Author: Subhayan Chakraborty

Ravindra Jadeja, at the end of Day 1 of the Mumbai Test against New Zealand, backed his Indian teammates after the hosts lost a flurry of wickets to end the day on 86/4 while trailing behind by 149 runs. Jadeja, who bagged a fifer to help India restrict the visitors to 235 runs, couldn’t comprehend the proceedings as the Men in Blue lost Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mohammed Siraj and Virat Kohli 15 minutes before the stumps as India ended the day on the backfoot. “I didn’t even get the time to comprehend. Everything happened in 10 minutes,” Jadeja told reporters…

Subhayan Chakraborty in Mumbai For New Zealand’s men’s cricket team, their topsy-turvy tour of the sub-continent will come to an end with the third Test against India at Wankhede Stadium. It started with a 0-2 series defeat in Sri Lanka, followed by a headline-making washout against Afghanistan in Noida, and is set to conclude with a historic, first-ever Test series win against India. The Mumbai Test presents New Zealand with the opportunity of a clean sweep on Indian soil, something not achieved by any team since 2000. Daryl Mitchell, who kicked off the sub-continent tour with a punchy 57 against…

The white lines marking the off and leg stumps were back in the India nets as the Men in Blue sweated it out at the Wankhede Stadium on the eve of the third and final Test against New Zealand. The focus was firmly on the two senior-most batters in the team, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, following their inconsistent run of form in the longest format of the game. Kohli was the first to walk out to bat in the nets. The primary focus was on the farthest net, where all the main spinners — Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep…

Subhayan Chakraborty in Mumbai Despite the poor showing of India’s batters, Gautam Gambhir, the head coach, refused to pin the blame on certain individuals while accepting that the entire squad was hurt after losing their first Test series at home since 2012. India head into the third Test against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai bidding to avoid a clean sweep, while also aiming for a crucial win in the context of the World Test Championship (WTC). “I’m not going to sugarcoat this,” Gambhir told reporters in Mumbai on the eve of the third Test. “Obviously, it’s hurting.…

Subhayan Chakraborty in Mumbai With the off stump and leg-stump lines marked in white on all four practice pitches, the Indian team started gearing up for the third and final Test against New Zealand at the iconic Wankhede Stadium. With the full team present, almost all the players had the opportunity to bat in the nets, where a couple of dozen net bowlers were summoned for practice on Wednesday. As thepitch preparations continued, the Indian team began the day with a huddle where captain Rohit Sharma took centre stage to address the players. Soon after, the big guns like Virat…

Subhayan Chakraborty in Mumbai India’s prospects of qualifying for the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 final have taken a hit following their historic series loss to New Zealand. That also ended their long-standing invincibility on home soil. To secure a spot in their third consecutive WTC final without depending on other results, India must win four out of their remaining six matches. As they prepare for the third and final Test against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, assistant coach Abhishek Nayar backed the senior pros, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, to come good despite their recent struggles…

Subhayan Chakraborty in Mumbai Indian cricketers are always under the microscope, and criticism comes thick and fast when players are not having consistent returns. Over the last few years, players like Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, and Shubman Gill have been the mainstay in the middle order and all of them have gone through their fair share of criticism when not on song. Now, the spotlight shifts to KL Rahul, who is in a contest with Sarfaraz Khan for the crucial No. 6 batting position, especially with India’s upcoming five-Test series against Australia around the corner. A…

Subhayan Chakrabarty in Pune India’s journey to qualify for the World Test Championship is currently precarious, with the future participation of veteran players like Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin in doubt due to potential retirements. Their departure could usher in a challenging era of transition for the Indian cricket team. But who are the potential replacements of some of the senior-most players of the Indian team – Rohit, Virat Kohli, Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Shami – when the time comes for them to bid adieu to the longest format? The likelihood of Rohit Sharma continuing through another WTC cycle…

Skipper Rohit Sharma accepted feeling ‘hurt’ after India suffered a home Test series defeat against New Zealand, as the hosts lost the second Test in Pune by 113 runs to concede the three-match rubber. This was India’s first home Test series loss since 2012 as the Black Caps dominated the proceedings at the MCA Stadium in Pune. Despite the defeat, Rohit didn’t throw his players under the bus as he said he doesn’t doubt anyone’s ability in the longest format of the game. “I do not doubt anyone’s ability. I won’t do much postmortem of this, but batters must…

Mitchell Santner ripped through the Indian batting order in the Pune Test, finishing with his career best figures of 7/53 as the hosts were wrapped up for 156 runs. Santner, before the Pune Test, had 54 wickets in 28 Tests. He had never taken more than three scalps in an innings. His average in seven Tests in Asia stood at a whopping 53.29 but he turned the match in favour of New Zealand single-handedly with the ball. The left-arm spinner changed his pace impeccably to trouble the Indian batters throughout the day. “At the start, I was kind of…