Author: Boria Majumdar

After winning the toss, to 246 all out within an hour after lunch. For England, it passes off as Bazball. In other words, full-scale aggression of a kind that is now England cricket’s trademark. But if you delve deep, some of the shots played were just poor. Not Test match batting by any stretch of imagination. And yet, it’s Bazball. So, it’s all permissible and okay. The best batter on show was Ben Stokes, and whatever he played wasn’t Bazball for sure. He gritted it out for the first 50 balls, and only when he had the tail with him,…

Mahendra Singh Dhoni. One of the greatest Indian icons ever. Someone who has served the country with distinction on the sports field for years and, among other things, even participated in active army exercises. In fact, his love and respect for the Indian army is well-documented, and there is no institution that commands greater respect and glory in this country. And yet, the faceless bigots on social media have decided to attack Dhoni for not going to Ayodhya on January 22. Some even called him “dhobi ka bacha” and “mullah” while attacking him. As I write this piece, the abuse…

A poor AFC Asian Cup campaign has just come to an end, with six goals conceded and none scored. Understandably, social media has gone into meltdown. The usual arguments – a country of 1.3billion and we don’t even have 11 half-decent players – are doing the rounds. Sack Igor Stimac is also trending. Remove Stimac, for sure. With immediate effect. For the moment you do, Indian football will be back on track. Don’t bother giving the next coach time to prepare the national team for absolutely vital World Cup qualifiers in March and June, and then get rid of him…

It was early on Monday afternoon that the BCCI sent out a press release announcing that Virat Kohli has asked for a break for the duration of the first two Test matches against England. As was expected, social media went into meltdown soon after. There were two different kinds of arguments doing the rounds. First, the naysayers who questioned Kohli and his commitment to the Indian cricket team. They used the MS Dhoni example. Dhoni had opted to stay on in Australia for a Test series during the birth of his child, and that was reason enough for Kohli’s nationalism…

The Sania Mirza divorce has been the talk of social media for two days now. Even since Shoaib Malik posted news of his recent marriage, comments have flooded every social media platform. So much so that the Mirza family eventually had to issue a statement requesting privacy. This issue demonstrates what social media is all about. Flippant and unwarranted intrusiveness into celebrity lives, in the guise of being a necessary evil of our times. The divorce is a very personal matter between two people. Just like the marriage was, so is the divorce. How and why anyone in the outside…

The first point defined the match. To leave the first serve of the match so confidently speaks of a state of mind. It was yet again on display at 10-13 in the second game. Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik had started to take control and the Indian pair looked somewhat on the back foot half way into the second game. That’s when the burst came. In exactly a minute and 10 seconds when a hit to the eye slowed the game down, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were back on even terms. And thereafter, it was a canter. Relentless…

It is not easy being an Indian sports fan. For years, it hasn’t been. And the story has hardly changed. India rarely wins anything big in sport, and that’s a reality which hasn’t changed much. Even in cricket, a sport India dominates financially, it’s Australia, England and West Indies that have taken home the trophies that matter in the past decade. The last ICC trophy was won 10 years ago, and yet, the Indian fan has stayed true. The minuscule section of toxic supporters notwithstanding, the Indian fan is largely used to suffering heartbreaks. And yet, they don’t give up.…

Edited Extract from Mission Domination: An unfinished quest by Boria Majumdar and Kushan Sarkar. Rishabh Pant was dubbed a “young pretender”, “next big thing”, “adorable boy next door” and “wasted talent” all in a space of 18 months. He was always treading the thin line between heroism and insanity. So did the fickle minded fans, who would want him to hit sixes on demand as if it’s a concert where you want the singer to belt out numbers at your will. “From the World Cup to Australia, it was an eventful journey,” said Rishabh during an interaction with us. “We…

Even the normally stoic MS Dhoni was excited and jubilant on occasions. That’s how tense it was in Ranchi. When the video umpire awarded India the second goal in the penalty shootout, Dhoni was ecstatic. We all were. Few imagined that a valiant effort would end in heartbreak, and India would have to fight another day for the ticket to Paris. But then, that’s sport. Beautiful and cruel at the same time. On Thursday night, it was all too cruel for Savita Punia and her team. They were so close yet, so far. On Friday evening, things could be profoundly…

He made 64 runs off the last 14 balls and a 100 at a strike-rate of 170. And then back-to-back Super-Over heroics ahead of his younger teammates. Rohit Sharma will be mighty pleased with this effort after two consecutive ducks. What this knock has done is helped silence all noise. It will now allow him to build the team for the T20 World Cup in peace. Rohit, anyone who watched him bat last night would agree, started out scratchily. One or two edges, a few missing the edge by not much, and it seemed the skipper was feeling the pressure.…