Author: Atreyo Mukhopadhyay

For a country that worships its cricket superstars, India owes a significant debt of gratitude for its two World Cup final wins to two foot soldiers. They were not lesser names when it came to their stature in the game, but relatively smaller characters compared to some bigger figures in those teams. At Lord’s in 1983, Madan Lal rose above the likes of Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar and turned the final in India’s favour by taking three wickets, including the big ones of Viv Richards and Desmond Haynes. Those were body blows from which the West Indies never recovered…

If one had to pick the best side of the 2023 World Cup, it would be India. This has been their tournament. No team after Australia in 2003 has dominated with such authority. India have possibly been more ruthless, albeit more politely, in decimating opponents match after match. The time has come for that one last push. The game they had been preparing for. It’s true that India, like most other teams, took it one match at a time. They did not fast forward or think of the reward before accomplishing the mission. But they have been waiting for this…

Lucknow: David Warner was patrolling the deep mid-wicket fence like a terrier in Australia’s do-or-die match after two straight defeats. He came up with two brilliant, tumbling catches after covering huge ground to help his team derail a strong Sri Lankan start. Dharamsala: Australia had to defend 19 in the last over. New Zealand got a lifeline thanks to five wides off what was to be the second ball. Glenn Maxwell at long-on and Marnus Labuschagne at deep mid-wicket then came up with superlative efforts to stop certain fours. Their team won by four runs. Kolkata: Australia were on top…

His name is not mentioned in discussions on the coolest captains. He does not figure in the lists of top bowlers or batters in this World Cup. He is not among the most influential players when it comes to ODIs. But in his own and quiet ways, Pat Cummins has stood tall. He is not the prototype of a typical Australian captain. He does not shoot his mouth off. There is no aggression in his body language, no berating the opponent or provocative statements. Unlike some of his famous predecessors, he does not play mind games before matches. Cummins the…

It’s said that ‘a captain is good as his team’. Looking at this marauding Indian machine at the World Cup and the man at the helm, it’s tempting to say that a team is as good as its captain. Rohit Sharma has led from the front, and by example. He has set the template and demonstrated how to implement it. His aggression has sent early shivers down opposition spines. And, like a true captain, he does not mind sacrificing himself so that his teammates could build the innings from the comfort zone of the early pace set by him. The…

Catches win matches, tosses don’t. Batting first or second has not really been a factor in this World Cup. Teams chasing a target have won 22 matches and teams setting a target 23. The 45 matches played in the league stage could not have seen a more even distribution. It’s been exactly the same when it comes to India. They won five matches batting second and four batting first. There was no definite preference either. Rohit Sharma won the toss four times. He opted to bowl and bat twice each. This was the best example of a team comfortable doing…

The Indian campaign in this World Cup has been characterised by a certain relentlessness. They have kept going at the opposition, whoever that may be, with all that they have, match after match. There was no let-up in that and no changes in the XI despite this being a low-pressure game. The Netherlands suffered a 160-run defeat as a result. India’s ninth consecutive win was highlighted by a superlative performance with the bat. The top five scored in excess of 50, with Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul smashing centuries. The innings started with a flurry of shots. The aggressive intent…

An overlooked trait of this Indian team is the management’s decision to persist with players. Captain, coach and selectors should be lauded for it. They backed the players they thought could do the job and gave them opportunities, even when they failed. Suryakumar Yadav got out for three successive first-ball ducks against Australia earlier this year. Most other teams would have dumped a player for that. This Indian set-up did not do that. Kuldeep Yadav and Shreyas Iyer are similar examples, so is Shardul Thakur, although he is not part of the XI at the moment. These players were made…

It’s been a time of bad press for the All India Football Federation (AIFF). Just before the national team takes on Kuwait and Qatar in crucial World Cup qualifying fixtures, Shaji Prabhakaran, its secretary-general, was sacked. ‘Breach of trust’ was cited as the reason in the termination letter signed by Kalyan Chaubey, the AIFF president, along with vice-president NA Haris and treasurer Kipa Ajay. Prabhakaran is a decorated and vastly experienced man in football administration. He has worked for FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation, besides heading the football body in Delhi. He is held in high esteem in many…

The Afghanistan fairy tale in the World Cup came to a harsh end. South Africa denied them the slim chance of qualifying for the semi-finals with a five-wicket win in Ahmedabad. The underdogs fought hard as they had during this campaign and unearthed a new hero in Azmatullah Omarzai, but their cumulative effort was not enough. They did not bat as well as they would have expected to and stopped well short of a total that could have challenged this powerful South African batting line-up. There was no dearth of passion or energy, but you need more than that. It…