Author: Boria Majumdar

England versus India at Durban on February 26, 2003 will always be remembered for two fascinating sub-plots. The first was Ashis Nehra’s match-winning spell of 6-23, perhaps the best he ever bowled in his career. The second was Sachin Tendulkar against Andrew Caddick. Caddick-Sachin had started on the 2002 tour of England and the 2003 World Cup was a continuation of the evolving rivalry. Ahead of the tournament, Caddick had said a few things about Sachin and while the master claimed he had no idea of what was said or reported, word did go to him that the things…

Sumit Antil, who broke his own world record three times in 45 minutes at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo, did it again in Hangzhou. Another world record with a huge throw of 73.29m. And yet, Sumit isn’t trending. There are no Twitter/X threads about him. No breaking-news coverage on national television. No banner headlines in newspapers. Even sports websites don’t have him as the lead story. While the Prime Minister has been stellar in celebrating Para athletes, the mainstream media has been extremely lukewarm. There has been hardly any coverage, and yet we wish to call ourselves an inclusive society…

Sachin Tendulkar has forever shared a great bond with Bishan Singh Bedi. Bishanji was the coach when he toured New Zealand as a 16-year-old and then scored his first Test hundred during the tour of England in 1990. It was only natural that I would call Sachin and ask for his reaction at the passing away of Bishanji. Soon after I had messaged him, telling him why I wanted to speak, came the call. And for the next 15 minutes or so, Sachin travelled down memory lane and left me with words that just needed to be reproduced. Here is…

Lord’s 2014, and England had given India a green top. Despite Ajinkya Rahane’s fine first-innings ton, India were far from safe going into the second innings. And when MS Dhoni got dismissed leaving Murali Vijay stranded, hopes of an Indian win seemed remote. In walked Ravindra Jadeja. Two hours later, we saw the first sword dance. Jadeja’s 50 set up the match. Thanks to Ishant Sharma’s super bowling effort, India won a famous victory, which also owed much to Jadeja’s grit. He did the same in Australia in that famous away series win in 2021. With Rahane, captaining in Virat…

This was his first World Cup game. And India were very much under the pump. So, in every sense, the pressure was on Mohammed Shami. Had it been any other side, Shami would be a certainty. But India now have Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, which has forced Shami to be the third seamer. But then, champions wait for an opportunity. Hardik Pandya’s injury was one such for Shami. Had Hardik been fine, Shami wouldn’t have played. And that’s why it is said that someone’s bad luck is another person’s opportunity. Shami with incredible figures of 5-54 grabbed the opportunity…

The Indian team is playing some of its best cricket in the World Cup. Four wins out of four, and the manner in which Rohit Sharma’s team has gone about the job so far has been most heartening. They have been near-flawless, and it is no accident that India are eyeing the top rung of the ladder. Just as we feel a sense of delight watching the team, we feel a serious sense of shame seeing a section of the fans and the way they have conducted themselves in the stadiums. India are hosts of the World Cup, and fans…

The double-hundred was there for the taking. But as is very David Warner, he was trying to push the scoring rate even further and perhaps not thinking of the individual landmark. Having struggled in the first few games, Warner needed a big innings to make a statement. For him and for Australia. Sadly for Pakistan, they were exposed to his ire. On a day when Warner is in this sort of mood, there is no stopping him. Having known Warner for years, I can say with certainty that he isn’t one to just hold on to his position. Even before…

With the advent of DRS technology umpires have been reduced to being robots on the field. For everything they have the option of going up. It is a thankless job. You do it well and no one will speak about you. You make a mistake and you are the talk of the town. And when you are umpiring a cricket match where Virat Kohli has scored a 100, it is near impossible you will get even a line of newsprint. And yet Richard Kettleborough has. He is trending on social media platforms this morning as well, 12 hours after…

Niccolo Campriani is a great champion of our times. An Olympic legend who won back-to-back golds in London 2012 and Rio 2016, and then went on to make a significant impact on sport as an administrator. His work on the refugee project with India’s own Abhinav Bindra has helped change lives. Now as Sports Director of Los Angeles 2028, Campriani was in Mumbai for the 141st IOC session. It was a fairly long conversation on Tuesday morning. It lasted more than 30 minutes. And yet, the time just flew. With Nicco, a mind like few others, you are able to…

I was with Saurav Ghosal in Delhi when the Thomas Bach, International Olympic Committee (IOC) president made the announcement that the Executive Board had recommended the inclusion of all five sports put forth by LA 28 to the session in Mumbai. From there on, it was just a formality and Ghosal knew it. Soon after President Bach made the announcement, Saurav and I looked at each other. He was all smiles, and knew the inevitable question was coming. And I had to ask him. The conversation thereafter touched upon a number of things, and time just flew. Here are the…