Author: Atreyo Mukhopadhyay

“Hum kaale hai to kya hua dilwale hai Hum to tere tere tere chahnewale hai Hum kaale hai to kya hua dilwale hai” One might wonder what this Mohammed Rafi song from the 1965 movie Gumnaam has to do with the India-West Indies World Cup final in 1983. After all, Bollywood was not as close to cricket back then as it has become since the origin of the Indian Premier League (IPL). However, those who watched that game live on Doordarshan on the evening of June 25 exactly 40 years ago, will in all likelihood remember it. There was a…

In real life, what best explains the phrase ‘so near, yet so far’? There can be many answers, from different walks of life. Looking through the lens of sports, ‘fourth-place finish in an Olympic event’ comes close to elucidating what it means and how it feels when something within touching distance suddenly becomes distant. It’s very different from finishing fifth. Chasing a medal he or she has wanted for ages, sacrificing normal life for it and putting in the hard yards for years. And then they see the prize dangling in front of them. “You have done 90 per cent…

India’s World Cup triumph in 1983 was in many ways a victory of the foot soldiers. There were two superstars in the squad. Sunil Gavaskar tallied 59 runs in six innings. Kapil Dev, of course, led from the front with bat and ball, even though the unbeaten 175 versus Zimbabwe and a fifer against Australia in a lost match boosted his numbers substantially. It was the consistency of the bits-and-pieces players that won India the big prize. Mohinder Amarnath chipped in with bat and ball. Roger Binny and Madan Lal took wickets, and contributed lower-order runs. Sandeep Patil and Yashpal…

Fast bowlers hunt in pairs. From the early years of international cricket to the T20 era, this has been more rule than exception. Almost every country has had its share of pairs, some just a few, others far more. No point in taking names, since there so many, from Larwood-Voce in the black-and-white era to Boult-Southee in modern times. India did not really have a pair of their own for a very long time. There were Mohammad Nissar and Amar Singh when India started playing Tests in the 1930s. After that, the country had to wait well into the new…

If you think of the last 50 years, there is a video recording of nearly every important event. The absence of one makes Kapil Dev’s 175 not out at Tunbridge Wells against Zimbabwe in the 1983 World Cup almost mythical, and adds a value no technology can. This elevates that generation-defining epic to a fairy tale, bigger than cricket. It came from nowhere, hypnotised onlookers for a few hours and disappeared where it came from. *********** When the 1983 World Cup came calling, I was a month short of turning 10. It was the summer vacation and our family was…

Howler! When it comes to cricket, this is a word usually associated with fielders dropping the easiest of catches, or umpires making glaring mistakes. These are acts which make jaws drop because they are so scarcely believable. People remember these for long just because of how bizarre they were. When the time comes to look back on India’s performance in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia at The Oval, we will immediately notice howlers from some of India’s most reliable and experienced batters in the second innings. The pursuit of 444 was always steep and even improbable, but…

Let’s go back in time to the period when Rahul Dravid was the India captain, and Greg Chappell the coach. It was a transition phase in Indian cricket, and a number of players established themselves. MS Dhoni and Irfan Pathan had made their debuts earlier, but they became important members of the team after the duo took charge. Then came new faces like Suresh Raina, Munaf Patel and S Sreesanth. Cut back to the present. Rohit Sharma is the captain and Dravid the coach. It’s hard to recall a new face emerging during this regime. Youngsters like Shubman Gill, Shreyas…

Remember India’s tour of South Africa in 2013? It was the first Test series after the retirement of Sachin Tendulkar. Nobody gave the Indian batters a chance against Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander. Yet, the likes of Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane gave a brave account of themselves. The transition phase in Indian batting began on a promising note. About a decade on, is it time to take a call on another transition period? None of India’s top batters have performed consistently over the last few seasons. In 23 completed innings away from home…

The initial stages of play on the first day of the World Test Championship (WTC) final at The Oval. Mohammed Siraj was breathing fire, and took little time to dismiss Usman Khawaja with a peach of a delivery. The initial stages of play on day two. Siraj bowled a rank bad over, gifting two half-volleys to Steve Smith which helped the batter get to three figures. In between those two short passages of play and thereafter, Siraj was perhaps India’s best bowler in the Australian first innings. Not just because he was the most successful bowler. Figures of 28.3-4-108-4 are…

This was shortly before the start of the World Test Championship final, soon after the toss. I got a message on my phone which said: “High quality makes way for average quality. The best bowler in the world sits out, and Umesh (Yadav) is picked.” Social media was soon flooded with posts on the omission of Ravichandran Ashwin from the Indian XI for this massive match. In hindsight, after watching the Indians bowl on the first day of this Test at The Oval, it is easy to say that this call was imprudent. After watching, anybody can make wise statements.…