Author: WebDesk

It’s the kind of ‘fact’ that is shared by casual football fans, the ones who wake up once in four years and realise that such a sport exists. They tend to be the harshest critics, because disparaging something is easy when you’re unaware of ground realities. But over the past couple of days, this pearl of wisdom has been shared by hundreds of thousands of Indian football fans. Ahead of Qatar and Jordan contesting the Asian Cup final on Saturday night, this nugget of trivia reminds us that in August 2018, India (96) were ranked higher than both countries. Now,…

The MetLife Stadium in New Jersey has emerged as FIFA’s choice to host the 2026 World Cup final. Dallas and Los Angeles had also lobbied hard for the honour, but the summit clash – scheduled for July 19, 2026 – will be played at the 82,500-capacity venue that is home to the National Football League’s Giants and Jets. Los Angeles, which hosted the 1994 final at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, doesn’t even get a semi-final, but the USA will play their first match at the SoFi Stadium on June 12. The tournament, expanded to 48 teams divided into 12…

Practice session for the Indian football team. Credits ( Indian Football Team Twitter) Swapnil Mukherjee and Rahul Giri in Doha It will always be a source of great regret for Australian football fans that the team didn’t qualify for the World Cup at a time when the likes of Harry Kewell and Mark Viduka – the best players they’ve ever produced – were in their prime. Had Australia been part of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) back then, that team would have breezed through…

As VVS Laxman, who scripted some of Indian cricket’s most famous innings, turns 49, we look back on a career that melded amazing grace, precision strokeplay and incredible strength of will. It was also a reminder that nice guys really don’t finish last. They can be the best among us. Here, we look back at some of the epic innings he essayed down the years. 281 v Australia, Eden Gardens, Kolkata, 2001 What is there left to say about this innings? India were so far behind in this match after three days that some in the commentary team, including the…

This clash between two teams in green pits one side riding the crest of a six-hitting wave with another who have just suffered the ignominy of a first defeat to Afghanistan. Pakistan and South Africa may both have begun the tournament with two straight wins, but the similarities end there. Victory at Chepauk will put South Africa one foot in the semi-final, while leaving only a Pakistani fingernail clinging on to the precipice. South Africa’s top six have blown the opposition away when batting first. In the final ten overs of innings, they’re racking up the kind of scores that…

Given how well India’s spin bowlers had performed in the first innings at Chepauk, Adam Zampa’s spell was always going to have a crucial bearing on the result. Given his outstanding record in India – 27 wickets in 16 previous games – and a slow, abrasive surface, there would have been more than a hint of nerves in the Indian dressing room. Though they had recovered from the depths of 2 for 3, a total of 56-3 after 17 overs suggested a game very much in the balance. A wicket or two then, and it could very much have been…

If they ever script a Cinderella story like Sri Lanka and win a World Cup, it could well be a quiz question to stump the biggest nerds. Where did Afghanistan play their first (50-over) World Cup game, and who was it against? It was in Australia, but not at one of those historic venues whose names just roll off the tongue. Afghanistan’s first taste of cricket’s showpiece tournament came at Canberra’s Manuka Oval, and Bangladesh were the opposition. Though the venue was a cricketing outpost, there was no lack of atmosphere, with thousands of fans having driven up from Melbourne…

Overview Twice already this season, Royal Challengers Bangalore have scored well in excess of 200, and still lost the game. While that tells you a lot about the pitches at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, it also speaks volumes of the team’s struggle with the ball. It really doesn’t matter how many runs Faf du Plessis or Virat Kohli make, if the bowlers are incapable of putting any sort of pressure on the opposition. Mohammed Siraj has been quite magnificent, taking eight wickets and conceding just seven runs an over in his five outings. But there isn’t a single other bowler who…

Top-level sport is a ruthless business. No matter what you’ve achieved in your career, you can find yourself cut adrift. Sir Alex Ferguson is rightly remembered as one of the greatest football managers of all time, the one who restored Manchester United to their former glory and then some. Yet, those who watched his teams could tell you that there would have been no dynasty without Roy Keane, the snarling, combative Irishman who patrolled Ferguson’s midfield, and laid down the law in the dressing room. Keane’s influence was never more apparent than when United went to Turin in April 1999,…

Overview The winds of change that have swept across the Indian Premier League (IPL) over the past two seasons have completely transformed the competition’s landscape. Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants, both expansion teams, reached the playoffs in 2022, with Gujarat winning the title. The other finalists were Rajasthan Royals, a franchise that had reached the playoffs just thrice in 11 seasons since winning the inaugural title in 2008. The ongoing season has merely seen this new wave progress further. Traditional powerhouse teams like Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings sit in the lower reaches of the table, while…