Author: Atreyo Mukhopadhyay

In a Test against Australia in Nagpur in 2008, there was an unusual day of play. The pitch was good for batting and it was not easy to run through a strong batting line-up. MS Dhoni stunned everybody by asking his bowlers to stick to a wide-outside-off line with eight fielders on that side for almost the entire day. Frustrated, Ricky Ponting’s team lost the plot, match and, eventually, the series. Pressure is a key word in Test cricket for a bowling side. You may not take wickets for a long time. The batters may be treating you with confidence.…

Reverse sweep on India soil doesn’t evoke pleasant memories for English cricket fans. Mike Gatting had fallen, attempting one in 1987 at Eden Gardens, which even to this day, is seen as the primary reason why Australia clinched their first-ever World Cup. It’s early to say that Oliver Pope has erased that bitter memory, but he has brought England back from the dead, relying heavily on that shot. The visiting team seemed doomed after conceding a potentially fatal first-innings lead of 190 to India in the ongoing first Test in Hyderabad. Pope single-handedly lifted them from looming despair with an…

Atreyo Mukhopadhyay in Hyderabad One innings is in no way a sample size to come to a conclusion about the efficacy or inefficiency of a bowling unit, at whichever level of cricket. It will therefore be foolhardy and nonsensical to say on the basis of their performance in the first Test in Hyderabad that this English spin attack is perhaps the weakest from a leading team to have toured India in recent times. Beg your pardon then for being trigger-happy and saying that this indeed seems to be the case. That’s because they came, they saw and got thrashed. On…

A year ago, he was dropped from the team for the final two Tests against Australia. There was little chance of him playing in the World Test Championship final at The Oval against the same team and the unexpected didn’t happen. The door remained shut when India went to the West Indies in July. His Test career seemed doomed. Credit KL Rahul for scripting one of the most unlikely comeback stories in the recent history of Indian cricket. From nonentity to a middle-order mainstay in a matter of weeks, after spending a few months in Test oblivion, is no ordinary…

The focus on Friday will be on two players billed as the future of Indian batting. The first Test against England in Hyderabad is obviously not about these two alone, but they have an opportunity to stamp their authority on this game, which would help them cement their places in the team. Yashasvi Jaiswal has already made an impression by racing to an unbeaten 76 off 70 balls in a total of 119 for one. He won’t get a better stage than this to enhance his credentials further. It’s not the easiest of pitches to bat on, but the handicapped…

A flawless and rapid half-century by Yashasvi Jaiswal, a rearguard 70 from Ben Stokes, Ravichandran Ashwin unfurling his wide range of skills and a timid performance by England with the bat and the ball. Broadly, these were the highlights of the opening day of the first Test. Buried under the works of individual brilliance and collective failures was an amazing passage of play. It came right after lunch. England were not going great guns, yet looked alright at 108 for three at the break. Runs were coming freely and the scoring rate was just under four after 28 overs. There…

India versus England as a rivalry in Test cricket goes back 92 years. It has been quite intense over the last decade or so, and England are the only team to have beaten India in India in the last 12 years. They may not be the best equipped side for conditions in the sub-continent, but make up for it with their preparation and homework. This bunch led by Ben Stokes is also expected to test the home team. Although they did not spend a lot of time in India to get acclimatised to these conditions before the Test series, spending…

Sometimes, thrilling matches throw light at reality. The third India-Afghanistan T20I, decided after the second Super Over, was one such occasion. It showed that India’s bowling reserves are not as rich as the first-choice options. The team will have a formidable attack when the top guns are back. But without them, and looking at the future, the signs are not encouraging. It is difficult to overlook the role played by the bowlers in whatever success India have had across formats in the last few years. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav are among the best…

Six matches produced results and 10 ended in draws in the second round of Elite Division Ranji Trophy group league games. Haryana defeating defending champions Saurashtra and Gujarat clinching a thriller against former champions Karnataka were the most exciting results. The following are highlights: Four teams to the fore Vidarbha, Mumbai, Gujarat and Baroda posted their second successive wins to take the lead in Group A, B, C and D, respectively. All Elite groups have eight teams each, so every team plays seven matches. Considering that, two matches are too early to say anything. But these four have made strong…

Football is about goals and the players who get them are the game’s most precious practitioners. Next are the play-makers, the creators of chances and suppliers of that final pass or assist. Even goalkeepers stand out at times. They are the only ones allowed to use their hands and sometimes, they make a spectacle out of their acrobatics and reflexes. Compared to players in these positions, defenders do a dirtier job. It’s not meant to be pleasing on the eye. They block, prevent, spoil and basically try to undo what the opposition is trying to do. It’s an ugly task,…