Cricket now

Gambhir (PC: X) Former England captain and current commentator Michael Atherton has warned Team India coach Gautam Gambhir that if India end up losing the ongoing England Test series, it will be their third consecutive Test series defeat—and that could create problems for him. Before the tour of England, India lost back-to-back Test series. First, they were badly whitewashed at home by New Zealand, and then they lost to Australia in Australia by 3-1 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. “Well, they’ve lost two series in a row. They lost at home to New Zealand 3-0 and they lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 3-1. If they lose this series then yeah, he’s under pressure as a coach,” said Atherton on Sky Sports. India has a huge fanbase all over the world. Whenever and wherever the Indian team plays, there are always huge expectations from them. “India, with all their resources, their population strength, they’re not a team that people are patient with. They’re expected to win every time they...

Shubman Gill run-out at Oval. Image: Debasis Sen Boria Majumdar at The Oval in London This series will be remembered as the tale of two run-outs. While we don’t know yet if the Shubman Gill run-out will impact the outcome, the truth is that England must have felt like they had won the national lottery to see India’s best batter get run out like that. Gill was looking in fine touch once again, and nothing much was happening for England on a green wicket. The bowlers hadn’t been able to bowl the right lines and India, after the fall of the KL Rahul’s wicket, had taken control. Let’s be clear. There was no run there. Debating whether Sai  Sudharsan could have made his ground and all that is plain rubbish. No way should you run for that. The bowler had three stumps to aim at, and knocked down the middle one. It was the perfect brain-fade moment and yet another opportunity lost for India. It was Gill who kept running. Sai had not responded to the call,  and yet, India’s skip...

Gambhir and Kotak (PC: Debasis_Sen) Boria Majumdar in London Gautam Gambhir’s stint as India’s red-ball coach has not been easy. Losing 3-0 against New Zealand at home, and then a 3-1 series loss against Australia down under meant he was under immense pressure coming to England. The retirement of senior players led to him mentoring a young team to the UK, and many had written them off at the start of the series. In fact, contrary to expectations, the team has shown serious fight. They could have won in Leeds and at Lord’s, and could well have been leading the series 2-1 coming to The Oval. All of this makes this Test match a hugely significant one for Gambhir. May I say that the India coaching job is all about man management. It is about protecting the players in times of adversity, and Gautam has ticked that box in England. That he backed Washington Sundar all through speaks of his spunk, and as the head coach, he has never shied away from a challenge.  Backing Washington a...

Henry 5th five-wicket haul helped NZ take control of day 1 of the first Test. (PC: X/@ZimCricketv) New Zealand took firm control on the opening day of the first Test against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo, with Matt Henry’s fiery six-wicket haul followed by a solid, unbeaten opening partnership between Devon Conway and Will Young. After being asked to bowl first, Henry made an immediate impact, removing opener Brian Bennett in just the third over. Three overs later, Ben Curran was sent packing, giving New Zealand early momentum. Henry continued to trouble the Zimbabwe batters, picking up the wicket of Nick Welch for a patient 27 in the 27th over. His most crucial strike came when he dismissed veteran all-rounder Sikandar Raza for just 2, inducing a mistimed pull shot. Newman Nyamhuri became his fifth victim, while Blessing Muzarabani rounded off the collapse. Henry ended with outstanding figures of 6/39 in 15.3 overs — his fifth five-wicket haul in Test cricket. He was well supported by N...

India U-19 will play five matches in Australia. (PC: BCCI) After a successful stint as captain during the recent England tour, Ayush Mhatre has once again been entrusted with leading the India Under-19 team. He will head a 17-member squad for the upcoming multi-format tour of Australia, starting September 21 in Norths. The squad also features in-form batter Vaibhav Suryavanshi. Top-order batter Vihaan Malhotra has been appointed vice-captain, replacing wicketkeeper-batter Abhigyan Kundu. Vihaan impressed across both the four-day and one-day formats in England and has been rewarded with a leadership role for the Australia tour. Under Mhatre’s captaincy, India U-19 clinched the Youth ODI series in England with a 3–2 win, while the two-match Youth Test series ended in a rain-affected draw. Mhatre led by example, amassing 340 runs in four innings, including a standout century. Suryavanshi was the top performer in the ODIs, racking up 355 runs in five innings. Several players from th...

