On Greg Chappell’s deliberately-defective timing

Sachin Tendulkar of India hits out during the second Test match between England and India at Trent Bridge on July 30, 2011 in Nottingham, England

A few selective leaks have come out of Greg Chappell’s new book called Fierce Focus and are doing the rounds in the international sports media. What Chappell has said is not a startling insight into the secret world of Sachin Tendulkar as the lead paragraph of the Herald Sun story proclaims. Allow me to show how it is, [...]

Spoilt By The Cricket World Cup

Gary Kirsten with MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar

The hangover of that historic Saturday in Mumbai refuses to leave the bloodstream so soon. There has been little time to ponder over it and to enjoy its aftertaste. Cricket albeit has moved ahead with such nauseating speed that in less than a fortnight since that spontaneous eruption of joy on the streets of the [...]

Dhoni’s Audacity Won The Cup

Yuvraj Singh (L) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni after winning the 2011 World Cup in Mumbai.

It wasn’t a hundred. Though it was by far the innings of the tournament considering the odds stacked up against its possibility and the fear of falling at the last hurdle if it didn’t come off as its background. What Indian captain MS Dhoni showed late on Saturday evening at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai [...]

On That Day In Sydney

Tendulkar accepts the generous applause.

In a few months from now this blog would celebrate its second birthday and I may miss the occasion so I am having an early party to mark a different milestone. This is the hundredth post of the blog and I pause for a moment to think of all the effort that has gone in [...]

Yuvraj Singh, Take A Bow

Yuvraj Singh, India's man of the moment.

Nairobi, the seventh of October 2000, a still under 19-years-old boy walked out to the crease in the 19th over of India’s quarter-final innings against Australia in the ICC KnockOut tournament. The score was 90 for three and Tendulkar, Ganguly and Dravid were back in the pavilion. It was the first time Yuvraj Singh came [...]

India Hold The Aces If They Keep Their Nerve

Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni at a practice session.

A knockout game comes with its own pressure and the recent past is the reservoir from where a team draws its strength to seize the contest. The big day though can throw surprises and even best laid plans can come to nothing. And the history of the World Cup is a testimony that tells us [...]

The Nagpur Nightmare Can Haunt India

Sachin Tendulkar during his magnificient hundred against South Africa in Nagpur.

In the build-up to India’s most-crucial Group stage clash, captain MS Dhoni in his pre-match talk a day before stressed on the importance of a start from the trio at the top that could then allow the explosive middle-order to play its A-game. “If we have slightly longer partnerships at the top, the explosive power [...]

Brilliant Li Na Ends Up Second-Best

Li Na of China celebrates her victory over Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark during her semi-final match at the Australian Open in Melbourne.

It wasn’t a masked ball at the Rod Laver Arena on Saturday yet the final moments led to some spontaneous unmasking. Kim Clijsters of Belgium told the fans in the stadium that they could finally call her Aussie Kim while Li Na was very cross with her own supporters claiming they were trying to coach [...]

Acid Test For Indian Cricket

A key concern for the Indians would be the fitness of Zaheer Khan.

The first real trial after India became the number one Test team in the world begins on Thursday at the SuperSport Park, Centurion. India has a poor record playing in South Africa with a solitary Test win in Johannesburg that came in their last tour as the only success in 12 Test matches. After that [...]

The Boy From Bandra

At the other end

Sachin Tendulkar is on a different planet. Like Usain Bolt he’s left the competition to settle matters between themselves as he blazes ahead. Can we please have a bold 80-point newspaper headline saying ‘He Bats On’? Three lengthy breaks from cricket and two career-threatening injuries that needed surgeries are now years behind him and bowlers [...]