Author: Bharath Ramaraj

In the 2019 Vijay Hazare Trophy games played between Mumbai and Karnataka, Mumbai were in trouble at one point of time, 169 for 6 while chasing 313. Fast-forward the action by about 90 minutes and you would have noticed that Mumbai lost by only nine runs. Just one cricketer – Shivam Dube – was responsible for almost steering Mumbai to an improbable win. His 118 came off a mere 67 deliveries, and it included as many as 10 sixes. Just peel past the surface more, and you would have discovered that most of those sixes came off one spinner –…

The following words are perhaps used too many times when it comes to sports writing – determined, single-mindedness, resolve, deep reservoirs of willpower, and many more. But as soon as you try to recall some evocative memories of Shreyas Iyer’s early career, those are the only terms that light up in the mind like a bulb. It isn’t an exaggeration, as right through his career, Shreyas has dispelled doubts over his shortcomings. Many moons ago, in just his third Ranji Trophy game, Shreyas was up against Uttar Pradesh’s formidable attack comprising Praveen Kumar, Amit Mishra (pace bowler), Ankit Rajpoot and…

‘Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan not picked in Pakistan’s squad for the 2025 Asia Cup.’ That this particular headline didn’t exactly hog the limelight on social media platforms was an interesting theme of Pakistan’s squad announcement. Incidentally, around five months ago, Pakistan’s previous think-tank had taken the decision to leave out the duo for the T20Is in New Zealand. It was a sign of things to come for the two established members of the set-up. So, is it right from Pakistan’s perspective to not pick the experienced duo for the multi-nation tournament? More importantly, what could be the rationale behind…

What could be Harshit Rana’s role in the shortest format of the game? The likely answer from a think-tank would be, ‘You have to take wickets in the middle overs by mainly bowling hard lengths’. After all, the 6’2″ tall bowler is known for hitting higher up on the splice with his heavy ball. In the 2024 IPL, while playing for KKR, everything seemed to go according to the plan as he took nine wickets at an average of 14.9 in the middle phase of the innings. In the very next IPL, the same bowler could only bag three…

Ever since Rinku Singh made his first-class debut a decade ago, the chatter going around in the cricketing circles was about his traits against spin. He was known to pick the length quickly while facing the tweakers. Just a few glimpses of his batting in domestic cricket also were enough to confirm that it was more or less true. However, any athlete has to keep evolving in order to succeed at the highest level. And therein lies the narrative surrounding Rinku and spin bowling. Just zoom in on his stats over the last three IPL seasons, and it is a…

Akin to small capsules, certain memory fragments are deposited in our brain. With the passage of time, they keep echoing in the mind time and again. The other day, while there was a discussion about Suryakumar Yadav’s fitness concerns ahead of the Asia Cup, the memory bank transported itself to another time – IPL 2016. To be specific, it was a game played between Rising Pune Supergiants and Kolkata Knight Riders in Pune. Suryakumar essayed his maiden IPL fifty to steer his side to a tense win in tricky conditions. There was more to it than him compiling…

“Injuries are part of it, and I have had a few,” said Bella James, the New Zealand top-order batter, with a laugh as she shared her thoughts on navigating through pain and agony in her career. That laugh also helps gauge her temperament. Here’s a cricketer who seems to take debilitating injuries in her stride and adhere to the idiom – Try and try again until you succeed. “I had two meniscus injuries, I hurt my knee when I was 17-18, I had a surgery on it,” she told Revsportz. “I hurt my left knee a few years later when…

Over a period of 14 years, Steffan Jones played 148 first-class games for four different Counties. But it is as a bowling coach that he has made a name for himself in the cricketing landscape. He is known for highlighting the importance of data and sports science in coaching, emphasising on the physical, technical and mental side of things. Jones, who is the current High Performance Fast-Bowling coach of Rajasthan Royals, has worked with pace bowlers like Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad, Prasidh Krishna and co. In fact, during his stint at Hobart Hurricanes, he had once helped Broad to regain…

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has given the green signal for the construction of INR 1,650 crore mega-sports complex in Surya City, Bommasandra. It will also have eight indoor and eight outdoor sports arenas, gyms and training facilities, large swimming pool, hotels and a hall for international events. Once constructed, the 80000-seater stadium will be the second-largest cricket ground in India after the the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Karnataka Housing Board will self-fund the project. The plans to go-ahead with a new stadium in Bengaluru comes in the backdrop of the stampede that occured outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium during…

Watching Washington Sundar go about his task in the just-concluded England-India Test series made you wonder whether he was teaching us in a classroom the art of perseverance. The likes of Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes and Josh Tongue kept troubling him from a round-the-wicket angle. But at the nth moment, Washington used to just keep his bat inside the line and for the opponent to only have a consolation prize. Just consider the 56th over on day 1 of the final Test. Tongue had just produced a couple of peaches to dismiss Ravindra Jadeja and Sai Sudharsan from his trademark…