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IND vs NZ: Ro-Ko mania at Eden Park, but there’s a bigger picture

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Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir (Image: Debasis Sen) Around 1 pm local time, India were yet to turn up at Eden Park for their matchday-minus-one training session. A sizable gathering of the Indian diaspora had already assembled outside Gate J. “Can you please arrange a picture of Virat Kohli?” was the collective request. About a couple of hours later, when the former India captain stopped in front of the gate to oblige the fans, “Kohli, Kohli” chants reverberated in the air. By then, the gathering had swelled into a crowd. Rohit Sharma, meanwhile, was having a light-hearted conversation with the Indian team support staff after finishing his session. Sukoon is writ large on his face. He is in calmer waters now. Ajit Agarkar is gone, the new selection committee chairman, Pragyan Ojha, is unlikely to rock the boat, and Rohit is no longer on a slippery slope. If he stays fit, he will play the 2027 World Cup. A five-match ODI series in the context of modern-day cricket, and especially i...
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The Mountain, the Fast Bowler and the Man Who Wouldn’t Smile

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Image: @ProteasMenCSA At some point during the Newlands Test, I found myself watching the mountain rather than the cricket. Table Mountain does that to you, with Devil’s Peak forming its eastern flank, clouds gathering over the heights and that extraordinary white tablecloth spilling over the mountain’s edge. I have visited Table Mountain, and the television pictures brought back memories of standing before something whose scale a photograph can never quite capture. At Newlands, even the most devoted spectator must occasionally forget to watch the bowler. South Africa made 329, conceded 429, recovered to score 387 and then dismissed Australia for 111. A 176-run victory, a series won 2–1 and the world’s No. 1 Test ranking reclaimed. For much of this match, Australia had good reason to believe they would win. South Africa had surrendered a promising first-innings start and fallen 100 runs behind. Ryan Rickelton and Wiaan Mulder’s sixth-wicket partnership of 154, with Rickelton making 1...
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“They’re Still Playing Very Well”: Santner Braces for Indian Hype and Ro-Ko Test in ODI Series Opener

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Mitchell Santner ahead of first ODI (PC: RevSportz) Ahead of the five-match ODI series opener against India at Eden Park, New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner confronted a packed press room with his trademark dry candor, dissecting everything from squad concussions and tactical shifts to the looming shadow of India’s veteran titans. Chief among New Zealand’s immediate concerns is the fallout from a bruising training-ground collision between Devon Conway and Matt Henry. Santner confirmed that Devon Conway’s participation hangs by a thread. “Matt (Henry) went through his concussion thing, he seems okay. But Dev’s been raced off premises, so, yeah, it didn’t look too good actually, the collision,” Santner admitted, ruling out an early lineup announcement.  “It’s one of those ones you want to take very seriously, obviously head knocks. We have a backup batter in line just in case, but yeah, we’ll wait and see how he pulls up.” Should C...
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IND vs NZ: Iyer Flags India’s Fielding Concerns After T20I Series Win

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Shreyas Iyer. Image: BCCI India T20I captain Shreyas Iyer reviewed his team’s performance after the 3-2 T20I series win against New Zealand and highlighted the areas that need improvement going forward. New Zealand won the last two T20Is to deny India a series whitewash after the visitors had won the first three games. The hosts ended the series on a high with two back-to-back wins. Reflecting on the final T20I and the series, Iyer said: “We were a bit sloppy. But great learning. I think coming overseas, coming to New Zealand, getting to play on such different occasions, different grounds. We have to work on a couple of things, especially fielding. That is one aspect of the game we need to improve on. But honestly, it’s not that easy when you come under such dark lights, clear skies. We don’t get that much in India. But yeah, great learning curve.” Iyer underlined India’s struggles in the fielding department, an area of concern that continues to persist. Alth...
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One year since India’s epoch-making WC triumph: A peek into intense training sessions

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Indian Women’s Cricket Team with ODI World Cup title (PC: BCCI Women) Today marks the first anniversary of the Women in Blue’s historic maiden Women’s ODI World Cup triumph. On this day in 2025, India defeated South Africa in the final at the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, lifting their first-ever ICC Women’s ODI World Cup title in front of a packed home crowd. The writer was among the fortunate media personnel present to witness the historic moment. Thousands of fans singing ‘Vande Mataram’ together and chanting ‘India, India’ created an atmosphere that will remain etched in memory for years. India’s journey to the title, however, was far from straightforward. Two wins to begin the campaign were followed by three consecutive defeats before the Women in Blue staged a remarkable comeback. They beat New Zealand in the group stage to qualify for the semi-finals, overcame the mighty Australian challenge in the semi-final and eventually defeated South Africa in the summit clash....
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SA vs AUS: Cummins Opens Door to Team Changes After Test Series Loss

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Marnus Labuschagne at the MCG (PC: Debasis Sen) Australia Test captain Pat Cummins hinted at possible changes to the team following their 1-2 defeat in the three-match Test series against South Africa. Despite winning the first Test in Durban, Australia went on to lose the series 1-2 to the Proteas. Cummins was asked about the possibility of changes to the team following the series defeat. “I think it’s always the case after losing a series [that changes are talked about], and it’s probably fair; we lost two games in a row,” Cummins said at the press conference. “It’s fair to be asking those questions. We’ll be asking them internally as well. We are a very good side, but I think we need to get a little bit better if we want to get back to No. 1 … so maybe that’s a change of style, maybe it’s a change of personnel in some instances. Give us a couple of weeks and work it out.” Australia not only lost the series but also...
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India’s Bowling Woes in T20Is: Are the Bowlers to Blame for Skyrocketing Scores?

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Mayank Yadav (PC: @mayankyadav_8) Eleven. That is the number of times India have conceded more than 200 runs in the shortest format since the T20 World Cup win earlier in the year. Recently, we also witnessed West Indies chase down a target in excess of 250 against India. Moreover, in that India-West Indies T20I series, from the home team’s point of view, only Prince Yadav managed to maintain an economy rate of under 10. Unfortunately for the Indian bowlers, the chastening experience has continued in the ongoing T20Is in New Zealand, with the likes of Prince, Mayank Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel and Co. all conceding runs at more than 10 an over. So, how should we look at these statistics? Is it down to India not having the required resources beyond Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh for T20Is? Or are there other factors that have made life tougher for bowlers across the cricketing landscape? For starters, we have to understand that we live in an e...
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