Michael Owen has told ESPN FC that Mohamed Salah is a "selfish" striker, but the former Liverpool forward said the Egypt international's recent spat with teammate Sadio Mane will not disrupt the pair's prolific partnership.

Mane reacted angrily after being substituted during Liverpool's 3-0 Premier League victory at Burnley last Saturday, with the Senegal forward unhappy at Salah's failure to pass to him on at least one occasion when in a goalscoring position at Turf Moor.

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Manager Jurgen Klopp played down the incident after the game and Owen, who scored 158 goals in 297 appearances for the club during a seven-year spell at Anfield, said the Liverpool boss must ensure Salah and Mane find a way to set aside any differences.

"When you look at Liverpool's front three, you have Roberto Firmino, who is probably the most unselfish player in the world -- he would lay on anything -- so would be a dream to play with," Owen told ESPN FC.

"At the other end of the spectrum, you have Mo Salah, who is just focused on scoring and wanting to be the goalscorer. Then you have Sadio Mane, who sits in between -- he likes scoring and is selfish when he needs to be -- but he's also quite generous in his passing.

"I think you have a great balance there, but it just boiled over the other day. I was doing the [Burnley-Liverpool] game for television and I said at the time, 'Have you seen that? There are a couple of times he [Salah] should have been passing.'

"Of course, it all blew up and I saw it coming in many ways. These problems happen all the time and it's Jurgen Klopp's job to smooth them over. But I do think that, as a striker, there is a balance in everything.

"There has to be one that's unselfish and one who is selfish, otherwise you are never going to get any goals. I was always at my best with Emile Heskey -- he was really unselfish and I was a really selfish so-and-so.

"But put me with another selfish player -- another striker who was hungry for goals -- and you wouldn't necessarily hit it off the same."

Salah and Mane both won the Premier League Golden Boot last season, with the two forwards netting 22 goals to share top spot alongside Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Salah is one ahead of Mane so far this season, with the former Roma man scoring three league goals, while his teammate has two. Manchester City's Sergio Aguero tops the charts with six goals.

And although the Liverpool pair are likely to battle it out for the Golden Boot once again, Owen said he believes that Salah will be more aware of Mane next time the chance arises to tee up his strike partner.

"I don't think it will be a problem that will last," Owen said. "Next time Salah gets the ball, he will probably be more conscious that he has to pass sometimes, if there is a better opportunity.

"If he does, I guess it will be forgotten about, but these players are playing right on the edge at the very highest level and little things can just happen like that. It's fine. These things happen all the time in every dressing-room -- you get arguing all the time.

"Unfortunately for Jurgen Klopp, it happened in front of the cameras and he had to dampen it down, but things like that happen all the time at every club. Sometimes having an argument is quite a good thing because it keeps everyone on their toes.

"You are talking about 25 men in a squad who live in each others pockets for nine-10 months a year, so you are always going to have arguments, scuffles. Not everyone will get on, but it's the manager's job to piece it all together."

With or without Carlos Vela, LAFC will look to bounce back from a rare defeat when they face Orlando City SC, while the Seattle Sounders are once again finding their late summer groove as they head to the Colorado Rapids, plus it's a crucial clash between the Portland Timbers and Sporting Kansas City in the Pacific Northwest.

Must-win time in Portland

It's a topic that has been discussed before on these pages, but it has to be said once again that the Portland Timbers face another must-win contest, this time with Sporting Kansas City coming to town on Saturday (10:30 p.m. ET, stream on ESPN+).

Despite a 1-0 win at home over Real Salt Lake, last season's runners-up are still on the outside of the MLS Cup playoffs looking in, as they sit two points behind the Galaxy for the seventh and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The home-friendly run-in favors the Timbers and it was certainly a good sign that Diego Valeri found the back of the net against RSL.

Also aiding Portland's task is that the international break will hardly make a dent. Renzo Zambrano is the lone call-up, but he would have missed out anyway due to his late red card against Salt Lake. Such is the luxury of having an Argentine-heavy squad in MLS, a league that has only supplied one player to the Albiceleste in its history: Atlanta United's Pity Martinez last spring.

