India have played in a manner befitting their defending champions status. This team, under Niki Prasad, is perhaps stronger than the one that had two internationals – Shafali Verma and Richa Ghosh – and won the inaugural Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup in 2023. They have demolished all their opponents, with wins over West Indies, … Read more
Big Picture: Fearless India meet wobbly England Fifteen wins and two losses in 17 T20Is since winning the T20 World Cup last June has made India almost impenetrable in the format. This despite having to mix and match their players, owing to the cramped cricket calendar. It’s scary to imagine what they can achieve if … Read more
Big Picture: England vs spin England would have felt a sense of deja vu when they were skittled for 132 in the T20I series opener in Kolkata on Wednesday. In June 2024, in the T20 World Cup semi-final in Providence, they watched Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel return combined figures of 11-0-58-6. At … Read more
Big picture: Teams in transition Gautam Gambhir and Brendon McCullum have many things in common. They were both stellar openers, they were both captain and coach of Kolkata Knight Riders at different times, they’re both known for their “aggressive” mindsets when it comes to approaching the game from the dugout, and, now, they both find … Read more
Big picture: SCG showdown to decide Border-Gavaskar Trophy From that first day , when 17 wickets fell in Perth, there has been intrigue in this Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Even the game ruined by rain in Brisbane threw up something unexpected – a sudden retirement. Now as a hard fought, highly entertaining series comes to an end, … Read more
Big Picture: Border-Gavaskar Trophy on the line This is big. If India win at the MCG, they retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. If Australia win, they remain on track for a first series win over India in a decade. A defeat for the home side would trigger significant questions while if India lose, their World Test … Read more
Big picture: Huge test for Australia Was Perth a case of a very fine team having a bad few days and another playing as well as they possibly could, or the signs of a very fine team that has peaked and is now on the slide against one good enough to take advantage? Perhaps it’s … Read more
You run into fast bowlers everywhere in Perth. One of them was walking down Plain Street, which is a five-minute walk from the WACA, with a bag of groceries. Mitchell Starc will be a little less chill once the clock hits 10.20am on Friday. This Border-Gavaskar Trophy has been on simmer for a fair while. … Read more
Big picture: Two contrasting T20I runs Both India and South Africa had a sensational T20 World Cup 2024. They sailed through the group stage unbeaten and then topped their respective groups in the Super Eight before registering comfortable wins in the semi-finals. Even in the final, there was little to separate the two teams right … Read more
Big picture: Rematch of T20 World Cup final In one way, Friday’s T20I between South Africa and India is a grudge match. The last time these two sides met was in Barbados, in the 2024 T20 World Cup final. India had no business winning that match when South Africa needed 30 off 30 balls with … Read more