Author: Bharath Ramaraj

Fifteen seasons of pain, and no silverware. There was hope amongst Royal Challengers Bangalore’s fans that the IPL 2023 would be different. But it wasn’t to be. A few players stepped up when it mattered, but RCB couldn’t fire collectively and made an early exit before the play-off stage of the IPL. What we predicted RCB wouldn’t reach the playoffs. The reason was that they seemed to lack the required balance to put on a consistent show through the league phase. It is true that parts of the engine room seemed to be in good shape – Glenn Maxwell, Faf du…

When the auction took place late last year, Sunrisers Hyderabad were hailed as one of the teams to watch out for, and perhaps even title contenders for IPL 2023. However, just like in the previous two years, it turned out to be another season which started with hope, only for the ship to capsize. What we predicted Based on how well-balanced the franchise looked on paper, we had predicted that Hyderabad would qualify for the playoffs. After all they had players like Aiden Markram, Glenn Phillips, Heinrich Klaasen, T Natarajan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and others in the set-up. They had a strong…

In a match that witnessed two superlative hundreds, Shubman Gill’s unbeaten 104 trumped Virat Kohli’s 101 not out as Gujarat Titans ended Royal Challengers Bangalore’s IPL 2023 campaign with a six-wicket win. Here are the takeaways from a rollercoaster of a game. Gill and the royal flourish At the end of the game, Gill’s strike-rate was exactly 200. But his innings wasn’t made up of slogs and agricultural hoicks. Instead, he constructed a splendid innings on the back of unhurried swagger and eye-catching shots. Even when Gujarat lost Vijay Shankar, Dasun Shanaka and David Miller in quick succession, Gill didn’t lose the plot. In the penultimate over,…

Overview With 14 points to their name, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) would eye a win in their final game against Gujarat Titans, the table-toppers, which in turn would almost guarantee them a spot in the playoffs. If RCB lose, then they have to depend on permutations and combinations. RCB are currently one of the form teams in the tournament, having posted comfortable wins in their last two games against Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad. It is the main engine room of RCB – their opening combination of Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli – that have put the side in…

Overview At the business end of the IPL’s league phase, it is about calculations, permutations and combinations. The race for playoffs is so tight that even one of the form teams of the tournament so far – Chennai Super Kings (CSK) – is yet to stamp their place in the next round. CSK looked in good position to qualify, but a six-wicket loss to Kolkata Knight Riders has put a spanner in their works. They now have to beat Delhi Capitals to cement their place in the playoffs. If CSK come out victorious against Delhi, and Lucknow Super Giants slip…

It was mid-August, 2017. The County season was in full swing, and a 24-year-old from Lancashire was hogging the limelight for his sheer bat-speed. While watching the highlights package on Youtube, one could not help but notice the audacious whips and drives, as he cracked a superlative double-ton against the likes of Olly Stone, Keith Barker and Chris Wright. Now 29, Liam Stephen Livingstone has since transformed himself into one of the most feared hitters in T20 cricket. But the image of Livingstone playing with such swagger in that County game has endured. We saw further evidence of his confidence…

In what turned out to be a topsy-turvy game, Delhi Capitals pipped Punjab Kings by the narrow margin of 15 runs in scenic Dharamsala. The loss was a hammer blow for Punjab’s hopes of qualifying for the playoffs. They stay in eighth place with 12 points, and their net run rate of -0.308 also doesn’t make for good reading. Here are the major takeaways from the game. Livingstone’s 94 in vain Liam Livingstone, the powerful Lancashire batter, landed nine sixes and four fours in his splendid 48-ball 94, but still ended up on the losing side. With the required run-rate…

Overview As on 16th May 2023, Punjab Kings are placed a lowly eighth in the IPL 2023 points table with 12 points, while Delhi Capitals, their next opponents, are the bottom-placed side with a mere 8 points. But the competition for playoffs spots is so tight that if Punjab win their next game, they would leapfrog a few sides in the table. It has been another of those up-and-down seasons for Punjab. Just when it seems as if they are on a downward slide, they keep themselves in the hunt with a win. In Punjab’s last game against Delhi,…

A few days ago, a video surfaced on the internet, which showed the 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal feeling some pain and slowly walking back during one of his practice sessions at Rafa Nadal’s Academy. It is still unclear when the video was shot. Although, as per reports, it was shot this week. That viral video has led to more speculations about whether Nadal would recover from his persistent hip injury in time to play the upcoming French Open. It would be an unprecedented event if Nadal decides to withdraw from the event. The first time the tennis legend participated in…

Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran provided the pyrotechnics in the slog overs, alongside Prerak Mankad’s unbeaten 45-ball 64, as Lucknow Super Giants got back to winning ways with an ultimately comfortable seven-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad. Here are the takeaways from the game. Pooran’s blitz It was a box-office display of bravado from Pooran as he cracked a jaw-dropping 13-ball 44 to take Lucknow to a memorable win. Although Stoinis had propped up Lucknow’s innings with a slew of shots, Lucknow still needed someone to hit top gear in the end overs. With 56 needed off 28 balls, Pooran…