Author: Subhayan Chakraborty

With a few thousand fans in attendance at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, the Indian team began preparations in earnest with an intense practice session on Monday ahead of the first T20I of the five-match series against South Africa, which begins on Tuesday. Having recovered from a neck spasm, Shubman Gill was the centre of attention as the entire squad, except Hardik Pandya, who had a solo practice session on Sunday, turned up for the nets. After a hectic travel schedule that took him from Kolkata to Guwahati, Mumbai, Chandigarh, and Bengaluru, Gill finally looked back to his best, having…

Suryakumar Yadav, India’s T20I captain, said his team wouldn’t be making too many changes in the combination as the road to the T20 World Cup starts with the five-T20I series against South Africa, commencing Tuesday at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. The skipper also gave a bit of an insight on why the team management went to Shubman Gill as the opener while dropping Sanju Samson in the middle order role. With India set to play 10 T20Is on the road to the marquee tournament, Surya is content with the kind of performances the team has been showcasing in the shortest…

After recovering fully from the quadriceps injury sustained during the Asia Cup earlier this year, Hardik Pandya returned to India colours by training solo at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack ahead of the first match of the five-T20I series against South Africa. Having recently played for Baroda in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Pandya familiarised himself with the conditions in Cuttack, fine-tuning both his batting and bowling during the session before the series opener. With the Indian team arriving in batches in Cuttack, Pandya reached the city on Saturday evening and decided to have a hit on Sunday. Mindful of…

What started as a morning of quiet English consolidation turned into a rollercoaster that ended with Australia taking a 44-run lead at stumps on Day 2 at the Gabba, as the hosts finished with 378/6 on the board. England were rolled over in the first hour, Australian openers, with Travis Head promoted up the order, providing a solid start. Then Jake Weatherald and Marnus Labuschagne counter-attacked brilliantly before the likes of Steve Smith, Cameron Green, Josh Inglis and Michael Nesser added on to the total to help the hosts go in ascendency on Day 2. Earlier, Brendan Doggett needed only…

Joe Root was mocked and ridiculed by the Australian press for his lack of a century on their soil, especially after the crushing defeat in the Perth Test. The Englishman bounced back in style at the Gabba, flipping the narrative while keeping the Ashes alive and kicking. Less than a fortnight after being dismissed as a “dud” Down Under, Root broke a decade-old drought with his first Test century in Australia on Thursday, breathing life into England’s Ashes campaign in Brisbane. The England maestro finished unbeaten on 138 from 206 balls, steering his side to a competitive 334 all out…

India’s squad for the South Africa T20Is dropped a quiet bombshell: Rinku Singh, the man who’s been a regular part of the T20I set-up as a finisher since 2023, has been left out. Not injured, not rested — just left out. And once again, right ahead of another T20 World Cup. In his place? Another all-rounder. Actually, several. Hardik Pandya is back (expectedly) and Shubman Gill returns (also expected), but the real story is what this 15 says about February 2026. The message from the Ajit Agarkar-led committee is pretty clear: multi-skilled players will shape the shortest format. You need…

Subhayan Chakraborty in Ranchi Virat Kohli lit up Ranchi on Sunday with a scintillating 135 that earned him Player of the Match honours and powered India to a 17-run victory in the first ODI against South Africa. The 37-year-old’s knock laid the foundation for India’s imposing total of 349, which proved too steep for the visitors despite a valiant chase. With a media report suggesting that a player recently retired from Tests might be open to rethink his decision, speculations were rife whether it was Kohli. However, the batting maestro was quick to shut down the rumours while also hinting…

All whispers, all doubts, every restless question that had shadowed Virat Kohli for months dissolved into the mellow Ranchi afternoon sunshine the instant he found his old, untouchable rhythm. In front of a heaving, breathless JSCA Stadium, he crafted his 52nd ODI century — his 83rd across formats — against South Africa, and in doing so turned the clock back. For weeks the talk had been only of one thing, the homecoming of Rohit Sharma and Kohli after ten long months away from Indian soil. Tickets were swallowed by the black market at ten times their price, traded like sacred…

India will be without regular captain Shubman Gill and vice-captain Shreyas Iyer for the upcoming three-match ODI series against South Africa, which begins on Sunday. The team is eager to put the recent 0-2 Test series drubbing behind them. In their absence, KL Rahul will lead the side and will rely on the vast experience of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja to guide the squad toward a strong comeback. Although the 50-over format is no longer India’s top priority, with the next ODI World Cup still two years away, interest in bilateral ODIs has surged again – largely…

PC- Debasis Sen Marco Jansen produced one of the great individual performances on Indian soil to leave the hosts reeling on Day 3 of the Guwahati Test and place South Africa within touching distance of a historic series whitewash.Walking in with South Africa already holding a 1-0 lead, a drawn result would have been satisfactory for his team. Instead, Jansen…