Author: G Rajaraman

If you listened carefully, even if you were in an airconditioned corporate box at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday night, you could hear the collective sigh of relief from the Pakistan dug-out over the din created by the fans. As Fakhar Zaman, their powerful opening batter, unfurled his powerful and characteristic range of strokes on the leg side, Pakistan looked formidable. On his return to the XI, Fakhar showed he had lost neither his hunger for runs nor his desire to dominate bowlers. It was the kind of firepower that Pakistan were missing at the start of their innings in…

Pakistan finally stopped being a pretender in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 and turned up against Bangladesh as the competitive, if nor fearsome, side that rose to World No. 1 in the ICC ODI Rankings not long ago. They did all things right – from picking the best combination to bowling well and chasing with authority – to storm to a seven-wicket win at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday. The two points gained for this clinical effort keep alive their chances of making it to the semifinals. With matches against New Zealand and England left to play in the…

The absence of positive intent can make a good team look a lot less competitive than it is. This was never more evident in the ICC Cricket World Cup than when Bangladesh let themselves as well as their fans down with a tepid approach to a match that could have helped them stem the rash of losses and stay in the race – even with only an outside chance – for a place in the semifinals. As the Netherlands redefined Dutch Courage with their fightback – first through Wesley Barresi and then Scott Edwards, the skipper, as well as Sybrand…

It is always fascinating to hear athletes from another sport talk about cricket. During a recent conversation at his Kolkata home, Sourav Ghosal, the squash ace, offered a very interesting line of thought – one that is popular, but few dare openly express. He said he hoped that if the Indian team had to slip up in a World Cup game, it would happen before the semifinals. There is good reason for such thinking. Everyone, Ghosal included, who has followed cricket World Cups will recall that India lost to Australia in 2015 and to New Zealand four years later, breaking…

Babar Azam, Pakistan’s embattled captain, had only a few moments to make a decision at the most critical juncture of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 match against South Africa in Chennai. He then had a whole night to rue the choice he made. In a contest that resembled a tight battle across a chess board, Babar ended up choosing the wrong piece, letting South Africa stage the Great Escape. Truth be told, an opportunity had presented itself – of course, Pakistan and, more specifically, Babar had worked towards that – and it needed to be grasped. It would become…

The passing of Bishan Singh Bedi, an incurable cricket romantic, the fiercest defender of the game’s hallowed traditions, one of the most well-read cricketers and a learner for life, has plunged the sporting community into deep gloom. The game’s most graceful left-arm spinner has left countless players, Indian and overseas, united in grief, each feeling the loss of a loved one. A lot has been said and written about his cricketing acumen, his reading of the game and his steadfast defence of traditional values. A lot more remains unsaid. However, since I interacted with him mainly during the 31…

Bishan Singh Bedi always loved to pose anyone a challenge or two. You just have to access some videos on YouTube to see how he did that in the days when he unfurled his artful left-arm spin bowling. Indeed, it is easy to visualise how much he enjoyed that and the questions he asked of batsmen at the other end of the pitch all those years ago. Mention Bedi and many images and words caress our minds like waves would a beach. Poetry in Motion. The economy of action. Sardar of Spin. The sight of reputed batsmen being beaten in…

There has been a clinical touch to each of India’s victories in the ICC World Cup, surging as it is towards claiming a semi-final slot ahead of all other teams. Their intent is palpable, and clear in their planning and nailing the execution of these plans as well as it possibly can. It has found the players to address each of its needs. Yet, the brilliance of Virat Kohli (354 runs), Rohit Sharma (311 runs), Jasprit Bumrah (11 wickets) and Mohammed Shami (five for 54 against New Zealand) tends to overpower some other facets that are vital components of the…

It would be rather easy to overlook both the Virat Kohli stare and the wry smile that crossed Richard Kettleborough’s face at almost the same time during the final stages of the ICC Cricket World Cup match between India and Bangladesh in the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Gahunje, Pune, on Thursday. Indeed, on a night which saw India clinically chase down 257 – Shreyas Iyer was the only home bat who did not cross the 25-run mark – after a commendable effort by the bowlers on a flat deck, Kohli’s unbeaten century and a sound opening partnership between Rohit…

The marketing wizards on the Los Angeles Olympic Games 2028 Organising Committee did not need much to realise that cricket, with its status as the second-most followed sport in the world, was an obvious choice to be included in the programme. As its proposal to have five new sports found approval in the IOC Session in Mumbai on Monday, LA28’s homework shone bright. Cricket staged a comeback to the Olympic Games programme, 123 years after Britain beat France in the 1900 Games in Paris. Though the International Cricket Council (ICC) history dates back more than a century, it has been…