Author: Boria Majumdar

Boria Majumdar in Manchester KL Rahul had just played a brilliant innings but to every Indian’s dismay in Manchester, he was out to that man Ben Stokes. England had the opening they needed and the new ball was round the corner. It was the moment that could have defined the match and the series. Had it not been for Washington Sundar that is. First, it was a surprise to see Washington step out ahead of Ravindra Jadeja. The latter has played the new ball time and again and is perhaps one of India’s best batters this series. And yet, out…

Boria Majumdar in Manchester As Shubman Gill and KL Rahul were putting together their extraordinary resistance on the fourth evening, there was one thing that went in their favour. Ben Stokes wasn’t bowling. He has been England’s man with the magic wand. Each time his team has needed something, the captain has stepped up. Today was no different. Make no mistake, he was in pain. Each time he bowled, he immediately had his right hand on his hamstring and was also seen feeling the shoulder on occasions. But as is the case with Stokes, he kept bowling. Relentless energy and…

Boria Majumdar Test cricket is defined by fight. The was exemplified by India at Old Trafford in the last two sessions of Day 4. A kind of dogged determination that lights up a series and lives in fans’ memories for years on end. And that’s what the Indian team was lacking for the previous two days in Manchester. The bowling was rank poor and it clearly hurt India. And with the top order looking limp, the misery was further piled on after England scored a mammoth 669. It was all left to Shubman Gill and KL Rahul. India desperately needed…

Ahead of this series, Kuldeep Yadav had said to me, “There is this thing with spinners, which is ‘reading the batsmen’, that comes with time and experience. I personally think I have developed that sense of understanding the batsmen’s next move, especially due to my experience playing T20, where it is essential. And this skill is definitely going to help in red-ball cricket as well, to plan my strategy accordingly. “It gives a bowler a different sense of confidence when the bowling style can be adjusted with the batsmen’s strength and weakness. So, the challenge here is to decide on…

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…