India in England
Gautam Gambhir , Vaibhav Sooryavanshi ke liye
— Byomkesh (@byomkesbakshy) July 1, 2026pic.twitter.com/OwJJ523e62
India vs England Playing XIs 1st T20I:
England: Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Jacob Bethell, Will Jacks, Tom Banton (wk), Harry Brook (C), Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid, Saqib Mahmood, Luke Wood
India: Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Shreyas Iyer (C), Tilak Varma, Ravi Bishnoi, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy
Earlier, Iyer had suggested that the players who contributed to winning the T20 World Cup should be backed and provided security, indirectly reminding everyone of Samson’s Man of the Tournament performance.
“We have to build that opportunity and security so that each individual has confidence going forward into the tournaments. The players who have won the last World Cup definitely have an idea of how to play T20, and continuously they have been the main pillars of that format, so it’s very important to back them,” Iyer said.
Ten Doeschate had said after the Ireland series defeat that Vaibhav will have to “go through the same process as everyone else and, you know, bide his time and wait.”
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