Author: Bharath Ramaraj

Shubman Gill cracked seven fours and 10 sixes in the Qualifier 2 game against Mumbai Indians at the Narendra Modi Stadium. But the quality of the shots on view was such that every one of them seemed worthy of being included in the highlights package. How do you leave out all those flicks and glances? What about Gill charging down the deck and lofting a 106-metre six, which left even Hardik Pandya in a state of disbelief? Surely, one has to upload the shimmy down the pitch and the subsequent adjustment he made to short-arm-jab a six off Cameron Green.…

Before the start of the IPL 2023, Lucknow Super Giants looked like one of the front-runners. But the question mark against Lucknow was whether they would be able to take a couple more steps and hoist the trophy. Eventually, they had to again be satisfied with losing out in the Eliminator Round. What we predicted? Lucknow would qualify for the playoffs. They had enough power-hitters in the batting unit –Quinton de Kock, Kyle Mayers, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran and Krunal Pandya. They also had enough hit-the-deck pace bowlers – Mark Wood, Yudhvir Singh, Mohsin Khan and Avesh Khan. Mohsin also…

It has been less than 24 hours since Mumbai Indians thumped Lucknow Super Giants in the Eliminator Round of IPL 2023. During that small window of the last 15-18 hours, the narrative surrounding the Mumbai side has centred on their ability to bounce back after finding themselves in the lower rungs of the points table in the first half of the season. Just that, in a tournament like the IPL, matches come thick and fast, and one loss could end Mumbai’s comeback fairytale. The Rohit Sharma-led side would look to continue on their winning momentum when they lock horns against…

In the second over of Lucknow Super Giants’ innings, Prerak Mankad, their all-rounder, made some room while facing Akash Madhwal. The obvious idea was to make use of the width and crack one through the line over covers or extra-cover. The reality turned out to be something else. He could only slice the ball to the fielder at deep backward point. For a moment or two, you wondered why Mankad lost the shape of his shot? The next frame or replays solved the puzzle surrounding the dismissal. Madhwal perhaps cocked the wrist, with the ball and palm presented to the…

Akash Madhwal put on a spellbinding performance in Chennai, as Mumbai Indians registered a crushing 81-run win over Lucknow Super Giants in the Eliminator Round of IPL 2023. Mumbai will now take on Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2. Here are the highlights from the game. Madhwal fires on all cylinders! Five wickets for just five runs. It turned out to be a dream day for the bowler from Uttarakhand. With a smooth run-up and repeatable action, Madhwal bowled at brisk pace and troubled the Lucknow batters by getting the ball to skid through. Prerak Mankad was the first of his dismissals as…

Test cricket demands that a bowler adapts to different climes. A certain bowler might be endowed with the required tools to pick up a bagful of wickets in India. However, a tour of England or Australia would offer different challenges. With the World Test Championship final against Australia to be held at The Oval in England, the Indian pace bowlers have to work out methods in their training workshops in order to pick up 20 wickets. For a few minutes, let’s peel away the outside cover to understand the bigger picture of how the Indian pace attack might go about…

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…