कल शाम ठाकुर साहब के संग महफिल लगी थी । नौकरी, राजनीति और मौसम से सरकते-घिसटते हुए बातचीत अंततोगत्वा क्रिकेट तक पहुंची । आईपीएल  के सस्ते होहल्ले से दूर हमारी चर्चा के केंद्र में थी मध्यकालीन क्रिकेट । (मेरे हिसाब से प्राचीन काल प्रथम एक-दिवसीय विश्वकप, अर्थात प्रूडेंशियल कप 1975 तक का; 1975 से 1999…

Out of the eighteen fours he struck in his innings, two against Paul Adams were badly miscued. Azharuddin had intended to hit them between the midwicket and the mid-on, but they crossed the fence between the third man and the deep backward point. From each stroke that he blasted that day on the Eden, emanated…

Australia at one stage were tottering at 4/95 in their second innings, while chasing a target of 336. But Neil Harvey, the usually flamboyant, but that day a picture of patience and doggedness, partnered with two lower order batsmen to take the Ozzies to a memorable victory by 5 wickets, with only half-an hour to…

ACT ONE The gang of four is up at one in the night of the Adelaidebacle. The fielding coach, Shridhar, is shocked to receive a message from Kohli at this ungodly hour, because the captain had not touched alcohol in seven years, and goes to bed early after face-chatting with his wife. Shridhar- The skip…

Eleven players get selected to play in a cricket match. One of them leads the side. The order of these two statements is never reversed. A captain is not given a commission to raise a standing army. There are no stand-in captains, only captains. The former is just a management ploy which utilises feudal practices…

Four tests as the skipper so far, thrice victorious, still unbeaten. Surely those three wins were delivered by bowling predators. It becomes a habit, captaining the side boasting of a vicious attack. Today morning, at Woolloongabba, Ajinkya Rahane found himself leading a pack of fit herbivores in cricketing terms, bowlers without much bounce, swing, speed,…

Confirmed modern greatness is mean and self-centred. Since Steve Smith cannot now afford to openly rub sandpaper on the ball, he has taken to rubbing his spikes on the crease. Wiping away a newbie’s guard marks, and creating roughs on the pitch for spinners in full visibility of the TV cameras must also define the…

36 runs was the lowest that the BCCI XI had ever fallen for. But considering that this had happened in the first test itself of a four-match series in Australia, coupled with the fact that the best batsman and the captain of the side was proceeding  on Paternity Leave, the Adelaide humiliation notwithstanding, apprehensions of…

Virat Kohli is never out of form, be it in any format of the game. Not only is he a consistent run-getter, he is also a past master at converting his minor successes into major ones, It is this trick, this sense of responsibility, of not throwing his wicket away once he is set, that…

  When Nayan Mongia and Manoj Prabhakar showed their middle fingers  to the cricket establishment  by playing much too slowly in the final overs of the Kanpur ODI in 1994, the match referee Subba Rao penalized India by subtracting two points from their tri-series tally (decision later reversed by ICC on technical grounds). Unhappy BCCI…

Although the target set was a paltry 120, the signs from previous day were ominous. West Indies had skittled out for 140 in their second innings- their lowest ever score versus India. The bowl was flying thick and fast. There was noticeable movement in the air, on and off the pitch. There were still patches…