Author: Boria Majumdar

Sport is all about winning the big moments. That’s what separates the men from the boys, and the great from the ordinary. And that’s what the real legacy of MS Dhoni is all about. Two world cups and a Champions Trophy stand testimony. Add four IPL titles to the list, and you have a record unmatched. The 2011 World Cup, his greatest achievement as a player, was a poor one for Dhoni the batsman. Up until the final at least. Till then, there was not much from the skipper that one could rave about. And when India were three down…

Watching cricket during the Doordarshan days had its own charm and nostalgia. Sunil Gavaskar’s surreal technique became live and real in that disturbing black-and-white Beltek or Telerama. But what used to fascinate us was how fans evaded a posse of uniformed cops and sneaked up to the centre of the pitch to garland Gavaskar or maybe just hug him or touch him. It’s more than three-and-a-half decades since Gavaskar retired, but India remains a “Cricketer Loving Nation”. You can beef up the security at any stadium as much as you can but the “fan on the street”, encouraged by Paulo…

He is the best in the business, and has been for a few years now. And with time, Rashid Khan has only gotten better. Teams now know they need to play him out and not give him wickets. They know he is a threat and prepare for him accordingly. But he is always a step ahead. He knows he has to win the battle in the mind, and prepares himself the best he can. Yet again, that was evident in the game against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). When everyone around him went for nearly 10 an over or more, Rashid…

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) were below par all season. And there was chaos all around. From injuries to not getting the combination right, it was a forgettable season for the Kolkata franchise. With Andre Russell not firing consistently, the question of who would finish off a batting innings became paramount. And amidst all this chaos, KKR found some order. They found Rinku Singh. With 51 needed in three overs, many would have panicked. Tried to hasten things up and made a mistake. Not Rinku. He was Zen-like. Calm and composed. Very like MS Dhoni at his peak. It was as…

It wasn’t the best season for Delhi Capitals. Batting woes to start with and batting woes to finish, Delhi never really got going right through the season. Barring Dave Warner. He fought each time he stepped out. At times, a lone battle. And it was only fitting that he finished off with a belligerent 86 off 58 in Delhi’s final game against Chennai Super Kings (CSK). While some will speak about his strike-rate, one only needs to look at what was happening at the other end to know that Warner was more often than not a one-man army. Warner is…

From the Archives Little-known Controversies of Indian Cricket One of the greatest victories in India’s cricket history was the 1971 series win against England in England. While Ray Illingworth, the English captain, was sounding the bugle, India had a series of problems going into the tour. All of a sudden, there was bad blood between the manager and the players, which could have impacted performance. It started with the Bapu Nadkarni incident, which was barely reported in the Indian press. One reason for this may be the victory at the Oval, which helped mask differences and made sure the controversies…

There is already a lot of talk about the ball to be used in the World Test Championship (WTC) final. More so after Ricky Ponting mentioned at a promotional event that it could be the Kookaburra and not the Dukes, which is what is traditionally used in England. The ICC, however, has clarified that it will indeed be the Dukes and not the Kookaburra that is used in the final. A senior ICC source said that they always go with the ball used locally. In this case, it will be the Dukes that’s the chosen one. So what’s the difference…

Aiden Markram, the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) captain, said he “doesn’t know what’s going on behind the scenes” when asked about Umran Malik. This after he stated that Malik was a player with the X-factor, one who bowls at 150 km/h. For a youngster, there could be nothing more damaging than a comment like this from the captain. Malik was the toast of the franchise a year earlier. This time round, he has been benched and for reasons his captain doesn’t seem to know. Pace, it must be said, is a very rare skill. You either have it or you don’t.…

Sunrisers Hyderabad scored 186 off their 20 overs. So, close to 9.5 an over, which by every yardstick was a healthy scoring rate in Hyderabad. In a match where the batting team scored at such a rate, Mohammed Siraj conceded 17 off his four overs. An economy rate of 4.25, to be exact. And this was not the first time that Siraj has done so this IPL. Time and again, he has stepped up for RCB. He has run in hard, picked up wickets at important times and been the go-to man for Faf Du Plessis right through the season.…

KL Rahul put it well. No matter who you are, or how accomplished, it is often very difficult to stay insulated from vicious social-media trolling. Rahul has been the subject of incessant abuse over the last few months, and tried to put things in context by saying that no one plays to lose. But to be abused or trolled the way they are, it is tough on the person and their family. We saw even Mahendra Singh Dhoni being trolled in India last year. His wife and young daughter too were dragged into it. Their fault? That Dhoni had not…