Sporting KC also come in off a home win, 1-0 against the Houston Dynamo, but coach Peter Vermes will be missing six players due to the FIFA window. Five points back of the Galaxy, Sporting will need one of the best performances of the season to get a result to stay in the playoff chase.

LAFC's Vela quandary

In last weekend's home date with Minnesota United, LAFC head coach Bob Bradley made the decision to rest star striker Carlos Vela after the Mexican winger suffered a hamstring injury a week prior in the 3-3 draw with the LA Galaxy. It was a smart move for the long term, especially with the hefty cushion that LAFC have in the Western Conference, but nevertheless, it likely has to feel disconcerting for LAFC supporters to see how the team limped to a 2-0 defeat.

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Accepting that LAFC is a weaker team without Vela is logical, but Sunday night provided a glimpse as to how things might go if any future injury issues arise for Vela. Brian Rodriguez looked plenty dangerous after replacing Vela against the Galaxy, but the newly arrived Uruguayan was a non-factor against Minnesota and was hauled off at halftime.

Hamstring injuries are not ones to mess with, especially when dealing with a cross-country road trip to humid Central Florida to take on Orlando City on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, stream on ESPN+), so another DNP for Vela would not come as a shock. At the same time, that could be just the thing that helps LAFC shake off last week's defeat.

They still dominated possession, but lacked the cutting edge. With another week of training to fine tune a potentially Vela-less attack, LAFC stand to be sharper.

Familiar refrain in Seattle

Just when you think that the Seattle Sounders won't pull off their summer Houdini act because of a defense that looked like Swiss cheese during the bulk of July and August, here they come yet again with a late-season charge that suddenly has them second in the Western Conference. But is it a false dawn?

They are still letting in goals -- four in those two wins -- so maybe it is a bit premature to begin conjuring memories of 2016 when they catapulted up the table in the final three months to eventually win MLS Cup.

The best indication of whether it is déjà vu all over again in Seattle will come with Saturday's visit to Colorado to face the Rapids (9 p.m. ET, stream on ESPN+). Under new boss Robin Fraser, Colorado did what few teams have done and that's walk out of Red Bull Arena with a clean sheet victory, a 2-0 final that raised plenty of eyebrows.

Of the two sides, Seattle is likely to suffer more from the international break, with Cristian Roldan, Raul Ruidiaz, Jordan Morris and Xavier Arreaga all with their respective national teams, while Kei Kamara and Diego Rubio will be absent for Colorado. With key pieces missing, Seattle's defense must show up.

Matteo Guendouzi has always been looking forward. Even when he was 16 and one of the most promising talents in the Paris Saint-Germain academy, the midfielder was never satisfied with what he had already achieved -- he wanted to progress even more.

That meant leaving PSG for Lorient in 2014 to have a clearer path to the first team. It didn't take Guendouzi long to establish himself there, but within two years he had another goal to aim for: getting into Arsenal's senior side.

Arriving at the Emirates in July 2018 as a virtual unknown outside his home country, at the tender age of 19, the Frenchman quickly went about impressing his new fans and has become a fixture under Unai Emery ever since. But his ambition is still burning strong. After making a name for himself in the Premier League, getting into the France national team became the next goal.

The World Cup winners already have a quality midfield, but Guendouzi was named as a replacement for the injured Paul Pogba ahead of the Euro 2020 qualifying clashes against Albania and Andorra this week and couldn't be more pleased.

"It was always a dream to be called up one day for the national team," he told ESPN FC. "I have played in all the youth teams since I was 16-years-old. I have worked so hard to get here, with the France A team. It is maybe a bit of surprise that he has arrived so quickly but I knew that if I was performing with Arsenal, one of the biggest clubs in Europe, then I would have a chance. My chance is now and I want to take it."

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Injuries to Pogba, Tanguy Ndombele, N'Golo Kante and Houssem Aouar certainly fast-tracked Guendouzi's call-up a bit, but there were plenty of other players that coach Didier Deschamps could have called on instead. The 20-year-old has earned his place.

"I was with the France under-21 squad at Clairefontaine, having a nap, when the coach rang me and said that I had to leave to move next door to the castle where the senior players are staying! I could not believe it at first," he said. "I thought it was some sort of a dream!"

