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Deepti Sharma celebrating her four wicket-haul in the WPL 2024 against DC (PC: BCCI) It was the 15th match of WPL 2024. UP Warriorz (UPW) needed a win against Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, to stay alive in the playoff race. Ultimately, they won by just one run, but the match was full of drama and tension. In their four WPL meetings, this was the first time UPW managed a victory, thanks to their current skipper, Deepti Sharma’s all-round brilliance. Deepti was named Player of the Match for her outstanding performance, scoring 59 off 48 balls and taking four wickets for 19 runs, including a hat-trick. However, how DC collapsed in the last two overs, allowing UPW to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, is now etched in the history books of this competition. Batting first, UPW managed only 138/8 in 20 overs, with Deepti top-scoring with 59. In reply, DC looked comfortable in their chase. After 13 overs, they needed just 48 runs off 42 balls, with skipper ...

Team India’s Champions Trophy win in 2013 (PC: BCCI) It was 9.30pm at Edgbaston and the presentation had just ended after a thrilling Champions Trophy final. The Indians had completed their victory lap and were gradually making it back to the confines of the dressing room. Outside, however, the party was just about to begin. As I walked out of the media gate, E3, to get to the car park and start the drive to Oxford, I was confronted by a sea of blue.  It was simply an Indian takeover of Edgbaston. There was a human chain with close to 1,000 people and each of them was singing “Hum Honge Kaamyaab”.  In front of the main entrance to the stadium, there were hundreds of Indian fans dancing to the tune of Chak De! India . Men and women who did not even know each other were hugging in sheer delight. As I managed to navigate my way to the car park, I could not but help think back to Mohali and the India-Pakistan semi-final in the 2011 World Cup. Birmingham and Mohali have very s...

MI batters Nat Sciver-Brunt and Yastika Bhatia having a chat in the middle of their chase (PC: WPL / X) Another all-round performance from Nat Sciver-Brunt was the difference between Mumbai Indians (MI) and their opponents, as the Women in Blue came back to winning ways, registering a five-wicket victory over a mediocre Gujarat Giants (GG) in the fifth match of the Women’s Premier League 2025. The England international scored a fearless 57 at a strike rate of 147, following her scalps of Beth Mooney and Ashleigh Gardner in the first innings. MI is now five-nil up against GG in head-to-head, a stat that the Women in Orange wouldn’t want to pay much heed to in this rivalry between the neighbours. After dismissing GG for a mere 120 in 20 overs, MI were steady in their chase, tackling GG’s spinners with poise before Sciver-Brunt took the bowlers to the cleaners. Gonalan Kamilini, the youngest-ever player to play in WPL, didn’t shy away from showing her abilities either, scoring a wel...

Shivam Dube in action for Mumbai in Ranji Trophy Semi-final against Vidarbha (PC: MCA / X) The pendulum swung wildly as far as the behaviour of the matches was concerned on Day 2 of the Ranji Trophy semi-finals. It was topsy-turvy between Vidarbha and Mumbai in Nagpur, where a three-wicket over from Parth Rekhade sparked madness on a day that claimed 12 wickets. In Ahmedabad against Gujarat, Kerala were slow yet steadfast in their attempt to bat big and deep. Vidarbha vs Mumbai, VCA Stadium, Nagpur The 42-time champions did well to terminate Vidarbha for 383 from 308/5 overnight. Shivam Dube came up with his third first-class five-wicket haul and did that in the role of the sixth bowler. The home team, which lost to Mumbai in last year’s final, must have been ruing that a number of their batters got starts and failed to convert. Akash Anand and Ajinkya Rahane appeared set to make Vidarbha pay when lightning struck. Playing his second game at this level and having made 23 after b...

