Author: Atreyo Mukhopadhyay

The Team Being one of the relatively inexperienced franchises, Lucknow Super Giants have not done badly in their three years in the Indian Premier League. They have not reached the final yet, but qualifying for the playoffs and finishing third on both occasions in 2022 and 2023 can’t be called bad. However, what perhaps pricked their pride was the seventh-place finish in 2024. They won seven and lost seven of their 14 matches, which was not enough. This is an ambitious team. They believe they can do better than they have so far. There are indications that the team owners…

The royal presence of Magnus Carlsen, his defeat against India’s Arjun Erigaisi in Round 8 of the blitz event and R Praggnanandhaa moving to second place following six straight wins — there were many highlights on the penultimate day of the Tata Steel Chess India 2024 rapid and blitz competition. For yet another day in the event in Kolkata, spectator interest remained a talking point. The auditorium which seats around 550 was almost full for the second day running. Mostly school children who play chess and their parents were in attendance. In chess, the crowd isn’t permitted to speak or…

What was the most standout quality, which helped India win the 2020-21 series that Australia looked like running away with after the first Test? Other than everything else — courage to bounce back, belief in own abilities to attack the opposition, finding the right men for the right moments and a touch of luck — the fightback from 36 all out was also characterised by a steady show of grit. It’s difficult to point at an individual and say that he was the prime inspirational figure. A lot of them contributed and these efforts were not always numerically eye-catching. There…

My first glimpse of Virat Kohli came in Agartala. It was during the knockout stages of the national one-day championship for the Vijay Hazare Trophy. This was early 2009. He had played five ODIs by then, but was yet to score big. However, he came to the Vijay Hazare knockouts with four centuries in the zonal phase. He made another in the capital city of Tripura. About a year earlier, Aakash Chpora had told me that this youngster was going to become the next big thing from Delhi. Chopra’s assessment was based on the extraordinary powers of application shown by…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay in Mumbai Sitting in the dugout, Gautam Gambhir tried to remain expressionless as India continued losing wickets during their futile chase of 147 in the third Test against New Zealand. The head coach didn’t betray a lot of emotions when the team slipped to defeats in the first two Tests either. His face remained firm and he was never seen barking at his players during those embarrassing moments. Known for his feisty nature during his playing days, Gambhir has to take some tough calls soon enough. Or else, he might just find himself at the other end of…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay in Mumbai “Is this Test cricket?” spectators at a packed Wankhede Stadium started wondering after India lost their fifth wicket in the eighth over. “Test match khelna bhul gaye sab log (these guys have forgotten how to play Test cricket),” murmured others. “Send them back to Kanga League.” These were the refrains as India crashed to their most embarrassing series defeat on home soil in history. Ignoring the heat and humidity — this was the warmest October in several parts of the country after 1951 — the fans turned out in numbers in Mumbai. Tickets come for a…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay in Mumbai Can they do it? Or will the pressure of chasing a target in the fourth innings on a pitch assisting spinners become too overwhelming? On Sunday at Wankhede Stadium, the Indian team will be put to a test to answer these questions. Most importantly, Day 3 of this final Test against New Zealand will determine if this bunch avoids the ignominy of suffering the first-ever clean sweep, involving three or more Tests, on home soil. The visitors have pricked Indian pride by winning the first two Tests and the series. In about 90 years of history,…

Cricket is a cruel judge of players. Success can get undermined and failures might get blown out of proportion. In the process, the sense of balance goes missing sometimes. What remains in public memory are the black marks, instead of the bright patches, even if the latter outnumber the former. Shubman Gill’s Test career has witnessed something like that. People say all sorts of things about him, mostly negative, and overlook the good work he is capable of. Nobody mentions that he has made above 800 Test runs in 2024 at an average of 50.31. There are three centuries and…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay in Mumbai Being the former bowling coach of the Indian team, Paras Mhambrey has seen the current crop of fast bowlers from close. Before India embark on a potentially gruelling five-Test tour of Australia after the disappointment of the home series against New Zealand, Mhambrey spoke to RevSportz about the prospects of this bunch and more. The following are excerpts: Q: Let’s start with a question on the Australia series. There are five fast bowlers in the squad, plus three travelling reserves. Is that too many, considering that India have rarely travelled with eight fast bowlers? A: When…

Digging your own grave is bad enough. It becomes worse when one starts trying different methods of doing that. India’s approach to the third Test against New Zealand was something like that. Not only did they invite trouble once but kept doing that. As a result, the visiting side finds itself in a strong position at stumps on Day 1, after India seemed to have taken a grip over proceedings. Let’s come to the most glaring of this suicidal tendency first. With the total reading 78/1, and about three overs remaining to be bowled, it appeared to be India’s day.…