Author: Atreyo Mukhopadhyay

This fixture is not mentioned when famous ODI rivalries are discussed. Not as if that matters. England and South Africa have quietly been at each other since the two first met in 1992. It was the World Cup, and England were the winners in the league match as well as in the semi-final, which ended with the scoreboard famously showing ‘South Africa need 22 runs off 1 ball’. It’s been somewhat even stevens since. England are 4-3 ahead in World Cup duels. South Africa lead 33-30 in all games, with onetiedand five not completed. Considering that and the unexpected results…

Carrying expectations and responsibilities is something that has fascinated Virat Kohli from his younger days. His comment after the 2011 World Cup win, on Sachin Tendulkar carrying the burden of the nation for two decades and why the rest needed to carry him on their shoulders, instantly resonated with millions. He knew from that age what this meant and its value in team sports. Not known or foreseen back then was that come another World Cup in India, Kohli would be carrying a similar burden. He has not led the Indian charge in the first four matches of this World…

This is a game both Australia and Pakistan would have wanted to be played at a later stage. Fighting to keep their campaigns on track, neither can really afford to lose this one. The stakes are higher for Australia, who opened their account in the previous game after two defeats. Pakistan are coming off a first defeat after two wins. Two strong teams licking their wounds before a big game is a delight for neutrals. Not for those playing. After a crushing defeat against India, Pakistan have to regroup quickly. They must forget everything from that game, and believe that…

This is not one of cricket’s talked-about contests. It’s not like India versus Pakistan or Australia. Not like Australia against England or New Zealand. Some of these fixtures are rich in history and some have become prominent across a few decades. In comparison, India against Bangladesh has no pedigree as a rivalry. One team has been playing Test cricket since 1932 and the other from 2000. But is that really true? Didn’t something change in the chemistry of the teams after a sunny day in Port of Spain in 2007?Countries that typified the quintessential big brother-younger brother relationship in…

Everyone knows the roll call of World Cup winners, and the unforgettable finals that led to them being crowned. India’s heist in 1983, Sri Lanka’s cruise to glory in Lahore in 1996 and the double-tie at Lord’s four years ago. But what we also recall as vividly are the upsets, the seismic results that had fans across the world sitting up and asking: “What? How could that happen?” This World Cup, after a muted start and a damp squib of an India-Pakistan clash, exploded into life with Afghanistan upsetting England, the defending champions. On Tuesday, the Netherlands, who don’t enjoy…

India’s World Cup campaign has got off to a smooth start. Australia and Pakistan among the three teams brushed aside means two good wins under the belt. Almost everyone to have held the bat has got runs. Shubman Gill, the lone exception, has played one match. On the bowling front, almost everything has clicked. With changes in the batting ruled out barring fitness issues, ‘almost’ is a word hanging delicately over India’s bowling line-up. It tells you that most of the bowlers have done well. Not all. A glance through the stats shows that Shardul Thakur is yet to make…

This match evokes different memories in different generations of Indian cricket fans. For some, it’s about India’s 7-0 record against Pakistan in the World Cup. They mostly have happy recollections. India have dominated their neighbours from the other side of the Wagah border this century and done better than them as a team in global 50-over tournaments. It was something else for those who grew up in the 1980s. Facing Pakistan became a matter of fear for the fainthearted after Javed Miandad’s last-ball six off Chetan Sharma in the Australasia Cup final in 1986. Sharjah, where international cricket set foot…

South Africa 53-0 after 10 overs. Australia 50-3 after 10 overs. It would be simplifying things too much to conclude that this was the difference between South Africa and Australia in the World Cup match in Lucknow. There were many factors. But if there was one to pick, the contrast in the starts made by the two teams would be hard to ignore. South Africa won the first round in both halves and kept building on the advantage to register a crushing 134-run win. A second defeat in as many games does not rule Australia out, although they have to…

Other than four points, the first two matches of the World Cup have been productive for India in another respect. They got to assess themselves in contrasting conditions. The pitch for the first game was slow and offered a turn. The second was a belter, where bowlers did not have much of a chance. In a long tournament where few things other than the heat will remain constant except for when they are in Dharamsala, India will face such changes from time to time. They are the only team which plays league games at nine different venues. This makes it…

Australia are of the teams to have got a tough draw at the World Cup this time. India, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Pakistan in the first four matches, plus the travel, means that there is hardly space to breathe on and off the field. It can be more suffocating if you have started with a defeat. After being choked by India on a slow Chennai pitch, Australia are unlikely to see conditions change for the better in Lucknow. In four ODIs and six T20Is, the new stadium has developed a reputation for having iffy pitches. It’s not the typical…