Author: Boria Majumdar

We hardly speak about him. In fact, when we do, we question his spot in the team and ask if someone else like Yuzvendra Chahal is a better bet. We speak of Jasprit Bumrah and we speak of Kuldeep Yadav. In fact, we even speak of Arshdeep Singh, but very rarely is Axar Patel spoken of as a match-winner. And yet, consistently through this T20 World Cup, Axar has stepped up for India. There was the match against Pakistan where he played a very useful hand at No. 4 and then, when the chips were down and Pakistan looked to…

Pressure. Perhaps the most used word when it comes to sport. Everyone who has played sports will tell you there is always pressure. From fans, parent bodies, sponsors, family and most importantly from yourself. At the end of the day, a sportsperson is alone grappling with her or his own mind. A mind that is full of clutter and is constantly fighting to be freed. Of all the thoughts that keep flooding in, of the possibilities that keep disturbing the equilibrium and finally all the hope and expectation of what can be. It is this pressure that impacted Afghanistan today.…

The campaign is over. And how. India just did not compete and that’s what was the most disappointing. We leave Australia with many more questions than answers. Before we started out for Australia to embark on this much anticipated campaign, the talk was all about approach. That there will be a new template. There will be intent at the top and we will see a different India in the powerplays. Sadly none of this talk was seen on the field down under. This was how I had started my match report after India lost to England in Australia in November…

It was 1am in the morning when David Warner responded to the message in November 2021. Australia had just won the T20 World Cup, and he hadn’t seen his phone with all the celebrations going on. Soon after he came online and saw the interview request, he called back. “I am so happy, mate,” he said, struggling to keep emotions in check. “Can’t tell you how happy and relieved I am at the same time.” With the Australians flying back early morning on a charter flight, he wanted to do the interview then itself, and with raw emotions pouring out,…

Sport is drama, not reel but real. It is all about raw emotion. From agony to ecstasy. When Litton Das and Taskin Ahmed were going you could see the tense faces getting more and more anxious. You could see the dressing room pushing Rashid Khan and his boys. The DL (Duckworth Lewis) par score was 104 and Bangladesh was on 105. How could the cricket gods be so cruel? How could they deny Afghanistan? How could it be that a story which is no less than a fairytale would be cut short by rain or more? Bangladesh did not deserve…

If you ask any of the top batsmen who have dominated the game for their favourite innings, the answers more often than not tend to startle you. For example, Sachin Tendulkar routinely picks the 241 not out he scored in Sydney in 2004, a knock which lasted for 10 hours and had little or no flamboyance about it. For fans, Rohit Sharma may have played many knocks that were easier on the eye, but for him as captain, his innings against Australia in St Lucia will rank at the very top of the pile. This is because Rohit was carrying…

For decades, they have been labelled chokers. In fact, it is now a tag that even many South Africans don’t really get offended by. So much so that Quinton de Kock had in an interview to RevSportz’ Subhayan Chaktaborty suggested that, ahead of ICC tournaments, they should do some black magic to shed the label. After this thrilling victory over West Indies, they have partially shed the tag. Twice in two games, South Africa held their nerve. Beating England wasn’t an aberration, and just when it seemed West Indies were gaining control and giving the local fans a voice, Kagiso…

If we talk of great rivalries in cricket at the moment, it doesn’t get better than India versus Australia. As usual, when they meet in a Super 8 encounter at the T20 World Cup in St Lucia, there’s a lot at stake for both these powerhouses of world cricket, each with designs on the coveted title. An Indian win could mean disaster for Australia, while an Australian success should be enough to make the last four with a superior Net Run Rate. Most suggest that this is India’s best chance to conquer what has been labelled their ‘nemesis’. If India…

Some days back, I had done a piece saying this ICC T20 World Cup could be Afghanistan’s 1983 moment. Many laughed at it and said I was trying to sensationalise. That I was saying things which aren’t really possible. There’s no way Afghanistan had a chance and it was all big talk. The match against India did not go to plan and the naysayers were strengthened. Jibes were par and Rashid Khan and his team had let themselves down. Not today. Not anymore. Never again. Beating Australia in a World Cup is the biggest win in Afghanistan’s cricket history. And…

The Igor Stimac press conference was expected to be stormy. It was. India’s former head coach did not hold back, and asked some really tough questions of the AIFF senior management. From saying they aren’t keen on developing the sport and are only conscious of safeguarding personal interests, to saying the ISL won’t work until relegation and promotion are introduced, Stimac pointed out that he had a chat with the current General Secretary a couple of days back. He had suggested then that he would leave soon and was looking for a job. Had he found one, all this acrimony…