Author: Shamik Chakrabarty

Maybe, there’s an irony in Virat Kohli’s current travails. A few years ago, when he was the India captain, ‘intent’ ruled team talks, especially in Test cricket. It forced Cheteshwar Pujara to change his natural game and he struggled, eventually losing his place in the team. A grafter was told to become an enforcer at No. 3, but that was not Pujara’s game. Another single-digit – nine off as many balls – score against England took Kohli’s tournament tally at the ongoing T20 World Cup to 75 runs in seven matches at an average of 10.71. He tried a heave…

Jos Buttler shimmied down the track and hit Arshdeep Singh over mid-off for a four. The England captain moved in his crease next ball, forced Arshdeep to bowl on his pads and collected another boundary. A batter who is ready to give up his stumps creates more scoring opportunities on a slow pitch. Arshdeep’s rhythm, meanwhile, was upset. He bowled short and got hammered again. India weren’t defending a very big total and Rohit Sharma had to act. He couldn’t have allowed England to run away with the game in the Powerplay. The India captain brought Axar Patel into the…

Alex Hales’s recent competitive match was a T20 fixture between Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire in Vitality Blast. Batting at No. 3 for the Notts, Hales scored 26 off 23 balls. The 35-year-old has retired from international cricket, but as India play a T20 World Cup semi-final against England in Providence, Guyana, on Thursday, Hales becomes relevant. Nineteen months ago in Adelaide, his remarkable opening partnership with Jos Buttler decimated India in the semi-final of the 2022 T20 World Cup. Buttler had scored 80 not out off 49 balls in an unbroken opening stand of 170. Hales was even more brutal, making…

One of the reasons why Gujarat Titans finished eighth in the IPL this year was Rashid Khan’s indifferent form. The senior leg-spinner took 10 wickets in 12 matches at an economy rate of 8.40 – underwhelming by his lofty standards. By Rashid’s own admission, the ball wasn’t coming out of his hand the way he wanted it to. The Afghanistan white-ball captain found an antidote – extra hours at the nets. Lalchand Rajput, the former India opener, wasn’t surprised when he was told about this. He recalled his time with Rashid, Mohammad Nabi and their teammates, when he was…

It’s now easy to forget that the first ball that Rohit Sharma faced in the ICC T20 World Cup match against Australia on Monday was a ‘hit-me’ full-toss, and he couldn’t put it away. The second ball, Rohit slashed it to David Warner at first slip, but replays showed it was on the bounce. A left-arm quick was bowling and given the opener’s travails against that variety, the start was, expectedly, a little tense. Rohit, though, no longer waits for his moments and his batting has become proactive. In Starc’s second over, he channelled his inner ‘hitman’. The first two…

Mitchell Starc eventually got his revenge — a yorker-length delivery that took the inside edge and disturbed the timber. In the context of the game, though, it felt like way too little, way too late. By the time Rohit Sharma was dismissed for a 41-ball 92 (7X4, 8X6), Australia’s bowlers looked somewhat demoralised. To borrow a term from football, they were ‘gegenpressed’. From the fans’ perspective, they were entertained by the best white-ball batting of the summer. Rohit had decimated Starc early into India’s innings, via four sixes and a four in an over. It was the left-arm pacer’s most…

The Indian dressing room had a special guest after their match against Bangladesh on Saturday. Sir Vivian Richards was invited to present the best fielder’s medal and he handed it over to Suryakumar Yadav. The great man embraced Rishabh Pant, called him a “pocket rocket” and gave a short speech. “The way you are playing your cricket man, love it, enjoying it,” said the West Indies batting legend. India’s brand of cricket has wowed experts and fans alike and the team is thriving on consistency. Over the last three World Cups (50-over and T20), India have won 19 out of…

Exhibit 1: Shakib Al Hasan gave the ball a bit of air. Rohit Sharma jumped out, freed his arms and hit it over long-on for a six. A ball later, the India captain late-cut the spinner for a four. Ten runs already scored in the over, Rohit could have played safe. But he decided to take his chances and go over the top again. This time though, the ball stuck in the surface a little and he was not quite to the pitch of the ball. Rohit was out after scoring 23 off 11 balls and on air, the great…

Kuldeep Yadav teased Shakib Al Hasan with a tossed-up delivery. The latter was up to it. He cleared his front leg and slog-swept it straight over the bowler’s head for a six. The asking rate was still touching 15 runs per over and the former Bangladesh captain had thrown down the gauntlet to India’s best bowler on the day. Kuldeep had to respond. He resorted to change of pace. Kuldeep bowled another looping delivery to Shakib. This time, it was wider and a lot slower. The batter tried to hit it on the leg-side, but he was deceived in the…

For India, it was a World Cup to forget. They went to the 2007 World Cup (50-over format) in the Caribbean as one of the favourites, but lost their first group league fixture against Bangladesh. It eventually derailed their entire campaign and an early exit ensued. To this day, it remains arguably India’s most humiliating World Cup defeat. Rahul Dravid was the captain of that side, and he returned home to the news that fans (read, fanatics) had burned his effigies. Circa 2024, and Dravid is back to the West Indies for a World Cup (T20 format), and his team…