Author: Bharath Ramaraj

September 22, 2015 – Bangladesh A versus Karnataka. There was something different about Prasidh Krishna’s delivery to Bangladesh A opener Rony Talukdar. The pacer standing six feet and two inches tall didn’t just land the ball on the seam, but also extracted a hint of bounce to force the opener to edge one to the slips, where Shishir Bhavane pouched the catch. A fast bowler finding any kind of awkward bounce from a slightly fuller length is always an asset. And more so, when it isn’t exactly a trait found among the Indian pace bowlers in general. All those memories…

At 170 for 3, in pursuit of a monstrous 375 in the World Cup Qualifiers against the West Indies, Bas de Leede was dismissed by Akeal Hosein. At that juncture, very few believed that an inexperienced Netherlands side would overhaul the target. But they did. Their fearless attitude in that game and right through the tournament was something that stood out, which in turn, proved to be the cornerstone of their World Cup qualification. Ryan Cook, the Netherlands coach, shares an anecdote on how the backroom staff went about building team-spirit. “It was a team effort throughout the tournament, some…

In what turned out to be a game marred by rain, India registered a narrow two-run win over Ireland via the DLS Method to take a 1-0 lead in the T20I series. In pursuit of a rather below-par target of 140, India began on a good note, with the opening duo of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad crunching horizontal-bat shots and drives. However, against the run of play, Jaiswal charged down the deck to Craig Young and could only slice it to the fielder at midwicket. The very next ball, Tilak Varma was caught down leg. Sanju Samson then picked…

At 19-16, in the first game of the summit clash at the Rio Olympics, Carolina Marin seemed to have everything going for her against PV Sindhu. After all, the No.1 seed and the-then reigning World Champion is renowned as one of the fiercest competitors on the badminton circuit. Up until that point, the left-hander’s trademark smashes and angles had PV Sindhu on the ropes. But something was about to change. Sindhu, who isn’t exactly known for her retrieving skills, upped her game and gave a fine exhibition of net play. Meanwhile, Marin started to make a few errors on…

In what turned out to be another one-sided affair, a fine all-round effort piloted the West Indies to a series-clinching eight-wicket win over India in Florida. Brandon King (85 not out) and Romario Shepherd (four wickets) were the star performers as the hosts overhauled the target of 166 in 18 overs. King and Nicholas Pooran (47) laid the platform for the comfortable win with a second-wicket stand of 107. The duo joined forces after Arshdeep Singh had dismissed Kyle Mayers with the score reading 12 for 1. King danced down the wicket against Yuzvendra Chahal a few times and also…

Nilakanta Sharma, the midfielder from Imphal, has played nearly 100 matches for India. Unfortunately, his contribution has largely gone unnoticed in most of those games. Away from the media glare, he has been an unsung hero — one who joins the dots between the centre-half and flanks and the forwards. In the Asian Champions Trophy final against Malaysia, he was at it again. At 9.59 PM local time, Nilakanta snapped his wrist and laid the platform for India’s attack, which eventually resulted in a penalty stroke. Skipper Harmanpreet Singh duly netted the goal. In the dying moments of the third…

Yashasvi Jaiswal (84 not out) and Shubman Gill (77 runs) shared a game-breaking opening stand of 165, as India recorded a comfortable nine-wicket win in the fourth T20I, against the West Indies, in Florida. The visitors chased down the target of 179 in 17 overs to level the series 2-2. When the opening pair walked out to the middle, it seemed as if they had a tricky task ahead of them, especially in the backdrop of only two successful chases being recorded at the ground in T20Is, prior to today’s match. India certainly needed to cash in on the Powerplay overs, and…

At 2-1 and 30-15 in the first set, Caroline Wozniacki cracked a cross-court backhand and then nailed a backhand down the line winner against Australian Kimberly Birrell. Immediately, old memories of Wozniacki’s powerful backhand gushed forth. Wozniacki also made a fairy tale return to the tennis court, by winning that match against Birrell. Although she lost in the second round of the Canadian Open to reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, there was a sense of nostalgia watching Wozniacki hit a few of those backhands, alongside her trademark retrieving skills. The mother of two put on a gritty show after missing…

Can you handle pressure? A professional athlete has to answer this question almost every single time he or she walks out to play in sporting arenas. The young Alick Athanaze from Dominica is no different. In his brief career so far, Athanaze has had to navigate through some tricky quagmires. But he handled most of those passages of play with a touch of calm countenance. Whether it is the Under-19 World Cup, first-class cricket or playing for the West Indies, pressure seems to bring the best out of the 24-year-old. A little more than five years ago, in 2018, we…

July 14, 2019, turned out to be a red-letter-day for English cricket, as they won the 50-over World Cup for the first time. The historic triumph was a culmination of four years of planning, wherein they mostly had a settled side. Most importantly, they overhauled their style of play by imbibing an aggressive brand of cricket. Four years on, how are England shaping up for the defence of their World Cup? Do they have enough resources to fill different positions the way they want? What about injury woes? To understand the dynamics of the Jos Buttler-led side, one has to…