Author: Gargi Raut

By Gargi Raut After the disaster in Australia at the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Shubman Gill took over the Indian Test team ahead of one of the most important Test series, the five-match Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Five matches in England, treacherous conditions, a young team, no Rohit Sharma–Virat Kohli, and Gautam Gambhir at the helm as Head Coach. Fans had their reservations about naming Gill captain in the presence of India’s premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah and senior batter KL Rahul in the set-up, but this management believes in taking bold calls and never looking back. Throughout the series, Gill answered the critics with…

Gargi Raut at Eden Gardens “Eden Gardens and headlines of the pitch are a match made in heaven,” is a phrase I love to use. The pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee took over headlines during the the last edition of the IPL, when he bluntly refused to produce a turning track for the Kolkata Knight Riders. He firmly stated that he will only follow the guidelines of the BCCI and not the franchise, “Ever since I have taken charge (as Eden curator), the pitches here have been like this. It was like this in the past. Things haven’t changed now, and…

picture credit- Debasis sen Gargi Raut in Eden Gardens Test cricket returned to one of the most storied venues after a wait of six long years. Ahead of the first Test between India and South Africa, Eden Gardens saw a buzzing buildup, with the first three days sold out well in advance. Fans and pundits alike anticipated a cracking contest but no one predicted a two-and-a-half day finish. While there was a flurry of wickets in the match, the public blamed it on the pitch curator for dishing out a rank turner, when in fact it was the…

On the final day of the final Test match between India and England at the Oval, when any sane cricket fan would have said that England would walk away with the series with the team only 35 runs away from victory, Indian fans thronged the stadium, knowing that the result was only an hour or so away. Loyalists like no other, for the first time in the series, the Indian fans were able to dominate the stadium with a sea of blue. As Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna continued their relentless attack with the ball, sending one batter walking after…

Gargi Raut at Eden Gardens On 4 August, Jamie Overton and Jamie Smith walked in with England needing only 35 runs to win the match. The odds were stacked against India and the result seemed all but sealed in England’s favour. Many wrote India off; logically it made little sense for them to make an inroad from there. But this Indian team is one that believes in flipping the tables. It is a norm in England that Test match tickets are sold at full price only until Day Four, and the prices for Day Five are slashed considerably if the…

Gargi Raut at Eden Gardens A bowler known for going all out. All heart, all intensity and all fierceness, is how I would like to describe Mohammed Siraj. A player on the field who refuses to give up till the last ball is bowled and someone who believes in second chances. Ahead of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in England only months ago, there was a certain perception that Team India had only one breakthrough fast bowler, Jasprit Bumrah. But Siraj turned the narrative around with his perseverance, bowling a historic spell at the Oval in the final 58 minutes on Day…

Gargi Raut in Eden Gardens Match day -2s are always chaotic during Test matches, not so much for the teams, they just go about their routine mandatory practice. But journalists and those covering the game know its importance. A full-fledged practice session, a press conference, and an opportunity to closely observe the net session to get a hint of the likely XI. It’s a day of staying on top of your toes and putting your best foot forward. One wrong move and it could derail the entire day’s plans. It is usually the busiest day in the press box and…

Gargi Raut at Eden Gardens Eden Gardens and headlines about the pitch are a match made in heaven. The full India squad arrived at around 12:30 pm at the Eden Gardens to begin their first practice session on match day -2. The crowd grew larger and the roars grew louder as the players entered the stadium. Ahead of the two-match Test series against the World champions, these were the top 3 highlights. Indian management and pitch curator engage in lengthy talks again In an exclusive conversation with RevSportz yesterday evening, Sujan Mukherjee, the pitch curator, made it clear that…

The Indian team is returning to Test cricket after a long white-ball series in Australia and all eyes are on Kolkata. Test cricket is returning to the iconic venue after six years and fans have already ensured that the 34,000 available tickets for the first three days are sold out. In an exclusive conversation with RevSportz, pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee made it abundantly clear that creating a sporting wicket is his priority. “When I first became the pitch curator of this Eden wicket, I was clear that I wanted this to be a surface that both players and fans enjoyed.…

A pleasant morning in Kolkata marked the Indian team’s return to Test cricket after a white-ball series in Australia. India will face World Test Champions South Africa in a two-match Test series. Skipper Shubman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah, Sai Sudharsan, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy took part in the first optional practice session ahead of the series. Here are the highlights: Gautam Gambhir has a long chat with Sujan Mukherjee The coaches were the first to arrive on the field, and head coach Gautam Gambhir immediately signalled Sitanshu Kotak to have a look at the pitch.…