Author: Shamik Chakrabarty

Fourth over into Gujarat Titans’ run chase on Sunday night, and Mayank Yadav had the ball. Time to fasten the seat belt, but something felt amiss this time. A tearaway quick who has bowled the fastest ball (156.7 kph) in this year’s IPL yet, he was barely clocking 140 kph. Sai Sudharsan pounced on the opportunity and hit a couple of fours. Shubman Gill then slashed a very short and wide delivery over backward point for another boundary. Mayank was struggling and at the end of the over, he walked off the field, accompanied by the Lucknow Super Giants physio.…

In a low-scoring game, Lucknow Super Giants defended 163 by 33 runs. Gujarat Titans started off well, but lost wickets in clusters in the middle overs to fold up for 130 in 18.5 overs. Here’s how things panned out… Umesh rolls back the years At 36 years of age, international cricket is over for Umesh Yadav. His form in the IPL has been inconsistent. But when the senior fast bowler gets into a nice rhythm, he can still be a handful. On Sunday, against LSG, he straight away got into the groove and dismissed Quinton de Kock in the very…

It’s a tale of two batters. They are colleagues in the Indian team but rivals in the IPL. As Lucknow Super Giants take to Gujarat Titans in Lucknow on Sunday, focus will be on KL Rahul and Shubman Gill. Rahul and Gill bat in different positions in the Indian team. But both open for their respective franchises, Super Giants and Titans. With an eye on the upcoming T20 World Cup, somehow their fates are interlinked. If Gill is picked in India’s T20 World Cup squad, Rahul is unlikely to be included despite him having a different role and batting in…

Sourav Ganguly seldom offers deadpan defence to questions and once Delhi Capitals nominated him to do the pre-match press conference ahead of their game against Mumbai Indians, the media room at Wankhede had to be full. The former India captain, who is now DC’s director of cricket, didn’t disappoint. Questions on Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya facing boos and abuses from the fans had to come along the way. And Ganguly was prompt in his reply. “I don’t think they should boo Hardik Pandya,” he said. “It’s not correct. The franchise has appointed him as captain. That’s what happens in…

The under-pressure Mumbai Indians have received a Suryakumar Yadav boost, as the batter linked up with the squad on Friday and trained at Wankhede. He is set to feature in MI’s next IPL 2024 fixture, against Delhi Capitals on Sunday. On April 3, RevSportz reported that Surya had been declared fit by the National Cricket Academy and he would join the MI squad in two days. On Friday, the 33-year-old, who is the world’s No. 1 ranked T20I batter, hit the nets after a gap of four months. “He (Surya) trained with full intensity. Spent a good one hour at…

After an impressive IPL debut, banter ruled. Angkrish Raghuvanshi, a die-hard Manchester United fan, took to social media to troll his team-mate Phil Salt. The latter ostensibly falls for United’s “noisy neighbours” and Raghuvanshi emphatically reminded him via an Instagram repost: “Manchester is red”. The irreverence of youth had complete disregard for the current Premier League standings, where Manchester City are placed third with 67 points, while United are a distant sixth with 48 points. Raghuvanshi replaced the injured Nitish Rana in the Kolkata Knight Riders playing XI against Delhi Capitals. Unlike last year, however, KKR this time have been…

The ‘child of the wind’, as coined by former West Indies fast bowler Ian Bishop, is hurling thunderbolts from a high-arm action at the cricket grounds in India. And the ripple effect is felt far and wide, all over the world. From Bishop to Brett Lee, everyone seems to have fallen for Mayank Yadav’s pace and there’s an agreement that the young Lucknow Super Giants fast bowler is the find of the IPL 2024. “How old is he?” On the other side of the WhatsApp call, Fanie de Villiers, the former South Africa fast bowler, sounded excited. De Villiers was…

Suryakumar Yadav has been declared fit by the National Cricket Academy and is likely to join the Mumbai Indians camp in the next two days, Revsportz has learnt. On April 2, RevSportz reported that Surya, the world’s number one T20I batsman, was on the verge of getting his fitness clearance from the NCA and he might be available for MI’s home fixture against Delhi Capitals on April 7. The franchise is hopeful that his reintegration will go to plan. “Yes, Surya has received his fitness clearance and we expect him to join the squad in the next two days,” an…

Lakshmipati Balaji and Stephen Fleming (PC: X)He is the odd man out. In the ruthless world of franchise cricket, where coaches are on a merry-go-round, Stephen Fleming represents stability. He played for Chennai Super Kings in 2008. Next year, he became the team’s head coach. He has been at the helm since. MS Dhoni is the face of CSK. Fleming is happy to play second fiddle. He comes to press conferences but never boasts his presence despite the fact that he is the most successful coach in the IPL, with five titles under his watch. Fleming is part of the…

“Back badiya hai (back is fine),” said Shreyas Iyer after the IPL game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. He played a good hand in Kolkata Knight Riders’ victory, scoring 39 not out off 24 balls. More importantly, he didn’t feel any discomfort. The back has been Iyer’s real bugbear of late. RevSportz earlier reported how even after a surgery last year, he wasn’t pain-free and had to take painkiller injections to play the World Cup. The back trouble resurfaced again during the India-England Test series. His back was developing spasms after playing 60 balls. It is learnt that after the Ranji…