Author: Subhayan Chakraborty

Subhayan Chakraborty at Lord’s Taking painkillers while scoring runs for India, Rishabh Pant once again set his finger injury aside to put his team ahead on Day 3 of the Lord’s Test. He stitched a crucial 141-run stand with KL Rahul and completed his half-century in style. With Yashasvi Jaiswal, Karun Nair and Shubman Gill failing to convert starts, India were in a spot of bother at 107/3 in reply to England’s 387. Until that run out, Pant was bossing the bowlers. Pant was struck on his left index finger while keeping on Day 1 and didn’t don the big…

With the Dukes ball copping criticism for not lasting for the designated 80 overs during the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, the owner of the ball manufacturing factory in England, Dilip Jajodia, cites rapid change in the weather in the UK, the power of modern-day bats and lesser grass on the pitches as possible reasons of the ball losing shape sooner than expected. The new Dukes was changed after 64 deliveries on Day 2 of the Lord’s Test, while the replacement lasted 48 deliveries. “Nothing is wrong because we make the ball to a standard. It’s made with natural, raw materials like…

Subhayan Chakraborty at Lord’s The Lord’s Test is always a grand spectacle, no matter who’s battling it out at this legendary venue. The hallowed ground, the electric atmosphere, that quirky slope, the iconic balconies, and every inch of the stands—Lord’s oozes history, earning its rightful title as ‘The Home of Cricket’. Day 1 of the England-India Test was no exception, with the series locked at 1-1. This is the pivotal match, the one to seize momentum in the second half of the five-match showdown. The day held extra magic for Sachin Tendulkar, the ‘God of Cricket’. Despite a modest…

Subhayan Chakraborty in London It was an optional session for Team India on Tuesday as the visitors stepped on to the iconic Lord’s to start their preparations for the third of the five-Test rubber with the series firmly poised at 1-1. With not much turnaround time for Lord’s from Edgbaston, there were a few absentees in Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj and Washington Sundar but all eyes were on ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who is set to return to the India playing XI as already confirmed by captain Gill. Head coach Gautam Gambhir…

Subhayan Chakraborty in Birmingham “I can’t see my favorite journalist,” said Shubman Gill with a beaming, friendly smile during the post-match press conference after India breached Fortress Edgbaston and defeated England by 336 runs to level the five-Test series at 1-1. “Where is he? I wanted to see him.” An English journalist had reminded Gill about India’s winless history at the venue before the start of the game. Not only one English journalist, but many experts and fans had questioned Gill when he was named India’s Test captain, and even more so when the visitors lost the Headingley Test despite…

Subhayan Chakraborty in Birmingham Akash Deep may not have found his name on the Edgbaston honours board after the first innings, where he claimed a four-wicket haul while Mohammed Siraj stole the spotlight with a six-wicket performance. However, on Day 4, Akash instilled fear in the English batters with his sheer skill, terrorising them with the new ball. He dismissed Ben Duckett and left ICC’s No. 1 Test batter, Joe Root, utterly clueless with an absolute peach of a delivery, leaving the hosts in disarray heading into the fifth and final day of the Edgbaston Test. Akash’s prowess with the…

Subhayan Chakraborty at Edgbaston It was a rollercoaster of a Day 3 at Edgbaston as England folded for 407 runs with Mohammed Siraj bagging a six-for and Akash Deep picking up four. While Siraj and Akash shared the wickets between them, Prasidh Krishna and the spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar went wicketless on a placid track in Birmingham. On what has been a flat and dry surface at Edgbaston, the wicket offered little for the bowlers, especially the slow ones. For England, Shoaib Bashir did get slight purchase from the pitch, ending up with three wickets…

Subhayan Chakraborty in Birmingham Akash Deep came to the Edgbaston Test on the back of a slight back niggle that troubled him throughout the IPL. It was one of the reasons he didn’t feature in either of the two India A games or the opening Test against England in Leeds. Rather than playing, the Bengal pacer focused on increasing his load in the nets and fine-tuning his skills with the Dukes ball. Before Day 2 of the Edgbaston Test, Akash had no experience of bowling with that make of a cricket ball except for in the nets. However, when handed…

Subhayan Chakraborty in Birmingham India are yet to announce their squad for the upcoming Test, likely holding off until the toss to finalise their decision on Jasprit Bumrah. The top-ranked fast bowler is expected to sit out this match, with indications suggesting he may only feature in three of the five Tests in the series. The visitors are poised to make additional tweaks to their lineup. Nitish Kumar Reddy could be brought in to strengthen the batting, while Akash Deep is a likely replacement for Bumrah. Additionally, India might opt for all-rounder Washington Sundar in place of Shardul Thakur to…

Subhayan Chakraborty in Birmingham As the practice session for the Indian team started on Monday at Edgbaston in Birmingham ahead of the second Test against England, the fielding drills saw a bit of a tweak. After several dropped catches in the Headingley Test, Yashasvi Jaiswal was not seen in the slip cordon as Sai Sudharsan and Nitish Kumar Reddy rotated between the fourth slip and gully with Karun Nair taking the first slip, KL Rahul second and Shubman Gill standing at third slip. While the slip catching session was on, head coach Gautam Gambhir and assistant coach Ryan Ten Doeschate…