Author: Boria Majumdar

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…

Boria Majumdar in Leeds Test cricket is all about playing to the conditions. You need to be ugly on occasion, but do not give up. And that’s exactly what Yashaswi Jaiswal did today at Headingley. For a period, Sunil Gavaskar was sitting with us at the press box and watching the young man bat. And just when he flashed at a ball, you could see the great man’s face contort. “Don’t play too many shots too soon,” he said. “You have loads of talent to do well on this wicket.” Just then, Jaiswal played one of his signature straight…

For decades, Headingley was associated with one of Indian cricket’s lowest points. The scoreboard showing 0-4 in the second innings in 1952, after Fred Trueman and Alec Bedser ran amok with the new ball, remains a sore point. That Vijay Hazare and Dattu Phadkar battled back to make a match of it was forgotten thanks to that one photograph of the scoreboard. By the time India arrived in England in 1986, they had gone 10 Tests without a win – seven of them draws – since beating the same opponents in Mumbai in November-December 1984. England, fresh off a 5-0…

Boria Majumdar There has been much talk about the naming of the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy, and in all of this, Sachin Tendulkar decided to stay silent. In fact, against the backdrop of the Ahmedabad tragedy, he insisted that there should be no celebration over the renaming. Finally, he decided to open up on the entire issue, and also helped set up the England-India series in this exclusive conversation with Boria Majumdar for RevSportz. Boria: Sachin, there has been much controversy over the naming of the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy. You have stayed silent all this while. How do you look at it? Tendulkar:…

Shubman Gill is, no doubt, the next pin-up boy of Indian cricket. After Sunil Gavaskar left the scene, it was Sachin Tendulkar who filled that void. By the time Tendulkar made an entire nation emotional, Virat Kohli was ready to take the baton from him. And now that Kohli has retired, it is Gill who is the next in line. Gill’s story is of perseverance, hard work, unbelievable talent and also the sacrifices of a family that moved out of its comfort zone to build a career for their beloved child. His father, Lakhwinder Singh, is a farmer, as is…

Boria Majumdar in Leeds Talks over the last few days had centered around Gautam Gambhir’s return to England and when he would rejoin the team. The Indian team head coach did so late last evening and was extremely hands-on in India’s first practice session at the Headingley cricket ground. Gambhir had to fly back home after his mother was hospitalised. At the nets, Gambhir spent time monitoring the batters and also had multiple one-on-one conversations with the players. For example, he was seen to be having a close to 15-minute conversation with Shubman Gill. And as I write, he is…

If you are driving around England, the one constant companion in cars is the inbuilt technical support system that warns you of speed cameras and speed limits. “Speed cameras in 100 yards” is something I have now heard a few thousand times already! While it is frustrating on occasions and interrupts conversations, may I say, it is essential. None other than Sachin Tendulkar had learned it the hard way back in 1992, on his way to Leeds from Newcastle. It is one of my favourite Sachin stories, and it is best to narrate it in his words. “After the match…

Boria Majumdar in Leeds As reported by RevSportz on June 7, there is now confirmation that the Pataudi name will continue to be associated with the England versus India series, with the winning captain to be awarded the Pataudi Medal for Excellence. From what we understand, this has the consent of the Pataudi family. Also, Sachin Tendulkar and Jay Shah played a key role behind the scenes to make this possible and spoke not just to the family but also the two cricket boards, convincing them to do the needful. On the other hand, the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy will be…

As you reach Leeds, you feel the temperature drop a couple of notches below that in London. There is a certain quiet about the place, and even the malls aren’t really crowded. It is a cold welcome of sorts. On the 20th, it is this challenge that awaits India. The pitch curator, in an exclusive chat with RevSportz, has already sounded the bugle, saying it will be a green wicket and batting will be challenging. In all of this, the Indian batters can surely look back to 2002 and seek inspiration. The new millennium had brought new promise, and in…