Guendouzi quickly made his way next door and Deschamps was waiting for him with a little joke up his sleeve, as always. "I was told that you wanted to see the castle, so here you are!" the head coach said with a smile before wishing him well.

Deschamps has been carefully watching the midfielder develop for the past two seasons, including in last Sunday's 2-2 draw against Tottenham in which Guendouzi was the best player on the pitch.The 1998 and 2018 World Cup winner has been impressed by the youngster's ability to play as a complete midfielder -- capable of defending, attacking, picking a pass and dictating the tempo. But, most importantly, it is Guendouzi's character (as shown with his fine initiation song below) which has earned him his place in the squad.

Comme le veut la tradition, Matteo Guendouzi et Jonathan Ikoné ont dû chanter devant le groupe hier soir ! ??? #FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/RWpsiQdiM5

— Equipe de France ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) September 4, 2019

"I have a strong temper with a lot of determination," he said. "I believe in myself and in my qualities. I don't take anything for granted because I know that only hard work pays off. That's why I am here. I really feel that I have improved massively in the last year or so. Tactically, I am more mature, technically and physically, I have taken my game to the next level."

This week, at training, Guendouzi has not looked out of his depth at all. In fact, a source told ESPN FC: "It looks like he has been in the setup for ever. He is comfortable, trains well and is a good character to have in the dressing room." Many of France's senior players have welcomed him with opened arms, too.

The hardest part has probably been to answer all the messages of congratulations that he has received after his call-up, including from his two closest friends and de facto big brothers at Arsenal: Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

"I am sorry for all the people I haven't got back to yet, he smiles. It has been crazy," he added. "It was overwhelming because you see how happy and proud your family and friends are for you. You speak to them on the phone, they cry, they scream! It was a dream to wear this shirt and I will never forget this day."

On Saturday evening, the national anthem at the Stade de France before the game against Albania will be a very special moment for Guendouzi as a Paris born-and-bred kid who used to go there to watch his idols play.

Now his own moment has arrived. Of course, he will be hoping to get his first cap, even just for a few seconds in front of all his family and friends, but he will have another chance to do so on Tuesday, still at the Stade de France, against Andorra. And if it doesn't happen this time, Guendouzi will keep working hard to make sure he is back in the squad for the next round of qualifiers.

Just 18 months ago, he was playing for Lorient in the French second division. Now he's a star for one of the biggest clubs in Europe, set to make his debut for his national team at 20-years-old. Once he achieves that, one can only wonder what his next goal will be.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Friday's friendly at MetLife Stadium between the U.S. and Mexico doesn't come with a ton of emotional baggage or themes of revenge. The historic animosity between longtime rivals is present, but both sides will be looking to get something a bit more meaningful out of their latest friendly.

ESPN's Tom Marshall and Noah Davis preview the match from both perspectives.

U.S. point of view: Biggest test yet for the "kids"

The point of sport is to win, of course, but perhaps it's also to learn. That's especially true for a national team, who plays endless friendlies that present learning opportunities intermingled with the qualifiers and tournaments in which victory is always the ultimate objective. When the USMNT takes the field against Mexico on Friday, a rematch in name if not in reality off the back of El Tri's 1-0 Gold Cup final win in July, U.S. head coach Gregg Berhalter will be seeking forward momentum more than balls in the back of the net.

"A very consistent theme since we've been together is to just keep progressing," he said in the lead-up to the game. "We got to a certain point in the Gold Cup. We want to analyze where we got to, and now can we build on that in this next game, in this next phase?"

- Berhalter: Dest will start vs. Mexico
- O'Hanlon: Dest is proof of U.S. progress in developing talent

Continuing to build on "that," the style and philosophy Berhalter brought to the team after his December 2018 hire would be a welcome sight for American fans who watched the squad flounder in an awkward limbo for a half-decade. Early returns have been decent if not spectacular, most notably a strong Gold Cup in which the Americans dominated until they didn't and never looked overmatched.

Against Mexico (and Uruguay in St. Louis on Tuesday), Berhalter has close to a full-strength roster -- Tyler Adams, DeAndre Yedlin, Tim Weah and Matt Miazga are missing due to injury -- and 180 minutes to test ideas, theories and combinations. "Every player on the team is a puzzle piece," said defender Aaron Long, one of the last year's biggest success stories.

