Author: Atreyo Mukhopadhyay

The Indian Premier League (IPL) final pits Chennai Super Kings, four-time champions, against Gujarat Titans, the title-holders. Chennai prevailed when the teams last met, in the first Qualifier. But it will be a new day, different venue and another game. Here are some of the subplots which might decide which way the match goes. All eyes on Gill Shubhman Gill against the Chennai bowlers is a big subplot in this game. Few batters have lit up the IPL like him after Virat Kohli in 2016, and Jos Buttler last season. Three centuries, five half-centuries, Orange cap and strike-rate of 156.43…

What is the secret of the Mumbai Indians’ success in the Indian Premier League (IPL)? They are the most successful team with five titles. Money? Yes. Resources? That too. The best players? Often. What else? Well, their ability to unearth uncapped Indian talent. Akash Madhwal was sensational in the Eliminator game against Lucknow Super Giants. Figures of 3.3-0-5-5 are almost unheard of in this format of the game. And who is Madhwal? A completely unknown guy from Uttarakhand. But there he is now, in the national headlines for his sensational performance. What we see in Madhwal’s performance is the outcome…

Ruturaj Gaikwad set the tone for Chennai Super Kings on a tricky, stop-start pitch, and MS Dhoni then marshalled his bowlers superbly as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) held off a late flurry of strokes from Rashid Khan to seal a 15-run win and make their way to the IPL final for an unprecedented tenth time. Here, we look back at the takeways from the game. Tale of two starts The first 10 overs of the two innings told us where this match was going to go. Gujarat Titans got to 72-2 in pursuit of a target of 173. Chennai Super…

It was a rather underwhelming Indian Premier League (IPL) season for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). They flattered to deceive, and were never really among the contenders to make it to the playoffs. Here is more about this… What we predicted Well, what we predicted was that they have a frail batting unit. They may have a few batters who would come good on their days, but as a unit they would have problems. This assumption was based on the composition of their line-up. There were power-hitters but no specialist who could carry the load. Nitish Rana was the only…

Lucknow Super Giants were going nowhere fast until Nicholas Pooran, their marquee buy at the auction, came to the crease. His blazing innings took them to a total their spin attack could defend, just about. In the process, Lucknow booked their play-off ticket for a second straight season, while KKR missed out for a fifth time in six seasons. Here are our takeaways from the game. KKR are out, Rinku should be in Come to Rinku Singh. He has been in the IPL for a few years, and playing for Uttar Pradesh with a lot of success. But this edition…

He won two Indian Premier League (IPL) titles with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). In fact, he was one of the most important players in 2012 and 2014. Sunil Narine is a KKR legend. His off-spin and other turns mesmerised batters and won his team numerous matches. The other man did not win a title with KKR, but won hearts. At a match against Chennai Super Kings when the majority of spectators sported ‘Dhoni’ shirts, the rest were wearing jerseys with ‘Russell’ printed on the back. Andre Russell delivered a number of match-winning performances for KKR. Both were KKR…

India’s pace-bowling unit is going to play a major role when it comes to the World Test Championship final. It will be played in first half of the English summer, when conditions usually complement swing and seam. So, fast bowlers are going to be of utmost importance. Look at the prospective Indian line-up. Five batters, wicketkeeper and then five bowlers. Four of these bowlers will have to be of the quicker variety. Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj are certainties. Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur and Jaydev Unadkat are in the squad. All of them have been afflicted by minor niggles or…

Let us take a look at India’s batting prospects ahead of the World Test Championship final against Australia. Rohit Sharma, Shubhman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane are expected to form the top five. All of them have played in England. Some have played quite a few matches and others not as many. If one looks at how they have fared collectively and over a period of time, the numbers are not great. Let us see how they have done so far. Rohit Sharma (6 matches, 466 runs, average 42.36, 1 century): He has done rather well in…

Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood. Names that featured quite infrequently in the Australian XI in the four Test matches played in India between February and March. They were never part of the same team. There were spinners, three of them, a rarity in an Australian Test XI. Come The Oval and the World Test Championship final, the situation is going to be very, very different. All three — Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood — will be there, fresh and raring to go. That is going to be a troublesome proposition for the Indians, because most of them will be…

When Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma were adding 90 for the first wicket in just 58 balls, it seemed as though Mumbai would chase down 178 at a canter. But once both fell in the space in ten balls, the Lucknow Super Giants’ bowlers tightened the noose. Ultimately, it was Marcus Stoinis’ power-packed 47-ball 89 that turned out to be the difference, as Lucknow took a giant stride towards a playoff spot. Here are our takeaways from another last-over thriller. Mohsin’s comeback gathers pace He was one of the finds of the IPL in 2022. His left-arm pace had pushed…