Author: Bharath Ramaraj

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…

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…