The most important puzzle piece is where Christian Pulisic best fits. It's not a new conundrum. Both Jurgen Klinsmann and Bruce Arena tried -- and succeeded/failed in equal measure -- to figure out where to play the American's most dynamic attacker. Berhalter's choice about Pulisic will dictate a great deal of the rest of the formation. The Chelsea acquisition is listed as a forward on the latest roster, as opposed to the midfield role he occupied in the pre-Gold Cup releases. This might mean that the coach sees his young star playing farther up the field, likely out on a wing with Josh Sargent in the middle, or it might mean that Pulisic will play farther back and that an "F" or an "M" next to his name means little.

It's also a chance to continue integrating the next generation into the national team.

"The youth wave for the U.S. is coming," FC Dallas defender Reggie Cannon said. "I feel like I'm having gray hairs in the back of my head at 21. I don't know why. But I'm always excited about this youth."

The fact is simple: a roster comprised of American players 24 and under would be the favorite to beat a starting XI of guys 25 and up. Making this transition as seamlessly as possible needs to be a priority. Mexico and Uruguay, two quality but beatable sides, present wonderful opportunities to find out who of the newer crew can hang in Berhalter's proactive style.

The coach understands this. He knows how valuable the games, and the trainings are for the future prospects. For example, there's a shot for Atlanta United FC center-back Miles Robinson. "It's a chance for us to get an up-close look at him," Berhalter said. "We know he has the physical talent. We know he's a competitor. We know he's had a great season so far for Atlanta. It's nice to get him in our environment and see how he can adapt to our style of play." It's high praise for the 22-year-old, and Berhalter could offer similar sentiments about at least a half dozen players in camp.

2022 World Cup qualifying begins in roughly a year. The process, as always, continues.

-- Noah Davis

Mexico point of view: Stay perfect under Martino

A victory for Mexico over the United States in a noncompetitive game would exorcise the stat that El Tri hasn't defeated the Stars and Stripes in a friendly since 1999. Also at stake is Mexico head coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino's undefeated record in his first 10 games in charge.

Obviously, the Gold Cup final was the big one for the rivalry and a victory for the U.S. wouldn't change that or bring much in the way of revenge. In fact, it would possibly fuel the perception -- at least for El Tri fans -- that Mexico tends to be the team that wins when it matters. The stats in games since 2000 may be 14 wins, eight losses and six draws but in official competition, Mexico has won eight of the past 15 games (8-6-1).

Mexico does head into this game as a significant favorite. Martino has 31 players in camp and the return of Hector Herrera, Jesus "Tecatito" Corona, Javier Hernandez, Hirving Lozano and Miguel Layun means that El Tri is much stronger than it was during the Gold Cup. The victory over the U.S. in the final came without arguably Mexico's best two players (Herrera, Lozano) and the national team's all-time top scorer (Hernandez). Martino himself said "we will be better" after the Gold Cup final and referenced those absentees.

- Martino brings strong Mexico squad to U.S.

The big question mark is which starting XI Martino will put out on Friday given the number of players in his squad and a game against Argentina coming up on Tuesday in San Antonio. More than the result, Martino will be looking closely at what those returning players can bring.

Martino is thought to be delighted with the progress of the younger players, particularly at how they have adopted his methods. The thinking is that Mexico will play the group stage of the CONCACAF Nations League (Bermuda, Panama) with the younger group, with a few of the more experienced players sprinkled in. Therefore, these games against the U.S. and Argentina will be used by Martino to figure out which players of the Europe-based players will be best suited for CONCACAF Nations league action.

For example, there seems to be little point in bringing both Raul Jimenez and Hernandez to play away against Bermuda given that one is guaranteed to be on the bench in Martino's 4-3-3 system. (It'll probably be one of Andres Guardado or Erick Gutierrez.) Equally, the Pulisic vs. Lozano angle -- mainly pushed in the Spanish-language media -- may not have any legs given both aren't exactly the most brash personalities willing to trash-talk, but it will nevertheless be of interest to see two of CONCACAF's best attacking on the same field and on opposite teams. Having such quality has to be good for the rivalry, especially given both are now playing for European clubs that are expected to be fighting for titles.

