Author: Boria Majumdar

Boria Majumdar Great champions are all about humility. And it is a quality that is passed on across generations. D Gukesh is no different. Since he won the World Chess Championship, we had been planning an interview. In fact, the exchange was on with his father, Dr Rajnikanth. We did not want to do a two-minute news interview. That was already done in Singapore, so the idea was to go deeper and do a proper celebration. Dr Rajnikanth had suggested that he’d message the moment they settled down in Chennai, and had a breather from the celebrations. And true to…

I was away from cricket journalism for two years during my ban. During these 24 months, I was barred from interviewing any cricketer. And, may I say, I followed every sanction imposed on me in letter and spirit. It was important to write Banned: A social media trial, and tell my story. Now, the book is a bestseller. Why am I saying this? What’s the significance? The answer is Ravichandran Ashwin. Rather, my surprising meeting with Ashwin on the flight back after the deferred England-India Test match at Edgbaston in July 2022. I was pleasantly surprised to find Ashwin, one…

The New Zealand series had ended, and R Ashwin and I were having a conversation. The team was to leave for Australia a day later, and all of a sudden he said to me, “It is time to think. I want to bow out on my terms. It has always been about the team for me. I will never want to be just a passenger.” The words took time to sink in. Here was one of India’s greatest match-winners speaking. He had a modest series against New Zealand, yes, but just weeks earlier, he had scored a hundred and helped…

India were five down for 74 and in desperate need of a partnership. Rohit Sharma had yet again failed and the pressure was mounting. KL Rahul was looking assured but needed support. A loss in this Test match would mean India go to Melbourne 1-2 down and, all of a sudden, Australia literally be able to smell the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. That’s how important Ravindra Jadeja’s contribution was. Potentially, the difference between a draw and a defeat. Under pressure, Jadeja, as he has so often done in the past, played one of his best Test innings. Finally, it was evident that…

Test cricket is defined by fight. That’s what India showed on day four at the Gabba. A kind of dogged determination that lights up a series and lives in fan memory for years on end. And that’s what the Indian batting unit was lacking in Adelaide. The tail wasn’t doing much, and it was clearly hurting India. With the top order looking limp, the contribution from the middle and lower-middle order assumed enormous significance. That’s what we finally got to watch at the Gabba. At 213-9, most Indian fans had given up hope. With an hour of play still left,…

Shubman Gill has a bundle of talent. But it is one thing to have such ability and a very different thing to do justice to it. So far, he has not in his Test match career. His red-ball record is modest and unless he scores in tough situations, he can never be a great of Indian cricket. And by great, I mean the likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Virat Kohli. That’s the yardstick of greatness and Gill, so far, has not even reached halfway. His shot in the first innings of the Gabba Test is evidence.…

I have written far too many times that the 241 not out in Sydney in 2004 is my favorite Sachin Tendulkar innings. The reason is simple. It was very un-Sachin like, to say the least. He, at no point, let his ego take over. He allowed modest bowlers to sledge and get away, and never lost resolve. Ahead of the game, he had promised his brother Ajit that he’d not play and get out to a ball pitched wide outside off stump. In the ten hours that he batted, he did not. And that’s what brings me to Virat Kohli.…

Did India not know that the red Kookaburra doesn’t do much between overs 35 and 80? Did they not know that Jasprit Bumrah would get tired after a fantastic first spell? Did they not know that the Australians would counter-punch after lunch with Travis Head out there? Did they not know that they needed control to be able to come back with the second new ball? To not know is silly. For Morne Morkel, the bowling coach, to come and say time and again that India is “leaking runs” sounds a lame excuse. It is Test cricket, and instructions can…

It was very much like old times. Setting the alarm for 4:30am to get up and watch cricket in Australia. Yes, now it’s work, shows and more, but the passion remains the same. While for most Bengalis, it is a hot cup of Darjeeling tea, ‘monkey cap’ and the morning papers in a decently chilly Kolkata winter, for me, it is Test cricket and what India does at the Gabba. Bowl first was the call from India, and though Australia negotiated the ten-plus overs bowled without undue alarms, they haven’t managed to race away either. India’s bowlers would surely want…

Lord’s 2014, and England had given India a green top. Despite Ajinkya Rahane’s fine first innings ton, India were far from safe going into the second innings. And when MS Dhoni was dismissed, leaving Murali Vijay stranded, hopes of an Indian win seemed remote. In walked Ravindra Jadeja. Two hours later came the first-ever sword dance. A Ravindra Jadeja 50, and the match had been set up. Thanks to Ishant Sharma’s super bowling effort, India won a famous victory, which to an extent had also been set up by Jadeja. Back home, he has always been superb. But overseas as…