Author: Boria Majumdar

Boria Majumdar in Manchester There are two results possible in the fourth Test. An England win and a draw, which will mean India bat superbly and save the game. That’s what takes me back to Sachin Tendulkar and his first international hundred. It was a match-saving one at Old Trafford in 1990, something that Shubman Gill will have to emulate at the same venue if he wants to keep the series alive. Tendulkar stood up to his tag of prodigy in what was also the debut Test of Anil Kumble. His unbeaten 119 and his unbroken seventh-wicket partnership of 160…

Boria Majumdar in Manchester Whoever decided to hand Anshul Kamboj a Test debut has done the young man a disservice. It turned out to be a poor call for India and might end up scarring the bowler forever. Truth be told, he isn’t ready for this stage. He doesn’t look the part and is fish out of water. He could well be jet lagged. And also unfit. Someone who bowls at an average of 125 kmph cannot be a new-ball bowler at this level and his inclusion has completely destroyed the balance of India’s bowling attack. Look at him and…

Boria Majumdar in Manchester How good is Ben Stokes and is there anything that he can’t do? Be it the Ashes, World Cup or the current series versus India, the all-rounder has had maximum impact each time he has played under mounting pressure. An extraordinary athlete, Stokes is always in the game and what you get from him is 100 per cent commitment when he steps out for his team. Blessed with incredible talent, Stokes has honed his skills over the years and is now in that zone where he can hardly put a foot wrong on a day…

Boria Majumdar in Manchester At the time when Rishabh Pant got injured, few in their sane minds would have expected him to come out and bat. It was an external injury, which doesn’t warrant a replacement, and the first thought was this would give England an unfair advantage. India, for no fault of theirs, would be reduced to 10 and it is against the very grain of a level playing field. Should there be no provision in the playing regulations whereby such an issue can be addressed? In what could be a huge development for cricket, sources confirm that the…

Boria Majumdar in Manchester Sport is all about challenging yourself. About breaking barriers. About pushing the bar and setting new benchmarks. Anil Kumble with his jaw bandaged picking up Brian Lara’s wicket will forever be a picture postcard moment. The same for Nathan Lyon in the 2023 Ashes when he had come to the press conference in crutches. These are moments when you realise you are watching human endeavour of a very different league. The moment Shardul Thakur got out the entire press box was keen to see who came out. Each one of us looked out for the Indian…

What’s the one thing about Indian sport that I want to see changed? And why is it such a problem? The answer is simple and staring us at the face. India’s courts are already overburdened and, almost on a daily basis, I see sports disputes ending up in court. I would not be wrong if I said that it takes ages to find satisfactory resolution, and in the meantime, the sport suffers. Athletes suffer from insecurity with things coming to a standstill, and the overall governance gets impacted as well. Ask anyone, and you will know that a faster…

Boria Majumdar in Manchester Rishabh Pant’s injury was one of the most unfortunate moments of day 1 in Manchester. In fact, it could well be one of the most inopportune moments of the entire series. And the truth is, it was a freakish injury. An external injury which could well rule out a key player out of the series. And in doing so, hand England a huge advantage in this match. This is where the rules should be revisited. If the ICC can allow a substitute for concussion, why is it that they won’t allow a substitute for an external…

Boria Majumdar at Old Trafford He has been one of the most consistent batters in recent seasons of the Indian Premier League (IPL). But then, the IPL and Test cricket are chalk and cheese. Sai Sudharsan had experienced it in Leeds, when he got out for a duck. In the second innings, he was batting well before Ben Stokes exploited his on-side weakness and got him caught at short midwicket. Thereafter, he did not get another opportunity. With India going with Karun Nair at No. 3, Sai had to sit out. While he did take a few catches, it is…

Manchester, July 23 It is actually a myth that cricket is a gentlemanly sport, with the spirit of the game at its very core. The truth is it is like any other sport where teams do anything to win. And yet, they keep mentioning the spirit of the game argument. More so, if the action takes place at Lord’s. Listen to the English press conferences over the last two days, and you tend to think that the Indians are the only culprits who jumped on two innocent openers in Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, who weren’t really doing anything to…

Boria Majumdar in Manchester Back in Manchester one of the key things I was looking forward to seeing was if Rishabh Pant trained full steam with the Indian team on matchday-minus-two. India missed Pant the leader at Lord’s. His presence on the field, constant ideations with Shubman Gill and his contributions from behind the wicket was a key aspect of India’s fightback in Birmingham. May I say I was delighted to see Pant back full steam. He fielded with gusto, participated in each of the fielding drills and was involved in the banter and then kept wickets for a good…