Author: Atreyo Mukhopadhyay

R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, and Umran Malik. Manpreet Singh Goni and Ashok Dinda in the inaugural season in 2008. A few more over the years. The Indian Premier League (IPL) has been a competition which provided a stage for several bowlers who went on to play for India. Of course, they played other domestic tournaments, but the IPL was the platform which showed that they were fit for the international level. For some reason, this has not happened in 2023. Quite a few new and unknown, uncapped fast bowlers and spinners, have played for different teams. We can’t…

Oh no, Sandeep Was this the most infamous no-ball in the history of the Indian Premier League? It likely was. Sandeep Sharma, what did you do? Match in the pocket, and then do that? The bowler who denied MS Dhoni in the last over with those perfect yorkers a few games ago made one mistake which will bug him forever. Catch taken, match over, only to see that you have overstepped! This was bizarre. IPL matches or T20 matches can be cruel on individuals, and this was the starkest example of that. Possibly the craziest of finishes in the history…

As the Indian Premier League heads towards the business end, a few patterns are emerging. Teams have chased better than they have defended. Pitches have tended to get slower at some venues. Spinners are coming into the picture more often. And Rajasthan Royals seem to be losing the steam they began their campaign with. Table toppers at one stage, they are fourth at the moment with four defeats in their last five matches. This is somewhat unexpected, considering that on paper, they are one of the best-balanced sides, with all bases covered. Top-order batting, middle order, the finishing part, fast…

Noor the man Let’s come to Noor Ahmad first. Yes, Rashid Khan, his senior Afghanistan teammate, took more wickets. But what this left-arm wrist spinner continues to deliver is just unbelievable. This is deception of the highest order. He comes over the wicket and, without any noticeable change in wrist position, gets the ball to turn both ways. This is finger work of a rare kind. Wrist spinner, using his fingers to such effect! He was among those who made a big difference in this game, like he had in a few earlier matches as well. Possibly, the biggest discovery…

There is a clamour in Indian cricket at the moment. Bring Yashasvi Jaiswal into the national fold as soon as possible. There is some merit behind such talks. He has done well in all the formats. He averages 80-plus in first-class cricket, nearly 54 in 50-over games and has just cracked a century in the IPL. A left-hander with rare abilities, lots of grit and determination and having come from a very humble background, this boy from Uttar Pradesh who plays for Mumbai has made heads turn. It’s well known, the kind of hardship he went through in his early…

A few months ago, before the 2023 edition of the IPL began, the Indian board had issued a media statement. Among other things, it mentioned that the National Cricket Academy (NCA) will work in collaboration with the IPL franchises and monitor the workload management of players expected to play in the World Test Championship final, which takes place soon after the completion of the tournament. Even during the recent series against Australia, India captain Rohit Sharma reiterated that. Not in the exact words as the board’s statement, but he said that workload management is crucial before the big Test and…

This was 2010. Wasim Akram was the bowling coach of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Speaking to the media, he used to mention the bowlers he had been impressed with. Along with the usual suspects, he would take the name of someone who was yet to make his first-class debut back then. “Shami acchha hai, dum hai usme [Shami is good, there’s spirit in him],” Akram would say. Scribes at times used to get confused why a legend like him was talking so glowingly about someone who was not even a rookie at the IPL level at that time. Forget KKR,…

Delhi Capitals kept their IPL season alive with a dramatic five-run victory over Gujarat Titans, the table-toppers, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. After Mohammed Shami’s sublime new-ball burst had wrecked Delhi’s top order, they showed considerable character to put 130 on the board. A multi-skilled and disciplined bowling display did the rest. Well done, Khaleel Talk about Khaleel Ahmed. The first and 18th overs. Those were match-turning moments. An India discard, the left-armer from Rajasthan was spot on with those 12 deliveries which cost four runs and fetched two crucial wickets. Defending 130 even on a sluggish pitch…

It was May 21, 2009. A lofted off-drive from Manish Pandey landed right in front of the media enclosure. That sixer made him the first Indian to score a century in the Indian Premier League. Fittingly, it happened at a venue called Supersport Park in Centurion, next to Pretoria, the administrative capital of South Africa. Because of that effort and due to the stupendous response the IPL got in South Africa on a whole, it became a global brand. It was a nascent concept until then. It had received a great response and TV ratings in 2008. But it was…

For most of this match, it was Rajasthan’s to lose. Yashasvi Jaiswal scored one of the most assured and polished centuries any Indian youngster has ever scored in the IPL, and R Ashwin then bowled a wonderful spell to tighten the grip. But Mumbai Indians stayed afloat, and Tim David pummelled 45 off just 14 balls to pull off the most sensational of run chases in the IPL’s 1000th game. It helped that Jason Holder dished out three juicy full tosses in the final over, with 17 needed. Here are our takeaways from a game fit for a special occasion. …