Author: Atreyo Mukhopadhyay

England came within a minute of elimination from Euro 2024, before a stunning goal by Jude Bellingham gave them a fresh lease of life. Harry Kane then netted the winner in extra-time which knocked out Slovakia in a round of 16 match played in Gelsenkirchen. England won 2-1 after trailing 0-1 until the fifth minute of added-on time. The clock had less than a minute when England got a throw-in from the right. There was chaos inside the Slovak box with a number of players from both teams inside the area. A stray ball came towards Bellingham, who essayed an…

The batters knew that Jasprit Bumrah is not someone to be messed with. The principle for the day was ‘play him out and go after the other bowlers’. That’s exactly what they did. The South Africans were trying to dead-bat him in the T20 World Cup final. They presented the straightest bat possible. Then, one beat the outside edge to hit off stump. The other one went past the inside edge to hit leg stump. Reeza Hendricks and Marco Jansen must have been confident that what they had done was right. Only, they heard a ‘click’ of the bails being…

Batters win matches and bowlers win tournaments. It’s a cliché, but continues to be true. Some adages do not become old and stay relevant over ages. This is one of those. It’s quite like the saying in football that strikers win games and defenders win the tournament for you. Looking at that, one cannot discount the role played by the Indian bowling unit in the T20 World Cup. They have been the bedrock on which this team has come this far, hoping to go one step further. It’s a versatile attack, quite like what South Africa have, and it’s not…

For sports fans in India, the last week or so must have been riveting. Afghanistan reaching the semi-finals of a big cricket event and Georgia punching way above weight in football are refreshing stories. These nations had not locus standi in the disciplines mentioned. For them to push the barriers was massive news for the sports and those who follow them. Underdogs challenging the existing order is one of the most fascinating elements of sports. It’s not new. East Germany beating West Germany in World Cup football in 1974, and Zimbabwe taking out Australia in the World Cup of cricket…

The teams started the match in Frankfurt amid scorching heat and ended it amid pouring rain. It was a bitter battle and chaotic in the end, where formations and shapes went for a toss. They scored a goal each and erupted in celebration after the final whistle. Romania and Slovakia both qualified for the last-16 stage of Euro 2024 following an unprecedented situation. Group E saw all four teams finishing with four points. Romania topped the group for scoring more goals than Belgium, who qualified as the second-placed team following their goalless draw against Ukraine. Slovakia made the cut as…

It can be a bit weird when it comes to how and why people rediscover themselves. What triggers that can’t be explained easily and to be honest, it’s actually a meaningless exercise because something that works for someone may not for others. So, it’s best to leave it where it is. For Kuldeep Yadav, this apparently happened in a club game in Uttar Pradesh, the state he comes from. Low on confidence and having begun to underestimate himself, he stumbled upon something which gave him belief anew. He found his confidence back. His trust in his abilities strengthened and he…

Jasprit Bumrah is hurling unplayable deliveries with unprecedented regularity and Kuldeep Yadav is tossing tricks. Suryakumar Yadav is playing shots that the bowlers are unable to understand and Rishabh Pant is challenging the fundamentals of batting with a moderate degree of success. Heading towards the business end of the T20 World Cup, the Indian team has several X-factors. All teams have their strengths and strong players. What is the X-factor then? There is no definition, but over the years, players who do things out of the ordinary or defy the grammar book have been classified in this category. They are…

The Caribbean islands were witness to some most memorable upsets in the history of the 50-over World Cups in 2007. Bangladesh practically ended the Indian campaign in the group stage in a match played in Trinidad. On the same day in Jamaica, Ireland sent Pakistan packing off the competition. Bangladesh later stunned South Africa, the eventual semi-finalists. Seventeen years down the line, those pristine islands have seen one of the most stunning outcomes in the annals of the T20 World Cup. St Vincent was the venue this time, where Afghanistan inflicted a body blow to Australia. The same competition had…

Around the 16th over of the England innings, Aiden Markram started showing signs of frustration. Harry Brook and Liam Livingstone had started finding the boundary with alarming regularity to bring the target down to manageable limits. The South Africa skipper was removing his cap and putting it on again, murmuring to himself at times. There were creases of concern on his forehead. For everyone who has followed South Africa’s journey in big events, a familiar story was unfolding. They were once again letting the advantage slip at the important stage of a competition. Like they had so many times —…

Captains usually don’t station themselves at long-off. They are somewhere near the non-striker’s end to converse with the bowlers. Aiden Markram doesn’t do that. He goes to long-off and long-on and converts what batters hope would be sixes into catches. International cricket and the Indian Premier League have seen many of those. On a manic Friday at Gros Islet in St Lucia, Markram was actually at mid-off when South Africa began the last over in this Super Eights match against England. That was where he began a backward run, covered a fair amount of ground and flung himself to come…