Author: Bharath Ramaraj

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…

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…