Author: Bharath Ramaraj

For a common citizen, 0.02 seconds could be something trivial. After all, it is just two-hundredths of a second. Sport, however, takes divergent paths. A game of cricket may last five days, but for a sprinter, even one-hundredth of a second might turn out to be decisive in a race. Occasionally, it could be even less than that – In the 1990s, Gail Devers beat Merlene Ottey twice despite being given the same timing. Animesh Kujur, who is now the national record holder in three categories – 100 m, 200 m and 4 × 100 m relay – is no…

By Bharath Ramaraj In the 2023 Surrey versus Middlesex County game played at The Oval, Jamie Smith essayed an on-drive and then a flick shot off Tim Murtagh and Toby Roland-Jones, respectively. Just zoom in on those two strokes with microscopic lenses and you would notice how he picked the length quickly and took the ball from a middle-off line. That short passage of play was enough to gauge Smith’s considerable potential. In the last 12 months, Smith has showcased his skills on a bigger stage — Test cricket. After playing a mere 12 Tests, he already has 997 runs…

Every single time Neeraj Chopra geared up to hurl the Javelin over a long distance at the Neeraj Chopra Classic, chants of “Neeraj, Neeraj” echoed through the length and breadth of the Kanteerava Stadium. And when he hurled the Javelin over 86 m to take first place, there was a cacophony of sounds. In fact, Sachin Yadav, the promising Javelin thrower, also was encouraged with chants of “Sachin, Sachin”. It brought back old memories of the legendary Sachin Tendulkar bringing an entire nation to a standstill with his heroic feats. The essence of the point being a game outside of…

Bharath in Bengaluru Somewhere in the future, while sitting on a rocking chair, you might end up reminiscing about ‘I was there’ moments. Memories that stay with you for a lifetime. India’s sporting legend, Neeraj Chopra, coming over to Bengaluru and participating in the Neeraj Chopra Classic could be one of them. After all, here is a sportsman who has inspired thousands of athletes to take up Track and Field as a profession with his achievements in the javelin. There is something else about Neeraj that stands out – His down-to-earth nature. That kind of warmth could be observed when…

Bharath Ramaraj in Bengaluru There is a statistic that tells something about Neeraj Chopra’s sheer consistency: He has competed in 76 tournaments and won 42 of them. He has also been placed in top 3 positions a staggering 62 times. The redoubtable athlete has won virtually every title in his field – right from gold and silver medals in the Olympics to medals in World Championships, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and more. He has also triumphed at the Diamond League finals, alongside recently conquering the 90m barrier. In addition to all those glittering achievements, Neeraj has added a new feather…

Who should replace Jasprit Bumrah if he is rested?’ With the Indian spearhead more or less set to be rested for the second Test at Edgbaston, the think-tank has massive shoes to fill. So, who are the options that India could look at? Just scroll through the names of the squad selected for the five-match Test tour, and it won’t take long to gauge that Arshdeep Singh and Akash Deep are the two options who would come into the fray. Let’s analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the two above-mentioned pace bowlers. Arshdeep – The pace bowler has an extra…

Overs – 35. Runs given – 220. Wickets taken – 5. The above-mentioned figures were those of Prasidh Krishna in the Leeds Test against England. Those numbers narrate the story of his bowling. For one, he is a wicket-taker but he also hasn’t understood how to go about constructing an over in the longest format. In Prasidh’s defence, he has played just four Tests and is still on a learning curve. To further gauge his problems, let’s pore through a few overs that he bowled in the second essay in Leeds. In the second over that Prasidh bowled, he ushered…

Over the last decade, there is one aspect of the game that has changed a bit in England – The advent of wobble seam and how it seems to have gradually replaced swing bowling. It doesn’t mean that the pace bowlers have forgotten the art of keeping the seam upright, but the wobble seam seems to have gained precedence over swing bowling in England. Eric Simons, the current CSK bowling coach, has a slightly different take on it. The articulate former South African all-rounder said this to RevSportz: “We are seam bowlers, we are swing bowlers, the seam is there…

Sometimes, while watching live sport, evocative memories take you back to a different time and place. Day 5 of the first Test between India and England was one such instance where Ben Duckett’s reverse sweeps against Ravindra Jadeja brought back memories from an Under-19 World Cup game held in the UAE in 2014. The desert of the UAE and the grey skies in Leeds aren’t exactly synonymous with each other. But Duckett’s ability to get on top of the bounce to reverse sweep Jadeja time and again was reminiscent of his stroke-play while facing Kuldeep Yadav in that World Cup…

Somewhere in August 2018, Gary Stead took over the mantle of coaching the New Zealand men’s set-up from Mike Hesson. Over the next seven years, it turned out to be a rewarding journey for Stead and the New Zealand players. The Black Caps reached the final of ICC tournaments/Championship four times and took home the WTC trophy. On the other hand, not being able to cross the finish line despite scoring the same amount of runs as England after the completion of 100 overs and the Super Over in the 2019 World Cup final would have been a gut-wrenching experience…