Author: Bharath Ramaraj

India have plucked 66 wickets in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Among those, 30 have been taken by one bowler, and that is Jasprit Bumrah. The colossus of the current Indian team has bagged those scalps at an astonishing average of 12.83. None of the other Indian bowlers have averaged less than 30. Mohammed Siraj has fired in fits and starts and is currently the second-best Indian bowler in the series, with 16 wickets at an average of 31.43. Akash Deep, India’s third-highest wicket-taker, has bagged only five wickets so far. Those numbers basically tell you that India either don’t have…

A fairytale narrative is something that acts as the crux of any sporting achievement. At the iconic MCG, we witnessed one such moment when Nitesh Reddy crossed the three-figure mark in front of his family. As soon as Nitish cracked a loft down the ground off Mitchell Starc, and started celebrating the milestone, the cameras zoomed in on Mutalya Reddy, his father. His father couldn’t control his tears as he looked heavenwards, offering his prayers to someone up there. Even the commentators were in tears. The raw emotions on view were a manifestation of the struggles and the toil put…

Here’s an interesting quiz question on Test cricket. How many bowlers have taken 200 or more than 200 Test scalps with a bowling average of under 20? The reply to that question would be none so far. However, everything could change if Jasprit Bumrah continues to pick his next few wickets at regular intervals. Before the start of the MCG Test, Bumrah had 194 wickets to his name at an astounding average of 19.52. He added three more scalps to his tally, on Day 1 of the MCG Test, and is now just three short of the milestone. It doesn’t…

When did the Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh make his Test debut? This might turn out to be a good trivia question, as even for a cricket nerd it is difficult to recall Marsh’s maiden Test match. The answer turns out to be the Dubai Test, against Pakistan, in 2014. In the very next Test held in Abu Dhabi, he even showcased some potential by cracking a stroke-filled 87. Time flies. The clock has tick-tocked vigorously and 10 years have gone by since Marsh donned the Baggy Green in UAE. In the meantime, Marsh has played 45 Tests for his country,…

There has always been a sense of anticipation surrounding the Boxing Day Test, at the colosseum that is the MCG in Australia. It seems more like a carnival than just a game of cricket played between two countries. This year, with India taking on Australia in a big-ticket series, it is expected to be a sell-out crowd. The build-up to the Test has been made spicier by a couple of media-related controversies. For a moment, leaving them aside, here is a lowdown on the salient features of the drop-in deck at the MCG. Will it have enough pace and…

How does Scott Boland go about his business of troubling a truckload of batters in the Sheffield Shield? What is the reason behind his noteworthy record at the MCG, in the longest format of the game? The answer to this vexing question can be found out if you pore through some old videos of Boland bowling in the Sheffield Shield. The Adelaide Oval game between Victoria and South Australia from the 2020-21 season serves as an example. Boland ended up with eight wickets in that match, including six in the second innings. The second of his six wickets in the…

Memories stored in the caverns of the brain are akin to small capsules that burst forth at a given time. When an emotional-looking Ravichandran Ashwin bid adieu to international cricket on the final day of the Gabba Test, the mind couldn’t help but chisel out a long journey back to February 2009. And those evocative memories flashed mainly because of Ashwin sharing his thoughts on the teammates that he had played with in the press conference, especially one certain Ajinkya Rahane. The memory is from a Duleep Trophy final between West Zone and South Zone. Ashwin, all of 22 and…

Trent Bridge Lord’s Centurion Centurion Perth Gabba The connecting point with the above-mentioned venues is KL Rahul was the cornerstone of India’s efforts. There is another connecting point to it: All those knocks came in conditions that were anywhere between tricky to tough. So, the Indian opener had to bring out the various facets of batting: Watertight defence, temperament, alongside keeping the scorecard ticking over, to lay the foundation stone at the top of the order. The latest in the list of his stellar knocks came at the Gabba. In pursuit of Australia’s first-innings total of 445, India were in…

What was the salient feature of watching Virat Kohli bat at his very best? Maybe, it was about the sprint to the crease. There was a bit of shadow practice too — perfecting the alignment, like head position and front shoulder. The subsequent trigger movement, followed by the loud noise of the crowd after the crack of the willow against the leather, were all part of a familiar Kohli batting manual. Somewhere in 2024, when Kohli walks out to bat , the feeling is different. It almost feels as if it is just a matter of time before Kohli edges…

World Test Championship final. 50-over World Cup final. T20 World Cup game in Gros Islet. Two hundreds in the ongoing Test series in Australia. A mere glance at the above-mentioned knocks is enough to gauge that India have had a Travis Head-shaped problem over the last 18 months or so. There is another piece of the Head-jigsaw which gives a further indicator that the Indian pacers, including Jasprit Bumrah, have found it rather hard to dislodge their nemesis. His averages over the preceding four Test rubbers are as follows – 36.20, 16.2, 39.6 and 17.25. In the current Test series,…