Author: Bharath Ramaraj

Picture credits – BCCI Who is Senuran Muthusamy? What was the first impression of watching this cricketer? For that, yours truly has to take up the name of his former colleague, Sidhant Maheshwari. This former text commentator had a habit of reciting the names of the players aloud in relation to executing backend work. Probably, around a decade ago, he took up the name, Muthusamy, while adding this player to a website from the backend. While hearing the name for the first time, you pondered, ‘Who could be this first-class cricketer from India? Is he Muthuswamy or Muthusamy?’…

In the year 2020, while sitting on a sofa in Dubai, this writer ended up watching his nephew play cricket on Xbox. And in a few minutes’ time, the scoreline caught the attention: India had raced away to about 100 for no loss in just 5-6 overs against Australia in a Test match. More than five years later, in Perth, Travis Head put on such a spectacular show versus England’s band of fast bowlers that it made you ponder whether it was another of those Xbox games. The same England attack that had bowled with sustained hostility in the first…

Twenty-nine wickets. The number of wickets that have fallen by the second day of the ongoing Ashes Test between England and Australia in Perth. Who knows? As I complete this copy, Australia could very well be batting in their second innings. And that brings up the question of whether the conditions have been treacherous for batting. There is one more element to add here. Isn’t it true that a sizeable portion of the wickets were also due to poor batting? Or a slew of batters unable to negate the extra bounce the Perth pitch is offering? Just consider England’s abject…

Over 5,700 days. That is the number of days South Africa took to break their drought in India in the longest format of the game. And they did it in dramatic fashion on day three of the Eden Gardens Test. At one moment, South Africa were a mere 63 runs ahead with three wickets in hand. However, Temba Bavuma and the lower order pushed the visitors to a lead of 123, which turned out to be enough to script a famous win on a difficult pitch. Can they now take one step further and secure a series victory, following in…

In just 13 Tests, Simon Harmer has taken 60 wickets at an average of 23.38. That includes game-changing spells at the iconic Eden Gardens, which in turn powered South Africa to a famous win. Hang on! With such impressive numbers behind him, how has the 36-year-old played a mere 13 Tests? The simple reason is that he signed up with Essex in 2016 as a Kolpak player. When England withdrew from the European Union, he continued to represent Essex as an overseas cricketer. Eventually, in 2022, he returned to the South African Test set-up for a series versus Bangladesh…

The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) elections have been deferred to December 30. They were originally scheduled to be held on November 30. An electoral officer of the KSCA said that the “elections cannot be conducted at this stage without removing the doubts among members.” The postponement comes in the backdrop of a case filed in court challenging the eligibility criteria. Venkatesh Prasad, who is set to contest against KN Shanth Kumar, Director of The Printers Pvt. Limited, voiced his displeasure at a press meet. “We were stunned to learn that the elections have been deferred to December 30,” he…

“Survival of the fittest is a phrase that originated from Darwinian evolutionary theory as a way of describing the idea that species adapt and change by natural selection, with the best-suited mutations becoming dominant.” This definition via Google Search can be applied to other disciplines too, and that includes the game of cricket. The connecting point here is the 2016 Test series between India and England. That was the series when India also decided to employ the Decision Review System for home matches. It didn’t just help finger spinners like Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja to get more LBWs,…

On Day 3 of the first Test between India and South Africa at Eden Gardens, the visitors put on a sterling display with both bat and ball to usurp India in their own den. Temba Bavuma and the lower order stitched vital stands to take South Africa to a target that was defendable. Simon Harmer then put on a masterclass in spin bowling and was well supported by Keshav Maharaj, Marco Jansen and Aiden Markram to power South Africa to their first-ever Test win in India since 2010. So, what were the major takeaways from India’s heartbreaking loss? At Revsportz,…

By Bharath Ramraj in Bengaluru Shrivalli Rashmikaa Bhamidipaty, remember the name. The tall 23-year-old Indian tennis player cracks big flat serves and can hit scorching cross-court and down-the-line forehand winners. All those powerful weapons were on full display against the much more experienced Tamara Zidansek in a Billie Jean King Cup play-off tie in Bengaluru. Eventually, Shrivalli lost 3-6, 6-4, 1-6, but she enthralled the audience with her sizzling brand of tennis. That pulsating encounter was followed by K Juvan beating Sahaja Yamalapalli in straight sets to power Slovenia to the main draw as India crashed out in…

Bharath Ramaraj Day 1 of the India-South Africa Test at Eden Gardens began on the right note for the visitors. They didn’t just win the toss but also made a promising start. At one point, they were 57 for no loss. Soon, that became 62 for 2, then 120 for 5. Ultimately, the score read 159 all out. It is a fact that the track is offering variable bounce, the kind of conditions where the batter is never really in. But it isn’t exactly a raging turner, and South Africa should have made a better fist of their…