Author: Boria Majumdar

Boria Majumdar in Leeds It was as if Farokh Engineer was waiting for the call. The moment Rishabh Pant scored the hundred, I dialled Engineer, for I was certain he would be celebrating. “I was playing bridge and watching Rishabh,” said Engineer unable to contain his excitement. “Absolutely incredible innings this was. I enjoyed every minute of it.” “How many hundreds has got?” he asked me. “Must be 12-13?” Even before I could answer that he now had eight in Tests, Engineer had started again, “This is the age of batsman-wicketkeepers, and as a batter-keeper, Rishabh Pant is undoubtedly the…

Boria Majumdar in Leeds This has been a real exhibition from KL Rahul. An innings of serious class and discipline. There have been phases of the game where he was beaten multiple times. He was lucky to survive a peach from Chris Woakes. But at no point did he give up. He didn’t mind looking ugly at times. It was proper Test match batting. He got a few blows into his body and yet stayed put. Rahul wasn’t ready to give up and that’s what India needed from their star batter. Each time he was beaten you could see Rahul…

On Olympic day it is pertinent to ask as to when did India’s engagement with the Olympic movement actually start? While established histories have traced India’s participation to the Antwerp Games in 1920, there are documents that show that the engagement actually goes back to 1911-12 and there was much talk about India’s possible participation in Stockholm. This was almost a decade before India sent its first set of athletes to Antwerp. These documents, a couple of which are being reprinted for our readers, demonstrate that a series of letters were exchanged between the British Olympic Association, the International Olympic…

Boria Majumdar in Leeds All through his career, much has been said about KL Rahul being given a long rope. And the trolls have had an absolute feast going after him for days on end. The injury in the 2023 IPL, for example, led some to say good riddance, for it ruled him out of the World Test Championship (WTC) final. That he still averages 35 after over a decade in international cricket is often cited as proof of Rahul’s inconsistency at the Test level. For his fans, however, Rahul is penning his own story. And needless to say, his…

Boria Majumdar in Leeds I am running out of superlatives for Jasprit Bumrah, who now has 12 five-fors in away Tests at an average of 19. Catches dropped, chances gone begging, little support from the other end, and yet he keeps coming. Relentless and committed, determined and skilful. A bowler of his skill bowling at the top of his powers is pure art. The thrill of watching him steaming in and bowling is exactly what Test cricket is all about. The moment the ball is handed to him, you kind of know something will happen. The shake of the shoulder,…

Boria Majumdar in Leeds England were in control of proceedings at a potentially decisive stage of play on Day 2 of the first Test. Almost against the run of play, Jasprit Bumrah, India’s talisman, got the wicket of Ben Duckett. Once the cheers subsided, the English section of the crowd started to celebrate almost. Coming out was Joe Root, England’s and perhaps the world’s best batter and someone who has literally tormented teams in the last two years. The ball was fairly old and India were facing the daunting prospect of bowling to Root and Ollie Pope. Making matters worse…

Boria Majumdar in Leeds It was a day of missed opportunities for India. If day one was perfect, day two was the classic imperfect day. First, from 430-3, India collapsed to 471 all out. It was a bad collapse, with the last seven wickets falling for a paltry 41 runs. When almost everyone expected the team to score 550 and bat England out of the game, some poor shots and some good English fielding made sure it was not the case. Even then, 471 was a decent enough score, and with the cloud cover over Headingley, the conditions were perfect…

-Boria Majumdar in Leeds Rishabh Pant in red-ball cricket has always been special. In fact, may I say, we have time and again written about it. Now with seven hundreds, he has the maximum number of centuries by a wicketkeeper-batter for India. More importantly, he has most of his hundreds in SENA countries and is one who is well and truly a red ball great of this generation. Here, the southpaw surpasses MS Dhoni, who had six Test tons. In Headingley, Pant played what has been an exceptional innings. Coming in at the fall of Yashasvi Jaiswal, India needed a…

Boria Majumdar It is all about intensity. That’s what Test cricket is about. And when you have control, you make the most of it and punish the opposition. That’s what India did at Headingley on Day 1. It was indeed a good toss to lose, for Shubman Gill too would have bowled first according to what he said after the coin was flipped. That England opted to bowl could well cost them this game. The first two hours defined India’s batsmanship. They were prepared to grind it out, play close to the body, leave balls outside off stump and refocus…

Boria Majumdar in Leeds In 1996, a 23-year-old Sachin Tendulkar, then India’s No. 4 and captain-in-waiting, led the way at Edgbaston on a wicket that was very difficult to bat on. His colleagues hardly offered any support to the master, who stood tall and made a telling statement in the second innings. It was an innings of pure class. Against an attack that had Dominic Cork and Chris Lewis bowling superbly well, Tendulkar was the lone warrior with a majestic hundred. India were bowled out for 219, with Tendulkar scoring 122 of them. Even Tendulkar, when he thinks back to…