Author: Bharath Ramaraj

Port of Spain. World Cup 2007. Mushfiqur Rahim was on the verge of engraving his name in the annals of Bangladesh cricket as the one who provided the finishing touches to a famous win against India. He did in style, essaying a square drive. Alongside Rahim, that side also had his long-standing teammate, Shakib Al Hasan. It is remarkable that 16 years later, the two are still the mainstays of the set-up, as Bangladesh gear up to take on an in-form Indian side in another World Cup match. The experienced duo, however, would know that Bangladesh face an uphill task.…

In 2021, the Netherlands were playing Ireland in a first-round game at the T20 World Cup. The overall atmosphere seemed dull, with not a single spectator visible in the stands. The game in progress also seemed to lack any kind of excitement or thrill. The Netherlands meandered along to 106, and soon crashed to a seven-wicket defeat. They would lose all three games in that tournament. For a team that had at least seven players with experience of having partaken in English domestic cricket that season, alongside a few T20 leagues in the past, the results were hard to fathom. …

Name the cricketer born on a Pacific Island and brought up in Australia who subsequently captained the Netherlands? Scott Andrew Edwards, the Netherlands skipper, could one day turn out to be a tie-breaker question in a quiz contest. So, what is the story behind Edwards’ remarkable journey? How did he end up playing for the Netherlands? “Born in Tonga, lived there for the first two years, obviously grew up in Australia, my father’s side (grandmother) was of Dutch origin,” he told RevSportz. “Played for a Dutch club for one year, came back to Australia for a couple of years, got…

After a couple of losses in the ongoing World Cup, Australia needed their captain to lead from the front. In the crunch game versus Sri Lanka, Pat Cummins certainly upped his game by picking up two vital wickets. He also effected a direct-hit and played a pivotal role in his side’s comfortable five-wicket win in Lucknow. Australia went past the modest total of 210 in just 35.2 overs. During the first half of Sri Lanka’s innings, it seemed as if Australia were in trouble. Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Perera added 100-plus for the opening wicket. In the opening over itself,…

It is hard to believe that the five-time 50-over World Champions are languishing in ninth place on the points table in the ongoing World Cup. But that is the reality Australia face as they take on another struggling side in Sri Lanka in Lucknow. Just a glance through the stats of the Australian players, and you can see the reason behind their sorry display so far. None of the batters have scored a fifty. Barring Josh Hazlewood and, to an extent, Mitchell Starc, the bowlers too haven’t been up to the mark. It is the right time for the senior…

A couple of years ago, Pakistan thrashed India by 10 wickets in Dubai to taste their first T20 World Cup win over their arch-rivals. Pakistan’s players and fans would have believed that they had the required resources to end the long-standing jinx of never having beaten India in the 50-over World Cup. The reality though turned out to be very different as India once again got the better of Pakistan, romping home by seven wickets in front of a huge crowd at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Rohit Sharma (86 runs), and all five frontline bowlers, starred for the…

Cricket’s showpiece event commenced in low-key fashion in Ahmedabad on October 5, with New Zealand taking on England. Some nine days later, at the same ground, we are set to witness an entertainment show that resembles an opening ceremony. It seems a bit odd, but sport is now a business and those who run it are businessmen. India-Pakistan is an intense rivalry that has spanned many decades. You throw in a bit of geo-politics, history and some memorable matches, and the excitement reaches fever pitch. So, from that context, it is understandable why the head honchos want to make the…

For a few minutes, if you scroll through the schedule of the round-robin phase of the 2023 World Cup, it feels like a string of trains stopping at different stations and chugging along right across the length and breadth of the country. As the first week of the seven-week-long tournament comes to a close, all 10 teams have played a couple of matches each. So, how are they shaping up? What are some of the positives that the teams can take from week 1? What about the drawbacks? Here’s a peek at what has worked and what hasn’t for the…

Bharath Ramaraj The venue was the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. It was the 2015-16 domestic season, with Gujarat taking on Delhi in the Vijay Hazare Trophy final. Perhaps due to certain indirect factors, there was suddenly some swing in the air at night. RP Singh, who had just been roped in by Gujarat from Uttar Pradesh, swung the ball this way and that way at about 72-73mph to rip through a formidable Delhi top order. But it was someone else who caught the eye – Jasprit Jasbir Singh Bumrah. The 22-year-old didn’t just produce movement but also bowled with a…

Rohit Sharma’s record-breaking seventh World Cup ton and Jasprit Bumrah’s four-wicket haul turned out to be the cornerstones of India’s crushing eight-wicket win over Afghanistan in a World Cup game played in Delhi. India went past Afghanistan’s total of 272 in just 35 overs. The second innings turned out to be all about Rohit and his exhibition of fireworks. It started with a gentle clip through square leg off Fazalhaq Farooqi. That was just a sign of things to come. In the fifth over, he walked down the pitch and imperiously thumped the same bowler wide of long-off. Farooqi changed…