Author: Bharath Ramaraj

Where to start and how to end? The question that flashes in the mind while penning a few words on James Anderson. If you frantically search for old photos of Anderson, there is a chance of getting a headshot of a 19-year-old bowler, with a completely different hairstyle. He had just made his first-class debut then. At the end of that County season, he took a five-for against Lancashire’s arch-rivals, Yorkshire. He had also removed Mark Ramprakash with a yorker. So, it was quite natural that there was a bit of hype about a young bowler who seemed to…

“My 100th Test Cap is for my mother, my mum is the embodiment of strength – she worked three jobs & had two kids that were under 10 at a difficult time – She had cancer twice, she is a bloody strong woman to get through that twice,” an emotional Jonny Bairstow said to the Daily Telegraph. There is a heartbreaking story to share from Bairstow’s childhood days. It is January 1998, and you’re flipping through the column written by Ted Corbett, the former English journalist. The column is mostly about David Bairstow, Jonny’s father, taking his own life. There…

The experience of watching a game at the Chinnaswamy Stadium is usually an exhilarating one. Even if the match doesn’t involve Royal Challengers Bangalore or the Indian team, you expect a sizeable crowd. And if one of the aforementioned sides is playing, the emotions are set to hit fever pitch. That is what exactly happened on a pleasant evening in Bengaluru. A little more than 26000 fans crammed in at the Chinnaswamy to watch their favourite team, RCB, defeat UP Warriorz in the Women’s Premier League. The RCB-UP game wasn’t just about the cacophony of sounds made by the fans…

While watching Nathan Lyon go about his business of picking up a rich haul of wickets against New Zealand at Basin Reserve, a thought came to mind: The art of repetition. Every single delivery, Lyon spun it hard and imparted overspin. And almost every single delivery, it bounced extra from round the wicket, causing the batters enough problems. Even when Lyon missed out on hitting a good length spot, the bounce was enough to dismiss Rachin Ravindra. Beneath the boring imitation game of repeating the same old method, one could find the greatness of Lyon. Many moons ago, when Lyon…

It was around five o’clock in the evening in Ranchi. And it was raining quite heavily in the city. With just some hours to go to catch a flight back to Bengaluru, there was a decision to make; whether to take a chance and visit Paramjit Singh, one of MS Dhoni’s best friends, or just sit back in the hotel and watch the tipper-tapper of rain drops. In such situations, perhaps the best advice one can get is, follow what your heart says. The right decision was made, and it was time to take an auto to the Paramjit-owned shop,…

“The Selection Committee has also recommended fast bowling contracts for the following athletes – Akash Deep, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Umran Malik, Yash Dayal and Vidwath Kaverappa,” the BCCI said in a release. Although the non-inclusion of Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan was the central theme of BCCI’s Annual Player Retainership, the above-mentioned lines also captured the attention of many. The point gained significance in the backdrop of India phasing out some of their senior pacemen — Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Meanwhile, Mohammed Shami, one of their frontline pace bowlers, has been laid low by a serious Achilles heel…

What are your initial memories of Rajat Patidar’s batting? The answer to that question would be his hundred against the Bengal pace duo of Dinda and Mukesh Kumar in the Ranji Trophy, alongside a fifty versus Mohammed Shami and Ashok Dinda in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. On both occasions, the Madhya Pradesh batter had the intent of dealing in boundaries, and that is how he has largely played in domestic cricket. Some years after those two superlative knocks, Patidar finally got his reward as he made his Test debut against England in the ongoing five-match series. Unfortunately for Patidar, he…

Sometimes, the first impression is really the best one. The first impression of Dhruv Jurel in Test cricket was of a good player. Here is how he faced his first two deliveries on his India debut: Jurel’s back foot loaded up and his front foot moved towards the pitch. He then covered his off-stump to leave an away-going delivery with ease. The second delivery nipped back in enough from outside off. For a fraction of a second, one wondered whether this would trouble the ’keeper-batter a little more. Jurel, though, picked the nip-backer early enough and once more gave a…

“You should go for the big break. In that case, alongside over-the-wicket angle, you can also use round-the-wicket angle,” Kapil Pandey, Kuldeep Yadav’s coach, once told this writer with conviction. His pupil has definitely followed the coach’s instructions to the Tee. Yes, Kuldeep has added a variation or two to his quiver, including the slider. In limited-overs cricket, he is generally bowling quicker through the air. But he never seems to waver from his key strength. And that is to give the ball a fair rip. We saw ample evidence of this aspect of Kuldeep’s game on Day 3 of…

Ravi Ashwin will be 38 this year, while Ravindra Jadeja, his partner-in-crime, is about 10 months away from being 36. Rohit Sharma, the skipper himself, is approaching 37 and Virat Kohli, the fulcrum of the batting order, will be 36. Mohammed Shami, who has been such an integral part of the Indian set-up across formats, is presently battling with a serious ankle injury. Meanwhile, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and Chesteshwar Pujara have more or less been phased out. With Kohli presently not in the mix due to personal reasons, five out of the top seven batters in the…