The Week 5 festivities for “College GameDay” will visit one of the biggest games of the season as the Alabama Crimson Tide takes on the Georgia Bulldogs in a top-five SEC showdown.

The clash is another addition to a long list of crucial matchups between the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs. Of the past eight games between the two powers, four have decided the SEC champion and two have decided the national champion.

Georgia and Alabama haven’t competed against each other in the regular season since 2020, when the eventual national champion Crimson Tide outscored the Bulldogs 21-0 in the second half en route to a 41-24 victory.

Here are the best signs from “College GameDay” in Tuscaloosa, Alabama:

Dubai: In a tense match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, India secured a six-wicket win against Pakistan in the Women’s T20 World Cup on Sunday. Chasing 106, India reached 108-4 with seven balls to spare.

Captain Harmanpreet Kaur led the charge, scoring an unbeaten 29 from 24 balls. Despite a neck injury scare just before the win, she stayed at the crease, and Sajeevan Sajana hit the winning runs to seal the victory.

India had a strong start at 61-1 but faced a setback when Pakistan captain Fatima Sana took two quick wickets. However, Kaur’s calm performance helped India recover after an earlier loss to New Zealand in Group A.

Pakistan’s Nida Dar top-scored with 28, but the team struggled on a tricky pitch, managing only 105-8 in their 20 overs. Fatima Sana admitted the team fell short of expectations, saying they were “10-15 runs short.”

India’s bowlers impressed, especially Arundhati Reddy, who took 3-19 and was named Player of the Match. Her disciplined bowling helped keep Pakistan in check, removing key batters Omaima Sohail and Aliya Riaz.

Shafali Verma’s 32 from 35 balls gave India a solid start, and though they lost wickets quickly, Kaur ensured India maintained their dominance over Pakistan in T20Is, now leading the head-to-head 13-3.

India now stands fourth in Group A, and they will play Sri Lanka next. Pakistan faces a tough match against Australia later in the week.

LAHORE: Pakistan on Sunday announced their playing XI for the first Test against England set to start at Multan Cricket Stadium on Monday (tomorrow). 

“This is our best playing XI […] Aamir Jamal’s inclusion will be beneficial. We have maintained our batting line-up to ensure consistency,” said red-ball captain Shan Masood while speaking at a press conference.

It is to be noted that three-match series is part of the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 and will see the Men in Green eyeing a comeback in the longer format of the game after suffering a humiliating whitewash against Bangladesh last month.

Expressing his views on the upcoming match, Masood said that the visitors — who secured a 2-1 victory against Sri Lanka in September — have a balanced team and underscored the need to play strong cricket on the field.

Addressing England’s skipper Ben Stokes’ unavailability in the first Test, the captain said: “Stokes’s absence will definitely affect England, but their playing XI is still strong, he is one of the world’s best all-rounders.”

“England have good seamers,” he remarked.

“We have come close to losing in the past [….] A Test match is a five-day game, so you can’t have one strategy,” he added, noting that a rotation policy has to be introduced for workload management regarding the fast bowlers.

Suitable conditions for spinners, seamers

Meanwhile, expressing his views, England captain Ollie Pope said that the conditions were different in Multan and would help the spinners and seamers.

“It will be interesting to see how the pitch plays out […] The [team] plan depends on the pitch and will be chalked out accordingly, ” he said while speaking to the media.

Noting that England bowlers will try to get as many wickets as possible in these conditions, Pope underscored the significance for consistency in the performance of the spinners.

“We have two regular spinners meaning that we may not be required to test Joe Root’s skills [in bowling department,” he added.

“The Pakistan team, though not playing well recently, is a tough team nevertheless [and] with bowlers like Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah, we have to play good cricket,” remarked the England captain.

Playing XIs for first Test

Pakistan: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper), Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmad

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (captain), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir

LAHORE: Pakistan on Sunday announced their playing XI for the first Test against England set to start at Multan Cricket Stadium on Monday (tomorrow). 

“This is our best playing XI […] Aamir Jamal’s inclusion will be beneficial. We have maintained our batting line-up to ensure consistency,” said red-ball captain Shan Masood while speaking at a press conference.

It is to be noted that three-match series is part of the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 and will see the Men in Green eyeing a comeback in the longer format of the game after suffering a humiliating whitewash against Bangladesh last month.

Expressing his views on the upcoming match, Masood said that the visitors — who secured a 2-1 victory against Sri Lanka in September — have a balanced team and underscored the need to play strong cricket on the field.

Addressing England’s skipper Ben Stokes’ unavailability in the first Test, the captain said: “Stokes’s absence will definitely affect England, but their playing XI is still strong, he is one of the world’s best all-rounders.”

“England have good seamers,” he remarked.

“We have come close to losing in the past [….] A Test match is a five-day game, so you can’t have one strategy,” he added, noting that a rotation policy has to be introduced for workload management regarding the fast bowlers.

Suitable conditions for spinners, seamers

Meanwhile, expressing his views, England captain Ollie Pope said that the conditions were different in Multan and would help the spinners and seamers.

“It will be interesting to see how the pitch plays out […] The [team] plan depends on the pitch and will be chalked out accordingly, ” he said while speaking to the media.

Noting that England bowlers will try to get as many wickets as possible in these conditions, Pope underscored the significance for consistency in the performance of the spinners.

“We have two regular spinners meaning that we may not be required to test Joe Root’s skills [in bowling department,” he added.

“The Pakistan team, though not playing well recently, is a tough team nevertheless [and] with bowlers like Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah, we have to play good cricket,” remarked the England captain.

Playing XIs for first Test

Pakistan: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper), Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmad

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (captain), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir