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 [...]

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 [...]

A drawn series this time is disappointing for India

South African Captain Graeme Smith

When South African captain Graeme Smith has to make a cheeky comment he usually goes ahead and makes it. At the post-match presentation in Newlands though he was a man at sea and he struggled for the right words. He rumbled about this and that and was unsure whether to go forward or back. Then [...]

Defensive India Lose Golden Opportunity

Jacques Kallis played a vital role in South Africa's resurgence

It was a strange day at Cape Town. MS Dhoni finally won a toss and put South Africa in with conditions being ideal for fast bowling. Having come out of nowhere to blow South Africa away in Durban India had every right to feel that now with luck on their side they can show what [...]

The Cobra Strikes In Mamba Land

Jacques Kallis is airborne after gloving a brute of a delivery from Sreesanth

Durban will no longer be synonymous with a meek Indian capitulation. That India came out and defied all odds to leave South Africa in tatters at Kingsmead is perhaps the biggest confirmation of the fact that this team never gives up. Durban has not been a happy hunting ground for India. Back in 1996 the [...]

Magical Durban Test On A Knife’s Edge

VVS Laxman made a gem of a 96 to set South Africa a stiff target

It’s still anybody’s game. Although India are certainly better placed having accounted for three wickets and still having a cushion of enough runs (South Africa need 192 more to win) to get the remaining seven. The pendulum would have swung heavily in India’s favour had Cheteshwar Pujara been able to hold on to a very [...]