Author: S Kannan

The sylvan setting of Dharamsala provides the right ambience for good, competitive cricket. In a few hours from now, the two teams atop the leaderboard of the ICC World Cup, India and New Zealand, will look to stamp their authority. What is perhaps unique is the lack of hiss and cuss words from the Black Caps. Are they a meek side, or are they genuinely nice guys who play sport clean and fair? Anyone who has followed the history of New Zealand cricket will agree, by and large, that they are the good guys. But did we not hear that…

It appears that someone has cast an evil eye on Hardik Pandya. The Indian vice-captain did not travel to Dharamsala for Sunday’s headbanger’s ball against New Zealand, a high-profile clash between the only two teams still unbeaten in the ICC World Cup. On Friday, the BCCI came out with its medical bulletin, ruling out the Gujarat Titans captain, who had injured his ankle while bowling against Bangladesh in Pune. “He will not be taking the flight to Dharamsala with the team on 20th October and will now join the team directly in Lucknow where India plays England,” the BCCI update…

If Virat Kohli is a household name, the title of Virat has existed for centuries. It was used to define someone massive or large, usually a leader. Watching VK, as cricket junkies like to address the genius, churns you. There is one thing which has never been absent – the emotions he brings out in every viewer, including the non-cricket addict. If you Google Virat Kohli, so many pages will be thrown up that it can actually be confusing. That is, if you have not followed this man who turns 35 on November 5. They said cricket is a sport…

Everything about Jasprit Bumrah is unconventional. This includes the way he bowls and the way he is treated. When India’s pace spearhead broke down last year after a long chain of injury-related complications, carping critics came down on him like a tonne of bricks. Why? Bumrah has never been the conventional fast bowler. His action doesn’t follow the prescribed smooth run-up, then acceleration and hitting top pace at the time of release. He had begun with the tennis ball, simply trying to bowl fast. For him to be near the top in the list of wicket-takers in the ongoing World…

Wanna Go Dutch? This is a phrase all of us have heard from our childhood days. On Tuesday in Dharamsala, the Netherlands were not willing to Go Dutch with the points. Instead, they pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the ICC World Cup, shocking South Africa by 38 runs. For all those who have followed Holland or Netherlands or the Dutch as a sporting nation, their footballers, hockey players and swimmers have been classy in the Olympics. In terms of club football, once upon a time they had great names like Johan Cruyff, Marco van Basten, Frank Rijkaard…

In our childhood days, we grew up hearing stories of Kabuliwallah and Mini — the characters from Rabindranath Tagore’s writings. For the current generation and those born in this millennium, all this may sound Greek and Latin! On Sunday night, it was hard not to get emotional thinking about the turmoil Afghanistan has gone through for decades. There were invasions, wars, upheavals and what not. Diplomats will talk of their relationship with other nations, what needs to be done and so on. All that will make no sense to sports lovers. During and after the World Cup match against England,…

“I don’t focus on the past, I try to focus on the future,” said Babar Azam on the eve of the potboiler against India. Pakistan’s captain tried to put on a brave face on Friday at the media briefing. On Saturday, in steamy Ahmedabad, at a theatre called the Narendra Modi Stadium, Babar was left to shoulder much of the blame after being demolished by India in the ICC World Cup. Babar has been in trouble for a while. From dressing-room murmurs of not being in command and players not listening to him, there was much hearsay. Saturday offered Babar…

India versus Pakistan – the moment you mention this, your eyes light up. For those who fought conventional wars with the (un)friendly neighbours across the border in 1965 and 1971 and even during Kargil, there are unforgettable memories. The same applies to the battlefield called cricket, where India-Pakistan is high pitched, shrill and raises the temperature. Whether you’re an ardent fan or just a casual onlooker, most will stop to talk of this one contest each time the two countries battle across the 22 yards with a white ball. As the cricket caravan rolled into Ahmedabad, cricket was the flavour…

This ragged Australian side does not look one bit like the one which won the ODI World Cup a record five times. If the loss to India on Sunday night was a shocker, capitulating to the underdogs from South Africa in Lucknow was sheer humiliation. This is not the script one had envisaged in the ICC World Cup in India. From Chennai to Lucknow, the Aussies may have hoped for some magic to happen. That is just part of the ingredients needed to win an ODI match. On the field, for the Aussies to drop seven catches, display poor body…

Kannan in New Delhi Zero to hero. That was the Rohit Sharma theme at Arun Jaitley Stadium on Wednesday. After having scored a duck against Australia in India’s World Cup opener in Chennai on Sunday, the Rohit of old was there like sparkling wine. His seventh World Cup hundred eclipsed Sachin Tendulkar’s record. This was his 19th World Cup innings. The 63-ball century was also the fastest in a World Cup by an Indian, overtaking Kapil Dev, who had reached the mark off 72 balls against Zimbabwe in 1983. These were statistical delights for the fans. The real beauty of…