Author: Bharath Ramaraj

From Kandy An India-Pakistan contest can serve up a different kind of gravy on the menu: Frenzied atmosphere and expectations that reach a zenith. Not that there was much to see outside the Pallekele Stadium on Friday morning, on the eve of the match. There was a decent queue building outside the ticket counter. A few of them perhaps came at around 5.30 AM to wait for the counter to open. Although big banners of all the captains at the stadium did indicate a major tournament was being held in Pallekele. As the sun began to slowly fade away…

From Kandy Matheesha Pathirana, the Sri Lanka fast bowler, could be forgiven if he believed his stars were not aligned while playing for his country. Just a year ago, in the Asia Cup, his opening over in his maiden T20I went for 16 runs. A year later, when Pathirana won his maiden one-day international cap, he was expensive in his first two overs, conceding 20. However, it seemed like a matter of time before the gift-wrapped cricketer would break the barrier and make a significant contribution to Sri Lankan cricket. Pathirana certainly did that in Sri Lanka’s Asia Cup 2023…

The windscreen wiper of the taxi moved relentlessly with the sound – tuck, tuck and tuck – and that seemed to rhyme well with the sound of raindrops – pitter, patter. The beautiful sound of humming raindrops was one of the reasons to stay awake while travelling from Colombo Airport to Kandy. But it wasn’t just the playful raindrops that acted as magic right through the journey. The ever-smiling faces and the warmth of the Sri Lankans – right from the taxi agents at the airport, to the taxi driver and the hotel manager – that lifted the mood after…

Afghanistan: The Hashmatullah Shahidi-led side, placed in Group B, will believe they have the tools to progress to the Super Fours. In the second round, it would be more about absorbing the pressure and seizing the crucial moments. With Jonathan Trott as the coach, Afghanistan’s batters seem to be playing with a bit more method. In the recently concluded ODI series against Pakistan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, the openers, showed enough evidence of it by sharing an alliance of 227. Ultimately, Afghanistan finished with a score of 300 on the board. Even in the ODI rubber versus Bangladesh, the…

Note: The second part of the series featuring India, Pakistan and Afghanistan will appear soon. Watch this space. Aeons ago, in the sweltering heat of Sharjah, a tri-series involving India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan was held. It was a low-profile series, with India usurping Pakistan by 54 runs to be crowned the inaugural Asia Cup champions. Some four decades later, on the eve of the 16th edition of the Asia Cup, it can safely be said that the profile of the tournament has increased tenfold. Just to illustrate the point further, an India-Pakistan game is set to cost an advertiser…

Dilshan Madushanka and Lahiru Kumara, the Sri Lankan pace duo, are set to be ruled out of the upcoming Asia Cup, RevSportz understands. Madushanka has been laid low by an oblique muscle tear. On the other hand, Kumara has sustained a side strain. Meanwhile, Wanindu Hasaranga, the spinning-all-rounder, has been struggling with a thigh strain, and could also miss out on playing in the Asia Cup. To make matters worse for Sri Lanka, Dushmantha Chameera has already been ruled out with a shoulder injury. Incidentally, the pace bowler has also been troubled by ankle problems. Kasun Rajitha, Binura Fernando and…

Just a small tweet can narrate a story. As the clock struck 12 on a Sunday night, Neeraj Chopra made a successful throw at the World Athletics Championships. As this writer posted on ‘X’ on Neeraj cracking the code with a throw of 88.17m, replies came thick and fast about how to watch the men’s javelin final. There was live feed for the javelin final. However, as events were held simultaneously, only the crucial moments of the final featuring the Indian were shown. Millions of fans had to scroll through the official website to keep track of the standings. A…

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…