Author: Bharath Ramaraj

Despite suffering a collapse, the West Indies managed to overhaul India’s target of 153 with seven balls to spare as they took a 2-0 lead in the T20I series. Nicholas Pooran (67 runs) and the bowlers were the main architects of the win. At 126 for 4, with Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer at the crease, the West Indies seemed to be cruising towards a win. However, they lost wickets in a heap and soon slipped to 129 for 8. Pooran smacked one towards Sanju Samson at cover-point. In the 16th over, Romario Shepherd was run out on the back of…

Copparam Shreyas Hareesh, a 13-year-old racing prodigy from Bengaluru, tragically died in a crash during the third round of the MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship at the Madras International Circuit. The rider succumbed to severe head injuries. Haresh, who took pole position for the race, met with the accident while coming through turn one. Haresh lost his balance, fell and sustained a fatal injury. The race was soon red-flagged, and the young rider was immediately taken to the hospital that was close by, with the help of a trauma care ambulance. Unfortunately, he was declared dead on…

Almost every single time South Zone’s Rohan Kunnummal played a shot in the Deodhar Trophy final against East Zone, there was a touch of swagger. On enough occasions, the follow through of his bat ended up somewhere around head high or just behind his helmet. When the bowlers pitched it fuller, he cracked lofts and flicks. When they banged it in shorter, out come the debonair square cuts. More importantly, after failing to convert a few starts in the tournament, he had cracked a thrill-a-minute hundred. “It was really special to contribute, especially in the final,” Kunnummal told RevSportz. “I…

A fine all-round performance helped the West Indies edge past India by a mere four runs in the first T20I in Trinidad. The visitors could only muster 145 for 9 in pursuit of a target of 150. With four overs to go, India needed 37 runs on a track that offered some spongy bounce. It soon became 32 runs off three overs, with Alzarri Joseph bowling a tight over. At that moment, Axar Patel landed a meaty blow down the ground off Holder, reducing the equation to 21 runs off two overs. However, India suffered another setback when McCoy used…

Hockey has been quite synonymous with Chennai since the early 19th century when the Madras Cricket Club started conducting the Madras Hockey Tournament. If we turn the pages of history, one of the fond memories of watching hockey in Chennai would be India drubbing South Korea 7-2 in the final of the Asia Cup in 2007. It is 2023 now, and Chennai’s love affair with hockey continues as the Asian Champions Trophy will be held at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium from August 3 to August 12. India, Pakistan, China, Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia are the six participating teams. Here’s…

March 12, 2008 – Just before leaving for a routine Project Management class, there was a report that caught the writer’s eye. ‘England axe Steve Harmison and Matthew Hoggard’. Stuart Broad and James Anderson, his long-time pace partner, were the two bowlers who replaced the senior pros for the Wellington Test. Some 15 years later, while typing vigorously to write on Broad’s retirement, this particular moment flashed in the mind like a bulb. At that time, Broad had played a solitary Test, and it seemed like the Peter Moores-led England think-tank was taking a huge risk by asking the Nottinghamshire…

There is something brutal and captivating about a fast bowler charging to the crease with boundless energy and sending the batters ducking for cover. On December 7, 2022, we saw a glimpse of that in an ODI played between India and Bangladesh. Umran Malik, the Indian pacer, hit the experienced Shakib Al Hasan twice on the helmet. In the very next over, from round the wicket, Umran created the inward angle and castled Najmul Shanto. Both Shakib and Shanto were rooted on the back foot as they feared Umran’s sheer pace through the air. The way Umran’s teammates mobbed him after watching the…

In what turned out to be a one-sided affair at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, India posted a comfortable five-wicket win against the West Indies to take a 1-0 lead in the ODI series. India chased down the paltry target of 115 with 27 overs to spare. The spin twins – Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja – starred for India by sharing seven wickets between them. On a track that offered some tennis-ball bounce and movement, the Indian pace bowlers struck early, with Hardik Pandya removing Kyle Mayers. For a brief period of time, Alick Athanaze and Brandon King played horizontal-bat…

Korea Open – Lost in the round of 32. US Open – Lost in the Quarterfinals. Canada Open – Lost in the semi-finals. Indonesia Open – Lost in the Round of 16. Singapore Open – Lost in the Round of 32. Thailand Open – Lost in the Round of 32. Malaysia Masters – Lost in the semi-final. All England Championships – Lost in the Round of 32. Swiss Open – Lost in the Round of 16. PV Sindhu’s report card for this year makes for sorry reading indeed. In the last few months, she hasn’t just been losing to her…

The final day of the fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford turned out to be a damp squib as not a single ball was bowled due to persistent rain. Play was finally called off at about 6.40PMl. With the Test ending in a stalemate, Australia retained the Ashes, having won the 2021-22 series at home. Meanwhile, it turned out to be a heartbreak for Ben Stokes and the English band of brothers as the home side were in control of proceedings in the fourth Test, with Australia still 61 runs adrift of making England bat again. There seemed to be a slight…