Author: Bharath Ramaraj

The clock tick-tocks relentlessly and stops for none. Even your superheroes would one day walk into the sunset of their careers. MS Dhoni has certainly been a superhero for many. But as he celebrates his 42nd birthday, it is fair to say he is at the fag end of his illustrious career. So, it is perhaps time to recollect a trail of early memories from when Dhoni was known more as a ticket collector than a trophy winner. The year was 2002. Newspapers were very much in vogue, and for a cricket aficionado, ‘brief scores’ were still a source…

Just over four to five months ago, in February this year, James Anderson was making the pink ball move this way and that as he ran through the heart of the New Zealand batting unit at Bay Oval. At 14,187 days, Anderson soon became the oldest No.1-ranked Test match bowler since Clarrie Grimmett. At that moment, it felt as if Anderson was a freak of nature. After all, in the previous series in Pakistan, he bowled with tactical nous, augmenting it with subtle swing and supreme fitness. But as an athlete gets on the wrong side of 30, questions are asked:…

It was 3.00 PM in the afternoon, and the players involved in the Duleep Trophy game between North Zone and North East Zone were going through the routine tea break. The crows were upping the ante with calls of “caw” and “kraa”. And there was some generator running behind at full speed. Other than that, there was silence. A few minutes passed by and play resumed, with North Zone already in front by more than 600 runs. Soon they declared their second innings. Amid all the silence, a 22-year-old Harshit Rana bounded to the crease and started a brisk…

When you imagine sport on the African continent, you envisage a young kid dribbling and swerving across a football pitch. Whether it be the Sahara region, the Ethiopian Highlands, the Savannah, the Swahili Coast, the rainforests, or Southern Africa, the continent is synonymous with the magic of football. But in Zimbabwe, a quintessentially English game has steadily gained popularity. Dave Houghton, the Zimbabwe cricketer-turned-coach, has seen it all. The many troughs and a few peaks that the country has managed to scale over the past four decades. He was part of the Zimbabwe side that famously defeated Australia in a 1983…

India v Bangladesh – Pune, October 19 Over a period of time, most of the surfaces for limited-overs cricket at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune have been batting-friendly. If one needs further evidence, eight 300-plus scores have been achieved in just seven ODIs at the ground. More importantly, teams have twice chased down targets in excess of 300. In Pune, the muggier period generally lasts from April 30 to November 9 (Source – Weatherspark.com). So, that could lead to the dew factor coming into play during the World Cup. When India lock horns with Bangladesh, we could witness…

Many years ago, Priyank Panchal’s childhood coach made a prophecy about how he would one day end up playing for India. That prediction almost came true in 2021-22. “One of my coaches, when I went to a coaching camp, said, ‘this boy will play for India’,” Panchal told RevSportz. “I remember those words, and I did end up being in the Indian squad (for the tour of South Africa). The name of my coach was Kiran Prambath.” Although Panchal hasn’t yet played for India, he has been a prolific run-getter for Gujarat in first-class cricket, having amassed 7,901 runs. He has…

The iconic photo frame of Geraint Jones pouching a catch to dismiss Michael Kasprowicz at Edgbaston in 2005 is still etched in the minds of fans around the cricketing world. Around 18 years and 6500-odd days later, a little more history would be penned in connection with Edgbaston. And this time around, Australia emerged victorious by two wickets, with Pat Cummins, the Australian captain, hitting the winning runs. As he deflected one off Ollie Robinson through third man, the Australian dressing room was in raptures while the home crowd was silenced. Cummins himself went into delirium as he lifted Nathan Lyon in…

The pendulum continued to oscillate to and fro in the opening Ashes Test at Edgbaston, and after four days, both Australia and England would think they were in with a chance to take a 1-0 lead in the series. At stumps, Australia were 107 for 3, needing a further 174 to seal a famous victory. With about one hour to go for the end of day’s play, Australia seemed to be in the ascendancy as they had all ten wickets in hand. Just when it seemed as if the England fielders’ shoulders were drooping, Ollie Robinson bowled one a tad fuller…

On a day of fluctuating fortunes, Usman Khawaja’s patient unbeaten 126 didn’t just help Australia resurrect their innings, but also put them in a position of strength in the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston. At stumps on the second day, Australia were 311 for 5, trailing by just 82. Cameron Green (38), Travis Head (50) and Alex Carey (52*) also played their parts with vital hands. The day commenced with David Warner and Khawaja looking to navigate their way through a tricky opening spell from Stuart Broad. Broad used the wobble seam to good effect, and was eventually rewarded with…

A little less than 27 years ago, a few of us were playing India’s favourite pastime – a game of cricket. After all, on a school holiday, it was time to bring out the bat, ball, stumps and play some gully cricket. But during one of those friendly matches, a friend of mine ended up telling us that Star Sports was showing the highlights of the US Open second-round match between Leander Paes and Andre Agassi, the 1994 US Open champion. As someone who was a passionate tennis follower, it was time for me to abandon the cricket match and…