Author: WebDesk

India completed the formalities in the Dharamsala Test as they posted a crushing innings and 64-run win on Day 3. With this victory, India emerged triumphant in the series with a 4-1 margin. R Ashwin engineered England’s collapse in the second innings, picking up a five-for. Only Joe Root played with a sense of composure, scoring a valiant 84. When England batted in the second innings, the batters seemed to be mentally not there as India’s bowlers ran through the side. Ben Duckett skipping down the track and getting cleaned up in the second over indicated that England might not…

Devdutt Padikkal played with a sense of composure on his Test debut, scoring a fine 65 against England in the Dharamsala Test. He also stitched an important stand of 97 with Sarfaraz Khan for the fourth wicket. The essence of Padikkal’s batting was how he got through a tricky phase early on in his innings and then opened up by playing pleasing drives. The left-hand batter talked about how he had a few nerves when he walked out to bat. “I just wanted to be ready (talking about the debut blues), I got the message the previous day that there…

RevSportz comment There is no rocket science to winning Test matches in India. Score around 400 in the first innings, and you’ll always be in the game. The first match of this series in Hyderabad, which India lost after scoring 436 in their first dig, was very much an anomaly in that regard. England’s first-innings scores have been 246, 253, 319, 353 and 218. With the exception of the 353 on a challenging surface in Ranchi, the other totals were way below par. It’s no surprise that they’re now staring at a 4-1 thrashing. On their last visit…

India continued to have a vice-like grip on the proceedings in the final Test of the five-match series against England. At stumps on the second day, the home side were 473 for 8, in front by 258. Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill both scored hundreds. In very good conditions for batting, the duo of Rohit and Gill put on an exemplary show of batting. Lofts, pulls, sweeps, drives or punches – You name a shot, and they played it. Rohit also showcased some very good shot selection while facing short deliveries from Mark Wood. He reached his second ton of…

In 2017, when Odisha hosted the Asian Athletics Championships at the eleventh hour after a state opted out, they had to build from scratch. Back then, the Kalinga Stadium, the venue for the event, wasn’t good enough to host a national level competition, leave alone an Asian Championship. Naveen Patnaik, the Chief Minister of Odisha, however, was determined to host the event and ensured that everything was top-class. That was the start of Odisha’s journey to become a sporting benchmark for the country. “The Kalinga Stadium was in very bad shape, but the chief minister said we would rise to…

The theme for Session 5 on Day 2 of the RevSportz Trailblazer Conclave 2.0 was Indian Sportswoman: Equality, Advancement and Health. The speakers were MC Mary Kom, Joshna Chinappa, Rani Rampal, Harmilan Bains, Dr Nandita P Palshetkar and Alok Khettry. Boria Majumdar was the moderator. Harmilan, the athlete, started proceedings by saying that things were not equal when it came to men and women in Indian sports. “When I started running, people started saying for how long should I do it,” she said. “I said till I am 30. That took them by surprise. ‘When will you get married and…

RevSportz Comment It’s tempting to imagine just how many Test wickets Kuldeep Yadav might have now if he possessed another passport. Or, if he had been born in another era. As it is, it seems almost staggering that he has just 12 Test caps since making his debut at this very venue almost seven years ago against Australia. Had he been some flash in the pan, those numbers would have been understandable. But after his heroics on the opening day of the final Test against England in Dharamsala, Kuldeep has 51 wickets at a stellar average of 21.09. The…

Kuldeep Yadav put on a masterclass with the ball on day 1 of the final Test against England in Dharamsala and ended up with 5-72. The wrist-spinner employed both his stock ball and the googly to great effect to leave England searching for answers. The highlight of Kuldeep’s spells was how he once again flummoxed the England opener, Zak Crawley. The Kent batter has been in fine form in the ongoing Test series, but he has succumbed to a couple of peaches from Kuldeep. In Dharamsala, he was done in by the considerable turn and flight imparted by Kuldeep. “I…

Kuldeep Yadav’s five-for and fifties from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma helped India take complete control of the proceedings on day 1 of the final Test against England in Dharamsala. In relatively good conditions for batting, England lost their last seven wickets for a mere 43 runs as they were bowled out for 218. The home side then ended the day’s play at 135 for 1, behind by only 83 runs. The visitors, who won the toss and opted to bat, started on a brisk note, with Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett sharing an opening stand of 64. Jasprit Bumrah…

The Bazball approach has been one of the major talking points of the ongoing India-England Test series. The visitors showed glimpses of their aggressive methods in the opening Test in Hyderabad, where Ollie Pope cracked a brilliant double-ton to help his side chart a stunning turnaround. However, India took that defeat in their stride and went on to win the next three games to seal the series. Rohit Sharma, the India skipper, took a dig at the label being given to England’s template. “I just don’t know what Bazball means,” Rohit told reporters on the eve of the fifth Test…