Author: Shamik Chakrabarty

This was Bazball’s darkest hour and India’s merry song. This was the triumph of youth and resilience, as a team bereft of several frontline players trampled all over a quality opponent. India’s 434-run victory on the fourth day of the third Test in Rajkot was their biggest-ever in terms of runs. They did it without Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Mohammed Shami, Rishabh Pant, and with Ravichandran Ashwin barely contributing with the ball in this game. A few performances stood out – centuries from Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja in the first innings, Mohammed Siraj’s four wickets and Kuldeep Yadav’s superb…

The falling ramp offered a throwback to Rishabh Pant’s treatment of James Anderson in Ahmedabad three years ago. Anderson was 38 years old then, and a callow youngster treating him with disdain obviously didn’t go down well with the England legend. Now 41 years old and still playing, the fast bowler was put to the sword by Yashasvi Jaiswal in Rajkot on Sunday. The age difference between Anderson and Jaiswal is close to 20 years. It was the irreverence of youth. The falling ramp for a four was just the prelude. Anderson bowled full outside off, and southpaw Jaiswal moved…

Even as the batsmen dominated England on the fourth morning in Rajkot, there was further good news for the Indian team – Ravichandran Ashwin is on his way back from Chennai, and will rejoin the third Test against England on Sunday. Even better, things at his home are stable now. The off-spinner, who took his 500th Test wicket on the second day of the ongoing Test, had to leave the game due to a medical emergency in his family. The BCCI has now let it be known that Ashwin will be back in action immediately after he rejoins the squad…

So much so for the BCCI directive. Ishan Kishan has decided to skip Jharkhand’s final group league game in the Ranji Trophy, against Rajasthan. This, despite Jay Shah, the BCCI secretary, asking the centrally contracted players to turn up for domestic red-ball cricket unless they are part of the Indian team or doing their rehab at the National Cricket Academy. Kishan is said to be spending his time at Kiran More’s academy in Baroda. Kishan is not a case in isolation though. Deepak Chahar and Shreyas Iyer, too, are not featuring in the last round of the Ranji matches that…

It was so near and yet so far in Vizag. It had to happen in Rajkot, and it did on the second day of the third Test between India and England. Ravichandran Ashwin became the second Indian to take 500 Test wickets, when he dismissed Zak Crawley and went into the embrace of his team-mates. A full-length delivery down leg-side that the England opener tried to sweep, but top-edged to Rajat Patidar at short fine leg. Ashwin raised his hand to acknowledge the crowd. In the pavilion, Rahul Dravid stood up to applaud. The occasion demanded a bigger turnout, but…

Naushad Khan was welling up, tears rolling down his cheeks. Out there in the middle, before the start of the third Test between India and England at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot, his son Sarfaraz was receiving his maiden Test cap from Anil Kumble. Patience and perseverance were finally rewarded. A journey that started at Azad Maidan in Mumbai had finally reached its holy grail. No wonder that Naushad was inconsolable. On Thursday, Sarfaraz became the 311th cricketer to play Test cricket for India. Dhruv Jurel, who also received his Test cap today, was the 312th. Amar Singh was…

Rohit Sharma will captain India at the T20 World Cup in the United States and the Caribbean later this year, BCCI secretary Jay Shah has confirmed. He has also spoken about Virat Kohli, saying that the former India captain has every right to take a leave of absence. And Shah has reiterated that contracted players will have to play the Ranji Trophy if they aren’t with the Indian team or doing their rehab at the National Cricket Academy. “Rohit has returned to the T20I fold after a gap of one year,” Shah told reporters, on the sidelines of the renaming…

An ugly hoick brought an end to a weird innings. Joe Root threw caution to the wind and it brought about his downfall in the second Test against India in Vizag. Ravichandran Ashwin got a wicket and edged closer to 500 Test scalps. But England’s best batter getting out in that fashion struck an uneasy chord. Root was carrying a finger injury, as England chased 399 for victory in the fourth innings in Vizag. But it would be too simplistic to suggest that the former England captain’s no-holds-barred approach was down to the injury only. After Brendon McCullum and Ben…

First things first… India played a poor game against Australia at the U-19 World Cup final and were rolled over by a better team. Losses in the final have become a habit, irrespective of the level, junior or senior. The senior side lost to Australia at the World Test Championship final and then at the 50-over World Cup final. The boys went down to the Aussies in the U-19 World Cup final. On the face of it, India, across levels, have been struggling to come to terms with the weight of expectation. Why did India lose on Sunday? They were…

As reported, Virat Kohli remains unavailable for the final three matches of the ongoing five-Test series against England due to personal reasons. KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja have returned to the squad and will play at Rajkot subject to fitness clearance. Shreyas Iyer has been dropped, for the BCCI press release on Saturday didn’t mention any fitness issues with the middle-order batter. And, as expected, Jasprit Bumrah hasn’t been rested. The 17-member squad, unusually ‘bloated’ for a home series due to fitness concerns, has a new face in Bengal seamer Akash Deep. The latter has been rewarded for his performance…