Abdur Rehman and Rajasi for MI Juniors (PC: MI Media) Team A secured a commanding 122-run victory over Team D in a high-scoring league match of the Mumbai Indians Junior Boys Rising Star Tournament in Mumbai on Tuesday. Opting to bat first, Team A built early momentum with a 57-run stand for the second wicket between Pugazh Sundarraj (20) and captain Abdur Rahman . The skipper went on to play a stunning knock, scoring 177 runs , forging a 185-run partnership with Shreyash Gowari (52) , as Team A posted a massive 311/8 in 40 overs . Chasing 312, Team D started well with Amogh Patil (33) and Taha Attarwala (59-run stand) , but wickets fell at key moments. Aryan Purohit (47) and Arush Patade (33) * showed resistance, but Team D could only manage 189/7 in 40 overs , falling well short of the target. Girls’ Match: Rajasi’s 5-Wicket Haul Guides Team A to Victory In the Girls’ match , Team A claimed a 7-wicket win over Team B. Swaraa Jadhav (45) provided a strong start for Team ...

Three Pakistani fast bowlers turned up at the India nets on Monday. 1983 was a year of upheaval in world cricket. India won the World Cup at Lord’s, which would change the game forever in the country. But bigger things had been happening in the boardroom.   It was a time when the Test and County Cricket Board (TCCB) ruled English cricket and dictated terms in the game’s global body, in conjunction with their antipodean brothers. NKP Salve, then BCCI president and Union minister, showed the ‘temerity’ of asking for two extra passes for the World Cup final from the ‘masters of the game’. His request was denied. Salve’s bruised ego led to a resolve – the World Cup had to be moved out of Old Blighty.   Over a meal, Salve met then Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief, Air Marshal Nur Khan, and laid out his plans to bring the 1987 World Cup to the subcontinent. In 1984, England was out-voted at the ICC general body meeting and the World Cup, cricket for that matter, freed itse...

G Kamalini with the U19 World Cup trophy and Harmanpreet Kaur for Mumbai Indians (PC: MI Insta and ICC) Mumbai Indians (MI) started their Women’s Premier League (WPL) campaign with a narrow loss to Delhi Capitals (DC) in their season opener. However, they are now looking to bounce back as they take on Gujarat Giants (GG) today at Kotambi Stadium, Vadodara. Ahead of this match, one of the young stars of MI, Gunalan Kamalini, sat down for an exclusive chat with RevSportz. The attacking left-handed wicketkeeping batter, who comes from India’s U19 setup, has already shown her potential on big stages. She was a key player in India’s triumph in the Women’s U19 T20 World Cup, finishing as the third-highest run-scorer with 143 runs in seven innings, at an average of 35.75 and a strike rate of 104.37, including two fifties. MI recognised her talent early and roped her in for a hefty ₹1.6 crore. Known for spotting and nurturing emerging talents, the Mumbai Indians franchise has continued t...

Harshit Rana for India against England (Image: BCCI) Harshit Rana, the promising pace bowler, played all three ODIs in the recently concluded three-match series against England. For a moment, just scratch the surface, and you will notice that the think tank picked him for all the three games as they were unsure of Jasprit Bumrah’s fitness for the Champions Trophy. As it happened, the Indian pace spearhead was ruled out of the tournament. So, the onus now is now Mohammed Shami to lead the pace bowling stocks, with Harshit, Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya for support. Over a period of time, we have seen enough of Hardik and Shami’s skill sets and their impressive performances. But what about Harshit and Arshdeep? What are their strengths and weaknesses? Here’s a lowdown on the two bowlers.  Harshit: The pace bowler had played only 14 List-A games before his ODI debut. So, those three matches would have helped the pacer to understand the nuances of the 50-over format to some e...

Team India having practice sessions in Dubai (PC: Rohit Juglan) Shamik Chakrabarty in Dubai For the Indian team, things unravelled quickly and spectacularly in Australia. As it usually happens, when a side is in ferment, dirty linen was washed in public. Some startling reports emerged – a cricketer taking his personal chef on the tour, while another player’s entourage had a nanny for his kids. The disaster Down Under forced the BCCI to come up with a 10-point diktat for the players and coaching staff to promote discipline and unity. Before the team left for Dubai for the Champions Trophy, it was ensured that the SOPs were strictly adhered to. Accordingly, players are not accompanied by their families here. Even if some of them eventually turn up, they cannot stay in the team hotel. The players also came together, not in batches. As India had their first practice session at the ICC Academy ground on Sunday, capturing the mood was important. Safe to say that the BCCI guidelines ha...