Author: Boria Majumdar

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…

India were on a modest 87-4 when Hardik Pandya hit the ball straight back at the bowler. Naveen-ul-Haq bent down and got a hand to the it. Suryakumar Yadav, at the non-striker’s end, reacted fast, but no one really knew if he had made it back in time. The Afghanistan players felt they had their man. Surya too was unsure, and said as much to Hardik. When the replay was shown, it became evident that Surya had just about made it. A timely swivel and pushing the bat back in had saved him and India. In the very next over,…

The search for India’s next football head coach is heating up. Contrary to expectations, many have already applied and many more have inquired on email about the possibility. Some have even inquired over calls and may soon submit their applications. Sources say a lot of applicants are from Europe and are keen on taking up the Indian challenge. “There are more than 20 applications already and some of them are very reputed names,” said a source within the AIFF. “The kind of football we now play and the kind of infrastructure we have, there is serious interest in the job.…

Press conferences are generally routine events. Hardly do we get a real headline from it, with most players or coaches wanting to be politically correct. Not this Friday, June 21. From what Revsportz has learnt, at 2pm on Friday, it could be a stormy affair with former head coach Igor Stimac all set to address the press and put out a point by point report against the AIFF in what all has happened in the last one year. Outgoing coach Stimac will also address the contentious issue of his job contract plus how and why the termination clause was done…

We often hear that cricket occupies a large share of the Indian pie. We also hear other sports at home are in need of support. While there is a sizeable audience that follows football, why is it that there is limited money in the sport? The events which have happened over the last few days demonstrate why football languishes. What has happened with coach Igor Stimac will show why sponsors will want to invest in Indian cricket and be conscious of the image risks if they wish to invest in football. Yes, in cricket there is tremendous interest in who…

It was a day of intense drama in Indian football. In fact, the drama began 48 hours earlier when Indian football’s top management met to discuss the future of Igor Stimac. The consensus was that the coach had promised he would resign if the team did not make the third round of Asian World Cup qualifying. So, he should take responsibility and go. The All-India Football Federation (AIFF) wanted to do it amicably, and not get involved in a bitter and public slanging match. Having said that, Stimac decided he would not resign. In fact, the secretary general, M Satyanarayan,…