Author: Boria Majumdar

Boria Majumdar With the Indian and South African players having touched down in Kolkata, the focus is now firmly on the Test match starting November 14. Against the reigning WTC champions, this will be a huge challenge that could well define India’s campaign. The South Africa series inevitably brings back memories of the very first match between the two teams at the Eden Gardens in November 1991, a 50-over thriller that marked South Africa’s formal re-entry into world cricket. What stood out first and foremost about this match was the crowd. Eden Gardens was packed to capacity and there were…

Boria Majumdar You watch a cricket broadcast today and there are 30-plus cameras being used, and millions and millions of dollars riding on it. And then, when you think that just 35 years ago, there was no concept of broadcast revenue in Indian cricket, it feels almost unreal. As we get ready for the South African and Indian teams to touch down in Kolkata for the Test match, it is relevant that I recount this broadcast story, which started with the India-South Africa match at the Eden Gardens in November 1991. Ali Bacher, the man behind the series in…

Boria Majumdar Indian football is facing a battle for survival. To imagine a country’s national league doesn’t get a bid for a commercial partner shows how dire the situation is. It is grim and we can’t overemphasise it in all honesty. This brings me to two things. FSDL. For the longest time I have heard social media revolutionaries claim FSDL has done nothing. Fair enough. And we have also seen some people try to stop the partnership at the Supreme Court from continuing. Each one of these people should now be questioned for the damage they have caused to the…

Boria Majumdar Writing in 1959, this is how AS de Mello described the formation of the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF): “In 1924, at the request of the now defunct Western India Hockey Association, Lieutenant Colonel Luard, who was then President of the Gwalior Sports Association, addressed all hockey associations, clubs and individuals interested in the game and invited them to a meeting in Gwalior. This meeting, which took place on November 7th, 1925, resulted in the official formation of the Indian Hockey Federation.” At the inaugural meeting of the federation, Gwalior, Bengal, Punjab, Sind, Rajputana, Western India, Punjab University and…

It was a green deck, and South Africa A bowled with a lot of venom in the session before lunch. Abhimanyu Easwaran fell for a duck, while Sai Sudharsan did not covert a start. KL Rahul too fell to a good delivery, and when India lost Devdutt Padikkal to the ball of the morning, South Africa A were on top. Rishabh Pant counter-punched for a bit, but when he was dismissed after lunch and Akash Deep followed soon after, it seemed that India A would be bowled out for under 150. Nothing of the sort happened, with Dhruv Jurel scoring…

Shubman Gill’s inclusion in India’s T20 side has polarised opinion. Ahead of Gill’s return to the team, Sanju Samson was batting with Abhishek Sharma at the top of the order, and he scored three hundreds. India disrupted that combination by bringing Gill back and also appointed him vice-captain. It has been done on the basis of potential, and with a clear plan to appoint Gill as all-format skipper in the future. The truth is Gill hasn’t done much in this format since making it back at the Asia Cup. Except in one Asia Cup game and the abandoned T20I in…

As the focus shifts to the last two T20s of the ongoing India-Australia series, the one call that will be of interest is the selection of the wicketkeeper-batter. Ahead of the Asia Cup, the expectation was for Jitesh Sharma to start in the middle order, with Shubman Gill taking up the opening position. The team management, however, opted for Sanju Samson and batted him at No. 5 in the tournament. The decision was a mixed success, with Samson not doing too badly in a position that was a first for him. In fact, in the final, it was the partnership…

Boria Majumdar For the longest time, we questioned the BCCI for not doing enough for the women’s game. I had written countless pieces on why the WPL wasn’t being made a reality. Credit where due, because in the last few years, the BCCI has done much to promote the sport and the World Cup win will only add momentum. Now that the 50-over World Cup has been won, the BCCI too will do more to keep pushing. There is another World Cup in England, in the T20 format in June 2026, and it would be great to see India make…

Boria Majumdar It was the 2017 World Cup final at Lord’s and India were in control. At the time Deepti came out to bat against England, India could almost smell the cup and were in touching distance. A good effort from Deepti, and history would be made. Unfortunately for her and for the team, pressure got the better of the 20 year old and Deepti had to end up second-best. She got one more opportunity in 2018, in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean against the very same opponents. Yet again, she wasn’t able to perform…

She wasn’t even part of the squad, and was eventually called up in the most unfortunate circumstances when Pratika Rawal was injured. Call it divine providence or call it an absolute masterstroke, but Shafali Verma played the stellar hand in winning the Women’s World Cup for India. First with the bat, with a brilliant 87. An innings that was worth more than a 100. She kept the scoreboard moving and decidedly put the pressure on South Africa after India lost the toss yet again. A strong start was a must and Shafali and Smriti Mandhana ensured India got it. Some…