Lastly, this should be an entertaining game. Mexico has usually been the protagonist in this rivalry in terms of having the ball and taking the game to the U.S., something that's continued under Martino's aggressive style, but with Berhalter as coach, it seems like Stars and Stripes are now looking to play more front-foot soccer, meaning there should be plenty of space for the attacking talents on both teams to shine.

-- Tom Marshall

When you stand alone, as Derbyshire do, as the only county never to have reached T20 Finals Day, perhaps what you need more than ever is somebody imbued with extraordinary positive thinking, somebody who probably imagines he could also sort Brexit in the gap between innings just by an overwhelming believe that the force was with him.

Derbyshire used to have company in the list of T20 also-rans, but Worcestershire's victory in the Vitality Blast last September left them alone. They have a chance to put that right against Gloucestershire in Bristol on Saturday, and in the process reconfirm county cricket as a great democracy at a time when its future has never been more uncertain.

Proclaiming that they can do just that is Dominic Cork, installed this season as their Twenty20 coach, and a former England allrounder whose manic energy and epic sense that, whatever the situation, and sometimes whatever the evidence to the contrary, he was possessed with the magic touch was another characterful contribution to English cricket's largely unrewarding 1990s. Considering his 21-year career as a professional cricketer, including 37 Tests, it would be a surprise if he didn't have something to offer other than a sharp sense of nostalgia.

One of Cork's many roles is as a cricket analyst and there will be no more meaningful shake of the head than that provided in front of the TV cameras by his one-time England team-mate, Mark Butcher, when Cork was introduced as "Derbyshire's successful coach." Tongue-in-cheek and kindly it might have been, but it also conveyed a nonplussed response that a cricketer once held to be full of bluster - even by those who admired him - was now the reliable guiding hand behind Derbyshire's Vitality Blast challenge.

Derbyshire's season looked over against Leicestershire in mid-August when they collapsed to 24 for 6 on their own ground on the way to a 55-run defeat. With Derbyshire supporters disgruntled, Cork's first season as a specialist T20 coach (he had also served as a T20 bowling coach in 2018 under the New Zealander John Wright, a yin and yang partnership if ever there was one), looked to be heading for failure.

Instead, they won their next three matches culminating in the defeat of Lancashire, already confirmed as North Group winners, on their own ground at Old Trafford. "24 for 6" has become something of a mantra for Cork, proof that even in the depths of despair anything is possible.

"That was the sort of moment when you saw a young side trying to win a game lose all focus. I think that was the biggest kick up the backside they needed. People said there was no chance of Derbyshire getting to the quarter-finals and that 24 for 6 was a disgrace. I wasn't bothered by that even though I was hurt as a coach. Nobody came into work saying we are going to be 24 for 6 to annoy our supporters. How did we get into that position and how are we going to get better?"

Cork has supervised Derbyshire's qualification for the quarter-finals with only one overseas player - and Logan van Beek is hardly a player of world renown. Kane Richardson withdrew after he was added to Australia's World Cup squad and his replacement and fellow Australian, Billy Stanlake, was ruled out because of injury.

Perhaps that was fortunate, because the cancellation of a planned pop concert starring Rita Ora because of poor ticket sales meant they didn't really have the money anyway.

"Obviously when the club decided we couldn't afford to have anyone it was frustrating for me coming into a new job, but it helped me focus on the need to get a little bit more out of other players," Cork said. "If you are too desperate to win something, your focus is on the stat of never having been to a final. The one thing I wanted to do when I came in was to take the pressure off the players. It's a game of cricket. The sun goes down at the end of the day.

"People look at us and think we're an easy turnover. I watched Paul Franks talk about the Nottingham derby being our biggest game of the year. I'm glad we help make their videos. We will give it a go against Gloucestershire but we will also try to be one step ahead of the opposition, to try and outwit them."

Far from being an easy turnover, Derbyshire's T20 record compares favourably since they turned to Wright then Cork as a specialist T20 coach, but the habit is yet to take hold. Middlesex had less success with the appointment of Daniel Vettori, who never seemed integrated into county cricket, but somehow just stuck onto it. Cork might have spent some of his career at Lancashire and Hampshire, but his time with Derbyshire goes back to when he was a teenager on a Youth Training Scheme.

