Author: Bharath Ramaraj

Constant rain and wet outfields have been a bugbear for Karnataka in the ongoing Ranji Trophy. Only 215 overs were bowled in the Karnataka-Madhya Pradesh game and that was followed by another rained-off match against Kerala in Alur. Although Karnataka went on to win their next game against Bihar convincingly, they are currently placed third, just outside the qualification berths. In that context, the Bengal-Karnataka encounter at the Chinnaswamy gains significance as both sides need a victory. Karnataka are also in the middle of a transition phase. Experienced players like S Sharath and R Samarth have decided to try…

With the clock about to strike 5 PM, only three deliveries remained until stumps of day one of the third and final Test between India and New Zealand. At that moment, a thought flashed in the mind – maybe we have seen the last bit of action on a day full of ebbs and flows. That assumption proved to be wrong as Virat Kohli was run out in a rather bizarre fashion. One of the mainstays of the Indian batting unit for many years tried to steal a non-existent single only for Matt Henry to effect a direct hit. Subsequently,…

It is said that even before Devdutt Padikkal was born, his parents had decided that their second child would become a cricketer. That wish came true. Padikkal went on to play for Karnataka and in the IPL, alongside collecting his Test cap in Dharamsala. So, what next? Can he represent India for a longer period of time? Going by how Padikkal played in the ongoing unofficial Test against Australia A in Mackay, the signs are good. With India A precariously placed at 30 for 2 in the second dig, and still in arrears, he and Sai Sudharsan strung together an…

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Players Retained – Virat Kohli (21 cr), Rajat Patidar (11 cr) and Yash Dayal (5 cr) Purse Remaining – 83 cr No. of RTMs Available – 3 (1 uncapped plus 2 capped players, or 3 capped) What do the retained players bring to the table? Virat Kohli has been the fulcrum of the RCB line-up for more than a decade and a half. The RCB opener accumulated 741 runs at an average of just under 62 last season. At his best, Kohli is the kind of player, who can turn out to be the foundation stone while…

The 2025 IPL will be the 18th season of the tournament. It so happens that Virat Kohli’s shirt number is also 18. Just to add a bit more intrigue, Kohli could be back as Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s captain next year. Maybe the stars are perfectly aligning for Kohli to lead his team to their maiden IPL title? Leaving aside astrology, the bigger question is what are the pros and cons of Kohli returning as the skipper. There are certainly some merits to Kohli again taking over the leadership role. One of the key strengths of Kohli is he c…

Saima Thakor, the Mumbai-born cricketer, has varied interests. When she was younger, she had aspirations of becoming a goalkeeper for her college team and then she ended up being the forward. When it came to cricket, she wished to be a wicketkeeper but took up pace bowling as it was told to her that it is relatively less expensive to bowl. Fast-forward to the present day, and she showed some spark with her medium pacers on her ODI debut against New Zealand. In the very next game, batting at No. 10, she stitched a 70-run stand for the 9th wicket…

146/6, 148/6, 139/7, 33/3, 177/7, 144/6 and more. The above-mentioned list indicates how India have repeatedly found themselves in a precarious position at home over the last 44 months, starting from the England Test series in February 2021. The interesting part is that India went on to win all those Test matches, mainly thanks to their middle and lower-order, comprising R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel. It is also true that Rishabh Pant spearheaded many of those comeback efforts. On occasions, Shreyas Iyer, Kuldeep Yadav and Dhruv Jurel have also propped up the batting unit. It also tells that…

Pace bowlers win you Test matches – This is an old hypothesis in cricket, especially when it comes to SENA countries (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia.) To a large extent, the axiom holds true. With India about to lock horns against Australia in a marquee Test series, one of the major talking points is whether the visiting side has the pace-bowling arsenal to match their counterparts. Here’s a lowdown on India’s pace-bowling stocks as they eye a third successive Test series win Down Under: Jasprit Bumrah – Right from conventional swing to contrast swing to hitting the deck…

In the 12th over of the first India-New Zealand women’s ODI, there was a curious incident – Sophie Devine played one back to Deepti Sharma, who threw the ball to the ‘keeper. Perhaps the experienced New Zealand captain had a brain-fade as, at the moment, she was standing just outside the crease. Yastika Bhatia, the ‘keeper, duly took the bails off and Devine had to walk back to the pavilion. Somewhere, it also indicated that India’s fielders were alert to grab any opportunity that came their way. During the middle phase of the innings, we saw more evidence of it.…

Around six to seven years ago, there was a Tawa University journal which featured New Zealand cricketer Amelia Kerr as the main story. On the right side of that feature, the eyes zoomed in on a young Amelia. There was something more to notice in that image: She was standing alongside Sophie Devine, another Tawa University product, and the future captain of New Zealand. That particular image echoed in the mind back and forth after she turbo-charged New Zealand to their maiden T20 World Cup triumph in Dubai. When Amelia was a kid, she had written in an essay…