Author: Bharath Ramaraj

After controlling the proceedings on the first three days of the fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford, day four turned out to be a frustrating one for England. As predicted by the weather forecast, rain did play spoilsport. And when it relented, Marnus Labuschagne and Mitchell March frustrated England with a 100-plus stand. Labuschagne also brought up his first Test century in England, as Australia whittled away at the deficit to end up on 214 for 5, still trailing by 61 runs. After a lengthy delay, play resumed at 2.45PM local. On day three, England’s pace bowlers were able to generate some swing with…

Ben Stokes’s reply after England slid to a gut-wrenching loss in the Lord’s Test against Australia was that of a captain who had complete faith in his team. In the first innings of that Test, his batting unit had succumbed to a volley of bouncers, and England’s Bazball approach was roundly criticised. “Reckless is an easy word to use, what me and Brendon (McCullum) have done is give guys complete clarity,” Stokes said at the presentation ceremony. “We don’t ask them to play a certain way, but if they play a certain way, they have the full backing of the…

England’s ‘Bazball’ approach shone brightly on a day when the home side took the ascendancy and finished with 384 for 4 by stumps on the second day of the fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford. Zak Crawley starred with a brilliant 182-ball 189, as England closed 67 runs ahead. Although the conditions seemed quite decent for batting at the start of England’s innings, Pat Cummins would have hoped to make a few early inroads. Barring the initial few overs, when Mitchell Starc removed Ben Duckett for just one, it didn’t turn out that way. Initially, Crawley and Moeen Ali (54…

130 and 150 all out, and defeated by an innings and 141 runs. That is how the West Indies’ sorry report card read in the opening Test in Dominica. Other than winning the toss, at no time in the match did it seem as if the Caribbean side were in the game. On a spin-friendly surface, Ravi Ashwin bagged 12 wickets, and combined with his spin twin Ravindra Jadeja to run through the opponent. So what can the home side do to resurrect their fortunes? Perhaps leave a bit of grass on the surface for the second Test at Port…

In decent conditions for batting, England’s seamers bowled with discipline and nous to reduce Australia to 299 for 8 at close of play on the opening day of the fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford. The highlight of the day was Stuart Broad picking up his 600th Test scalp to become the fifth cricketer to achieve that milestone. After Ben Stokes surprisingly opted to bowl, Australia lost their openers – Usman Khawaja and David Warner – relatively cheaply. Khawaja was trapped in front by Broad’s wobble-seam delivery, while Warner chased an away-going ball from Chris Woakes. At that stage, Steve…

For a sports aficionado, the brain is akin to a cupboard that stores innumerable memories of heartbreaks and triumphs, alongside breathtaking shots and some head-scratching errors. On a pleasant day, at SW19, Carlos Alcaraz Garfia’s mental fortitude and tennis skills touched such a high level that you perhaps have to carve out some extra memory space to store and reminisce some of the rallies on display. To dethrone a player, who hadn’t lost a match at Wimbledon Centre Court for 10 years or 3661 days, it needed someone to scale never-seen-before heights. The 20-year-old Alcaraz certainly did that, and was duly rewarded…

Ravichandran Ashwin returned his best Test figures away from home (12 for 131 runs) as West Indies crashed to an innings-and-141-run loss against India in the opening Test in Dominica. The home side could manage a mere 130 in their second innings. On the third day, with a few more deliveries starting to turn square, West Indies had little or no chance of surviving against the exceptional spin duo of Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Spin was introduced by Rohit Sharma in just the fourth over. Jadeja soon forced Kraigg Brathwaite to edge one behind but Ishan Kishan couldn’t grab the…

On an attritional day in Dominica, Yashasvi Jaiswal’s hundred on Test debut turned out to be the cornerstone of India’s dominance over the West Indies. On the back of hundreds from Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma (103 runs), India progressed to 312 for 2 at stumps, in front by 162 runs. Most of the action during the course of the day’s play took place in the first two sessions. Rohit and Jaiswal began the day by mixing caution with aggression as they added 66 runs in the morning session. In the afternoon session, when India reached the score of 204, the duo…

On a spin-friendly track in Dominica, India dominated proceedings against West Indies, finishing the opening day on 80 for 0, in arrears by just 70 runs. Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja combined to share eight wickets between them as the home side were bundled out for a mere 150. Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal followed that up by ensuring that all Indian wickets remained intact at stumps. The only time West Indies perhaps had something to cheer about was when Kraigg Brathwaite won the toss and elected to bat. On a slightly tacky pitch, Brathwaite and Tagenarine Chanderpaul provided the…

April 12, 1976 turned out to be a red-letter day in the annals of Indian cricket – The visitors chased down a target of 403 against West Indies at Port of Spain, on the back of centuries from Sunil Gavaskar and Gundappa Viswanath, and a gritty 85 from Mohinder Amarnath. Gavaskar, a famous cricketer in Trinidad, was admired and feted for his 102. The adulation that he received was further evidenced by the fact that some fans wanted the venue at Port of Spain to be renamed as ‘Gavaskar Oval’ after he played his final Test at that ground in…