"I don't see myself as just a T20 coach, I see myself as a coach," he said. "but I had enjoyed my two years as a bowling coach and an opportunity came along. A few have tried the role of specialist T20 coach and a few have failed. I think it's difficult for a coach to come in for six weeks when he doesn't know the ins and outs of the club or how the side is set up. But I have an affiliation at this club; it means a lot to me."

Watching passively does not come naturally. It was no surprise to learn that he would quite like the chance to get more actively involved. He would like the Blast to adopt strategic timeouts. If they ever did, he would not be short of suggestions, but would dominate the screen like Gene Hackman in the American college basketball movie, Hoosiers, shouting: "I don't care what the scoreboard says." Especially if it said 20-odd for 6.

"When you come into the role you can set the team up as well as you want but you can't do anything about it really," he said. "I still think we should follow India and have strategic timeouts. I would genuinely like to see that even though it might lengthen the game at a time when people want to squeeze the game with The Hundred.

"It's been difficult for me because occasionally I can see things that I think we could be doing better. Without standing up there and giving it the Brian Clough, I don't do that, I just sit down and we discuss it afterwards.

"I would love to win the Blast. As a player I always felt I could win. Contrary to a lot of people's opinions about myself it wasn't about me. I just loved winning. It would be great for the club to get to Finals Day and get the monkey off our back."

Sri Lanka 125 for 8 (Gunathilaka 30, Santner 3-12, Astle 3-28) beat New Zealand 88 (Southee 28*, Malinga 5-6) by 37 runs

He's 36 years of age, not nearly as quick as he used to be, and almost everyone thought his career was done two years ago, but he's still got it. That yorker, the late swing, the dip, the accuracy, that low-arm sling: the works - he's still got it.

Back in the 2007 World Cup, Lasith Malinga became the first bowler to take four wickets in four balls in almost 120 years of international cricket. Three further international hat-tricks later, in defence of Sri Lanka's modest 125 for 8, he ripped out four in four again, on an evening in which he claimed five wickets for six runs, and hauled Sri Lanka to a 37-run consolation victory against New Zealand.

Where the first four-in-four had largely been the result of reverse swing, and balls moving into the right-hander, this time he was envenomed by conventional swing - the ball moving viciously in the opposite direction. Where in 2007, his victims were mainly lower-order batsmen, in a mostly-empty stadium in Guyana, in 2019 he was taking down New Zealand's top order in front of a euphoric packed house in Pallekele.

When New Zealand began their innings, it almost seemed like a formality that they would complete a whitewash. Sri Lanka had floundered with the bat on a slow, turning surface, registering a total that seemed at least 25 runs below what might have been competitive. Malinga, though, made his team's batting woes, and the pitch itself, irrelevant.

It was in his second over, the third of the innings, that sent the stadium into raptures, and the New Zealand batting order into tumult. Third ball, he swung a full delivery past Colin Munro's drive, to tickle his leg stump, the ball moving from middle stump to leg, both in the air, and off the surface. The next delivery, to another left-hander, was almost identical. Hamish Rutherford had flown in from the UK for this game, and barely had time to register the ball, before it swerved late again to hit him in front of middle and leg. Initially, the umpire ruled not out. Malinga reviewed almost immediately and had that decision overturned.

The next two wickets were even more special, coming as they did against New Zealand's best batsmen of the T20 series. Colin de Grandhomme thought the yorker Malinga had bowled to him was hitting his pads, but again, just micro-seconds before it reached him, the ball curved towards slip, missing yet another shot, hitting yet another stump. Malinga set off on a celebratory sprint as Pallekele went nuts around him, but soon after, ball in hand, he wasn't done yet. Ross Taylor managed to get a boot in the way of the next outswinging yorker. This time, there was no doubting where the ball was headed. The umpire gave it out immediately.

Malinga would take one more wicket in his following over, getting Tim Seifert to edge to slip with what else but a full out-swinging delivery. Which meant that he had taken five wickets in the space of nine balls. The only run he conceded in that sequence was a leg-side wide. He had reduced New Zealand to a galling 23 for 5 - in danger at that time of recording their lowest T20 total.

