Author: Atreyo Mukhopadhyay

The last time India played Australia in England, the venue was The Oval. It was a World Cup fixture in 2019. It’s fitting that the World Test Championship final featuring these two teams is going to take place at the ground which staged the first-ever Test match in England, in 1880. It’s a place laden with history and the authorities over there, over generations, have preserved that history, in many forms. Coming back to the present, it should be a fierce contest. India have had the upper hand against Australia in recent years. They have beaten them in four consecutive…

Let’s go back to 2007, when India won a Test series in England for the first (and last) time since 1986. It was a three-match series. Only one Indian scored a century back then. It was Anil Kumble. India still won 1-0. In fact, in one of the matches, India amassed 481. Nobody scored in triple figures, but all of them contributed. Cut back to India’s greatest Test series win. The final Test in Brisbane in 2021. They made over 300 in both innings. No one made a hundred. It was a complete team effort, in batting and bowling. Not…

England is a country where the cricket ball swings. That means it moves in the air. It may also deviate off the pitch if landed on the seam. This makes a batter’s job tougher. This also means that those standing in catching positions behind the stumps play an important role. They have to take the catches. One of the most important of them is the wicketkeeper, for most balls usually end up in his gloves. As far India are concerned ahead of the World Test Championship final against Australia, this remains a gray area. KS Bharat and Ishan Kishan are…

Conditions in England in the earlier part of their summer will aid fast bowlers. There will be swing, and also some seam movement. It’s an enticing proposition for the Indian pace attack. Mohammad Shami, Mohammad Siraj and others will look forward to the World Test Championship final with great expectation. Even though not all of them are out-and-out swing bowlers, they will still be excited by the prospect. Now comes the more critical question. Will they be able to adjust to the conditions in just a few days, and find the right lengths? In the past, we have seen that…

A maiden Test century in December, followed up by another in March. A double-century in an ODI, a triple-figure knock in T20Is and then a tremendously successful Indian Premier League (IPL). Whatever Shubman Gill touches has turned to gold of late. He is being hailed as the next batting sensation from India, after Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. The reality is, his real test starts now. Gill has shown extraordinary potential. The sense of ease in his shot-making, his composure in the middle and the ability to excel in all formats is eye-catching. But now he has to…

The World Test Championship (WTC) final is coming closer. The closer it gets, the more intense becomes the speculation over India’s possible combination. It’s going to be in the early part of summer in England. India have not played over there at this time very often. So what should they do in terms of choosing the XI? The batters, in all probability, pick themselves. Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane are certainties. The wicketkeeper will be either KS Bharat or Ishan Kishan. The real headache will come when it comes to the bowlers. Four…

“People come, people go. Some grow young, some grow cold. I woke in between. A memory and a dream” Lines from You don’t know how it feels, a super-hit song for Tom Petty, the American rock star who passed away a half-decade ago. There is no growing ‘cold’ when it comes to Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The rest is an apt description of this super team. They grow old, and then become gold. They invest in veterans, and get match-winners. Leave aside Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who has become an almost-mythical figure. Think of Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja and…

MS Dhoni got out for a first-ball duck, and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) still snatched a last-ball win for their fifth Indian Premier League (IPL) title. This was an incredible match to cap the most exhilarating IPL season ever. Nobody knew where the match was headed until the last ball. T20 is an unpredictable format alright, but fortunes swinging from here to there in the space of a few balls is not usually seen. Bad luck, Gujarat Titans. They fought gallantly, but ultimately, had to succumb to a better team. CSK’s super start The start Chennai got made them the…

The nation saw disturbing visuals on a Sunday when the new Parliament was inaugurated with much pomp. Some of the leading wrestlers of the country were dragged along the road by the police and allegedly manhandled, before being taken to police station for detention. A host of sportspersons from several fields condemned the act. Social media went berserk with different reactions. If nothing else, it was a most unsavoury sight. Bajrang Punia is an Olympic bronze medallist, who has a few World Championship medals as well. Sakshi Malik is an Olympic bronze medallist. Vinesh Phogat has two World Championship medals.…

Remember Hardik Pandya being carried off the ground during an Asia Cup match in 2018? He required back surgery. Everyone thought that a promising career had come to a grinding halt. There was reason to think along those lines because of the kind of load he took on, as batter and bowler. India’s search for a top-notch, pace-bowling all-rounder seemed to have come to an abrupt end. How things have changed! A fully recovered Pandya is not only one of India’s most reliable players in white-ball cricket, but also leading the Gujarat Titans successfully in the Indian Premier League (IPL).…