Author: Boria Majumdar

Boria Majumdar in London Sunil Gavaskar arrives The Dilip Sardesai masterclass of 212 had given the Indians a lot of confidence in the first Test in Jamaica in 1971. And the confidence gained was on display as the team played its next tour game in St Kitts. Playing the Leeward islands, India decided on resting all three frontline spinners, Bedi, Prasanna and Venkat, and yet managed to bowl the opponents out for 147 in the first innings with Jaisimha picking five. This was in response to the Indian score of 361-6 declared, an innings that saw Sunil Gavaskar bat for…

Boria Majumdar I was in the Compton Stand recording for my show when Rishabh Pant walked across the ground on his way to the press conference room. Seeing him go past and seeing the message from the Indian media manager that they were indeed on their way, I too started walking towards the press conference venue. I was a few steps behind Rishabh when Trisha asked me if I was ready for the live show. I suggested to her that we should go live straight after the press meet. Rishabh heard me say that and turned towards me with a…

Boria Majumdar in London A tour isn’t only about covering games. The behind-the-scenes is as much the story as the matches themselves. These stories are sometimes dark and sometimes funny. Whichever way you look at them, they are part of your diary. It started the day my colleagues landed in Birmingham. While Gargi missed her connection from Dubai to Birmingham with the war in the Middle East delaying flights, others in the team missed the coach from Birmingham to Leeds. As if this wasn’t enough, Amit Shah misplaced the apartment keys (one of the three apartments that we were using)…

Boria Majumdar and Rohit Juglan While some may remember him for Javed Miandad’s last-ball six in Sharjah, they may not be aware of the mental toughness that took Chetan Sharma to England just months later, and a place on the Honours Board at Lord’s. His 18 wickets played a huge part in the 1986 series win, and he spoke exclusively to Boria Majumdar and Rohit Juglan about his expectations for Lord’s, the bond with Akash Deep and how impressive Shubman Gill has been, both as a batsman and leader. Take me back to your fond memories of 1986? You know…

Boria Majumdar in London Shubman Gill speaks of application in the post-Edgbaston scenario. He says the batters must keep applying themselves. Having spent hours at the crease during the second Test, Gill the batter has demonstrated what application is all about. He was a genius who England had no answer to. But, is captain Gill asking for something from some of his players that they are consistently capable of producing? Can Yashaswi Jaiswal, for instance, apply himself against a quality opposition like Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson and a swinging red ball at Lord’s? An excellent player, does he have…

Boria Majumdar in London Today is Sourav Ganguly’s birthday. He turns 53. And yet, every Bengali still loves to remember him as a young 20-something taking Lord’s by storm on a damp early English summer day in June 1996. Yes, it was some 29 years back, on June 20, 1996, but for us in Bengal, it is still as fresh a memory as India’s Edgbaston win. Pushed up the order to No. 3 in an attempt to expose him to the most challenging of conditions, Sourav Ganguly’s initiation into Test cricket was a real baptism by fire. The stage was…

Boria Majumdar in London In the course of the last week, almost a thousand comments popped up on our shows from people who said India will lose 0-5. Many of them also suggested that without Virat Kohli playing, there is no buzz. The truth is, Edgbaston was packed to capacity on each of the first four days and even on the final one. Despite the rain in the morning, it was a sizeable crowd. In fact, Indian fans had taken over the Eric Hollies Stand and the noise was deafening. No individual has ever been bigger than the sport and…

Boria Majumdar at Edgbaston He was on his way back to India and, I must say, was missing the action. “I’d have loved to stay on for Lord’s but as you know, I need to be back in Kolkata for some pressing work,” said Sourav Ganguly as we caught up on a video call. Ganguly had said ahead of the series that he saw huge potential in Shubman Gill and that India’s new No. 4 had it in him to take over from the great Virat Kohli. And now that he had been vindicated, he was mighty pleased. “Shubman is…

Not many had given this young Indian bowling attack a chance. In fact, the moment it was known that Jasprit Bumrah wasn’t playing, it was suggested that England would score 600 each time they batted and India did not stand a chance. Such words always have one desired impact – they hurt the egos of elite high performers and push them to go one step further to prove the critics wrong. Akash Deep, who was hardly given much build-up ahead of the Test match, decided to put his hand up, and how. Each time India needed something special, he was…

Boria Majumdar in Birmingham There is something about watching young fast bowlers. The skill and the hunger to make things work. The joy when things finally fall in place and the ecstasy that one feels seeing something fantastic unfold. Akash Deep’s spell in the last hour of Day 4 was one such experience. He was on song from the very first over. The ball to Ben Duckett where India lost a review was the perfect example of skill. Even the great Mohammed Shami, who Akash models himself on, would have been proud to bowl that one. It pitched on middle,…