Although Malinga took himself out of the attack, wickets would continue to tumble. Three fell in the space of four balls in the ninth over - the first a run-out of Daryl Mitchell, before Akila Dananjaya bowled Scott Kuggeleijn with a ball that ricocheted off the batsman's elbow, then had Mitchell Santner stumped two balls later. In the following over, when Wanindu Hasaranga trapped Todd Astle in front of the stumps, New Zealand were 52 for 9 after 10 overs.

The game seemed as if it was all done at that stage, but Tim Southee, batting with No. 11 Seth Rance, still gave the hosts a scare. Southee hit three sixes in the 13th over, bowled by Lakshan Sandakan - a burst of runs that forced Malinga to come back and deliver his final over. Rance and Southee survived Malinga, but could not get much further. On the last ball of the 16th over, Sandakan came around the wicket to Rance, and trapped him in front as he was trying to sweep.

Earlier, it had been New Zealand's spinners that scythed their way through Sri Lanka's batting order. Santner, whose 3 for 12 from four overs would be the best bowling performance on any normal evening, first had the out-of-sorts Kusal Perera caught at short fine leg with his first ball, before later having Niroshan Dickwella caught at the same position. He then set debutant Lahiru Madushanka up with two beautiful slow, spinning deliveries, before getting him lbw with a straighter one.

Legspinner Astle reaped three wickets himself in his first match of the tour, taking 3 for 28, while Southee maintained a typically outstanding economy rate of four through his full quota of overs. Sri Lanka, whose highest partnerships was the 31-run stand, played a succession of bad shots, and gave up an unnecessary run out to boot.

The Pallekele crowd was subdued at the end of that batting performance. They were soon brought to roaring life by a vintage performance from a fast bowler, who even now, is one of the most explosive going. Almost in the drama of the evening were the stats that Malinga ticked off. He became the first bowler to 100 T20 international wickets during this spell. He now has two T20 hat-tricks, which no one has done. Of the 100-international hat-tricks now taken in cricket, Malinga has a 5% share.

The Chattogram pitch was the "opposite" of what Bangladesh expected it to be, said captain Shakib Al Hasan, hinting that their line-up of four specialist spinners was enough to understand what they were looking for. Shakib said that he was surprised that his bowlers could take five wickets on the first day, but he did also admit that fewer cross-batted shots may have helped Bangladesh's cause on the second.

Bangladesh are currently 148 runs behind Afghanistan's 342, after they collapsed to 104 for 6 in their first innings soon after the tea interval. Mominul Haque's half-century was the only retort as batsmen like Mahmudullah, Liton Das and Soumya Sarkar got into trouble trying to play the ball - which was keeping low occasionally - from the crease.

"We didn't expect to play on this wicket, so the situation became difficult for us," Shakib said. "We got the complete opposite of what we expected from the wicket. But it doesn't mean that we can't do well here. Good teams are those who can answer questions outside the box. We will try to give those answers.

"It is definitely disappointing, but there's no point talking about it. We need to find a way to come back from this situation, which is more important. Seeing our XI you can all figure out what type of pitch we expected. But I wouldn't call the wicket unplayable because of the way Mosaddek and Taijul batted, but we could have applied ourselves better. They proved that it is possible to stay at the crease and also score runs. I think we could have scored more runs had we applied ourselves better."

Shakib bemoaned the lack of a wristspinner in his line-up, particularly seeing Afghanistan's trio - Rashid Khan, Qais Ahmed and Zahir Khan - trouble the batsmen. "The difference is that they have wristspinners, we have fingerspinners. Nabi bhai took two wickets but our fingerspinners took all ten wickets. Their wristspinners were more effective, and without one on a flat wicket, it was difficult for us," he said.

Shakib however remained optimistic about a fightback, as he feels that it is possible for Mosaddek and Taijul to further thwart the Afghanistan attack on the third morning. He also expects his spinners to turn on the home magic.

"I expect these two wickets to bat out at least the first session. If we can cut down the deficit by 70 or 80 runs, it will give us a big advantage. It will be a tough challenge but the way they batted, I can believe.