India_Champions (PC-X) India Champions have declined to play against arch-rivals Pakistan Champions in the second edition of the World Championship of Legends (WCL). The two Asian giants were set to clash in the first semi-final on 31 July, but the fixture has now been cancelled. As a result, Pakistan Champions have advanced to the final after India Champions opted out of the semi-final, despite having finished fourth in the group with three points. Pakistan Champions had topped the group with nine points. This is the second time in the same tournament that India Champions have boycotted a match against their arch-rivals. “At WCL, we have always believed in the power of sport to inspire and bring about positive change in the world. However, public sentiment must always be respected — after all, everything we do is for our audience. We respect the India Champions’ decision to withdraw from the semi-finals, and we equally respect the Pakistan Champions’ readiness to compete. Taking...

Lee Fortis watching the Indian nets after the confrontation with Gambhir (PC: RevSportz) Gargi Raut at The Oval So far, the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy has given us gripping cricket, historic wins, heartbreaking losses and everything in between. And now, only a couple days before the final Test at The Oval, another fiery twist has been added to the series. For a series that is already simmering with tension, the moral debate sparked at Lord’s and then Old Trafford has found a new chapter in London.   The “spirit of cricket” is a phrase that is often used in cricket but rarely understood, and even more rarely agreed upon. While it is a romantic concept, it is also subjective.  At the Old Trafford, as the final session drew to a close, Stokes approached R Jadeja and Washington Sundar with an extended hand, asking for the Indian batters to accept a draw and end the contest. But the Indian pair, supported by the dressing room were looking to complete their centuries, cho...

Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja at Old Trafford (Image: Debasis Sen) / Nick Compton (Instagram) RevSportz Exclusive India’s men’s cricket team are set to begin the final Test match of the series against England from July 31, at The Kia Oval. Trailing 2-1, India go into this match after a thrilling draw in Manchester, with the aim of winning the match and levelling up the series 2-2. In a candid conversation with RevSportz, former England cricketer Nick Compton spoke about the series so far, England’s Bazball approach, the ‘Handshake Controversy’, Jasprit Bumrah at The Oval, and much more. Firstly, I would love to know your thoughts on the series so far. It has been quite a heated contest. Both teams have been performing superbly. What kind of advertisement for Test cricket do you think this has been? Nick Compton: Yeah, look, I think firstly it has been a great advertisement. Test cricket has been under scrutiny for some time now, hasn’t it? But it has a habit of produci...

A moment from the argument – Gautam Gambhir pointing a finger at Head grounds man Lee Fortis for something he said to the home team (PC: RevSportz) I was recording my explainer of what happened between Gautam Gambhir and Lee Fortis from the stands just below the media box while two of the crew members from the rights-holding broadcaster were busy doing their work inside the ground. We were in close proximity to each other, and they were listening to me recounting what had transpired between Gautam and Fortis. As soon as I finished, one of them said to me, “That was actually very well said. We experience this all the time.” As I asked him to tell me more, he was conscious of what he had done. “Off the record,” he said, and smiled. “This is an issue with him and this isn’t the first time.” He then went back to his work. For More Updates From England : Follow RevSportz BREAKING: The Oval Ground Staff, Lee Fortis tries to play down the spat and says,”Gambhir is a touchy guy.” @debas...

Hope (PC: X) West Indies suffered a harsh 5-0 whitewash at the hands of Australia in their recent T20I series, but captain Shai Hope is already shifting his focus to the upcoming home series against Pakistan, which begins on July 31. Reflecting on the disappointing campaign, Hope pointed out the team’s inconsistent batting as the key reason behind their struggles across the five games. “I just didn’t think we put together a proper batting display. We either started well and finished poorly or the other way around,” Hope admitted during the post-match presentation after the final T20I. In the first three matches, West Indies got off to solid starts but failed to sustain the momentum. “As a batting group, we didn’t really give ourselves the best chance to put a big score on the board consistently. And that’s probably where we fell short. We’ve always been one step behind the eight-ball,” he added. Hope also touched upon the impact of losing all five tosses in the series. With West...