"But then we have to bowl really well, which teams have done in the past in the second innings. Our bowlers have to do something magical, after which we have to depend on our batsmen," he said.

Shakib said that in order to tackle Nabi's threat, they sent Liton Das at No. 3 to have at least one right-hander against the offspinner. He also said that Mominul was batting well but could have played the shot that got him caught at mid-on a bit better.

"He plays spin well, plus they had an offspinner bowling a long spell with the new ball. We have three or four left-handers in our top order, so I thought that it was better to have a mix. I think we were partly successful, as he handled Nabi bhai quite well. He is more effective against left-handers than right-handers.

"Mominul was scoring runs quickly, so I wouldn't say that he could have avoided that shot. He should have executed it better, so that even if it is not a six, he got a four," he said.

Shakib, however, repeated that the Bangladesh batsmen should stay away from going deep into their crease - because the pitch isn't offering enough bounce - to play shots square of the wicket, particularly against Rashid.

"He has a bit of pace in his bowling, and the wicket is [staying] a bit low, so he became quite effective. Those who tried to play him off the back foot, like [Mahmudullah] Riyad bhai and Liton, missed the ball. It kept low, which makes playing cross-batted shots difficult."

Vikram Rathour's appointment as India's new batting coach is a good move for Indian cricket, particularly due to his inter-personal skills, players who have worked under him believe.

Rathour, who played for India and was part of the selection panel in the past, also had coaching stints with Punjab and Himachal Pradesh in India's domestic cricket circuit, and a spell with Kings XI Punjab in the IPL. He has himself identified man-management as the key aspect of his coaching style, telling bcci.tv: "I was a good man-manager and during the last stage of my playing career, I was doing a lot of things that coaches normally do. At this level, man-management is the key. How you support them, how you look after them in tough times has been my strength."

Mandeep Singh, who worked with Rathour at Punjab and at Kings XI, said the Indian team would be in great hands with him coming on board. "Not just cricket, but in general I have learned many things from him," Mandeep told ESPNcricinfo. "Somehow he will make you feel good. He's so positive and optimistic.

"For example, let's say I have not been selected in some team, so he'll sit down and ask me, 'Okay how many runs did you make last season?' I'll tell him I made 600 runs, so he'll say, 'Koi nahin [Doesn't matter], make 800 runs next time, make 1000 runs.' He won't let you crib, he'll just focus on how to get better.

"I don't talk about my batting with anyone else, just him. If someone else tells me something and I feel it's good advice, I'll still discuss it with him. I think it's great for the Indian team, they've got a very solid guy. I haven't seen anyone else having the man-management skills he has. I don't think anyone he has worked with would ever have a negative word to say about him."

Mandeep offered an example of Rathour's coaching style. "When he was the Punjab coach we were playing against Saurashtra in Mohali. We won the toss and chose to bowl and they made 550 runs (542) and then bowled us out 250-odd (278) in the first innings and 100-odd (120) in the second innings. I mean it was a bad defeat," he said. "Generally, if you lose so badly in a home match when you have a good team, coaches give you a talking to.

"But he said, 'Okay, what's happened has happened, so now I'll give you guys a punishment'. Everyone was nervous. But the 'punishment' turned out to be that he told us we each had to wear one of the official jerseys left over from the World Cup that happened that year, which were an awful orange-yellow colour mix, and come out for dinner together. Nobody talked cricket. The next day was given off, and then after that in practice the next day he spoke about what went wrong and what didn't.

"I have seen the biggest coaches get very upset and angry after these kind of defeats. But he always stays cool. Even if he gets angry - I mean he doesn't actually get angry - but if he has to say something, his style is such that you'll never take it to heart. Instead, you get motivated to do better."

Ankit Kalsi, who played under Rathour last season for Himachal and did well enough to get selected in the ongoing Duleep Trophy, said Rathour always made players see the bigger picture.

"He shows you a big vision, and says you must not think small," Kalsi said. "I bat at No. 4 (for Himachal), so he tells me, 'Your competition should be with Virat Kohli, who bats at No. 4 for India. Don't think that you are competing with other No. 4 batsmen in domestic cricket. You have to think about the next level.' He keeps pushing you towards bigger goals."