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India wins, Indians live and love

On 7 Mar, 2017

To be in the stands and watch the Indian team give back the love they get each day was priceless.
© Anand Vasu

“It’s a great day for singin’ a song and it’s a great day for movin’ along. And it’s a great day from morning to night. And it’s a great day for everybody’s plight.”

The immortal Lt. Col. Frank Slade, played by the peerless Al Pacino in the timeless movie, Scent of a Woman, goes from being the grumpiest sourpuss on the planet to the happiest man in the world in a classic scene that anyone who has watched the movie will remember as long as they live. To be at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, a nameless face among a throbbing sea of humanity in the stands of a great cricket ground on a day when the home team overcame a determined and worthy adversary was perhaps the closest one could come to feeling the euphoria that Pacino so expertly encapsulated.

Kohli hints at Bangalore surprises

By Anand

On 3 Mar, 2017

In Field reports

Virat Kohli has a bit of fun with the media at his press conference
© Anand Vasu

Virat Kohli has spent half his international career being the angry young man of Indian cricket. The captain, however has chosen a distinctly more amicable path in his latest avatar. Having lost the first Test against Australia by the crushing margin of 333 runs, Kohli knew that he was likely to be asked some annoying questions ahead of the second Test in Bangalore. He focussed on the team’s lack of intent at key moments of the first Test, and bantered cheerfully with journalists who mustered the temerity to try and poke a reaction out of him. Excerpts:

Pitch obsession leaves Kumble in a spin

By Anand

On 2 Mar, 2017

In Field reports

If you watched Indian cricket in the late 1990s or the 2000s you will be familiar with this scene. The batsman has been drawn forward by the legspinner, beaten in the air or off the pitch and just as the bowler begins to celebrate he sees that the wicketkeeper was also beaten and the ball has run away for four byes. Anil Kumble would do his best to hide his true feelings at such moments, but the disappointment of the prey eluding a carefully laid trap would shine through. No cussing, no yelling, but that piercing look down the length of 22 yards left no-one in any doubt about what happened.

Life’s a pitch

By Anand

On 28 Feb, 2017

In Analysis

Life’s a pitch.
© The Scroll

The year was 2008. South Africa had arrived in India for a three-Test series and their first port of call was Chennai. The MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk was in typical March form, the last vestiges of the nominal Chennai winter having been burned off by typically fierce sunshine. It wasn’t quite the Ides of March, but the pace trio of Dale Steyn, Makhaya Ntini and Morne Morkel were distinctly amused when Parthasarathy Kannan, the curator at the stadium, spoke lovingly of the 22-yards he had tended to for more than three decades.

No names? No pitch? No-ball from Harbhajan Singh

By Anand

On 26 Feb, 2017

In Analysis

Harbhajan Singh tossed up the ball
© Anand Vasu

First the Australian team had no names. The Pune ground had no pitch. God alone knows what else will go missing in the parallel universe Harbhajan Singh inhabits, by the time the next Test of this India-Australia series takes place.

To make a prediction about how a series might play out is risky at the best of times. Sourav Ganguly, possibly when pressed by journalists looking for a headline, said: “I don’t predict in cricket, but I won’t be surprised if Australia lose 4-0.” Ganguly stuck his neck out, but he did not disrespect the opposition in doing so. And, sport is nothing if not unpredictable. After all, if we knew what was going to happen in advance why would we watch sport?

India gives the world Bishan Singh O’ Keefe

By Anand

On 24 Feb, 2017

In Analysis

Australia had more than enough on the board. India were lackadaisical after a long home season of piling on the runs. The toss was crucial, but only if Steven Smith could make it count. Australia had fluffed it before Mitchell Starc rescued them with the bat. India’s spinners are far better than Australia’s. India’s batsmen are too good against spin.

So much was said before India’s first Test against Australia at Pune that your opinion might’ve been swayed by which TV channel you were watching, which newspaper you took to the loo or which website you read on your phone on the go.

This Australian team may be the weakest, but they are not weak

By Anand

On 22 Feb, 2017

In Analysis

India will have to make sure they do not defeat themselves by doing anything too cute
© The Scroll

You know the Australian cricket team is in town when the talk turns to sledging even before the first ball has been bowled. Except, it’s the year 2017, and it’s not the touring party who are firing the shots. To their credit, it’s not the Indian team either. After all, it’s much easier to unleash these salvos when you know you don’t have to back it up with performances on the field.

ICC should know what happens if they try to kill Indian cricket, the golden goose: Shastri

By Anand

On 16 Feb, 2017

In Interviews

Indian cricket has rarely been in the pink of health, on the field, as it is now. The team, under the unified captaincy of Virat Kohli across formats, has begun to produce results consistently and Anil Kumble has put in place practices in the background that are ensuring steady growth. Off the field, however, turmoil has been the order of the day, with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), at large, and certain administrators in particular, coming to grips with the sweeping changes laid down via the courts. Ravi Shastri, former India captain, long-standing commentator and recently head honcho of the team, pulls no punches when addressing these issues in a hard-hitting interview. Excerpts:

Parvez Rasool doesn’t need to prove his patriotism by any means other than on the cricket field

By Anand

On 28 Jan, 2017

In Columns

It’s not easy being an Indian cricketer, what with the constant pressure to perform, the piercing scrutiny that is the result of the tyranny of the 24-hour news cycle and the need to perpetually shoulder the burden of expectations of millions of fans. But it is downright difficult to be the first Kashmiri Muslim to play cricket for India, as Parvez Rasool, the all-rounder, is finding out.

On Thursday, Republic Day, no less, Rasool made his Twenty20 International debut for India against England. Rasool made five runs and picked up 1for 32 from his four overs as India were thoroughly outplayed. It was a forgettable debut by any standards, but attempts to make it memorable for completely non-cricketing reasons defy logic.
When the two teams lined up before the game for the national anthems, Rasool would have been a bundle of nerves, as you would expect of any player making his debut in a highoctane format. As many players do, out of habit or to stay calm, the 27-year-old Rasool was chewing gum when the national anthem played. He was not horsing around, not chatting idly with a neighbour and, yes, he was not singing the anthem. This has angered a broad swathe of Indians, who have predictably taken to Twitter and Facebook, making the short video clip viral.

Yuvraj Singh’s newest chapter – a chance to turn the clock

By Anand

On 20 Jan, 2017

In Columns

Yuvraj Singh is back in the Indian team for the limited-overs games against England for two simple reasons. He scored 672 runs from eight Ranji innings at an average of 84 that included a 295-ball 177 against Madhya Pradesh in Lahli, the venue where seamers of all kinds fill their boots, spinners stretch out on the couch in the dressing-room and batsmen are happy to just last half an hour at the crease. Yuvraj is also back because the selectors genuinely believe that this Indian team needs some experience in the middle- and lower-middle order.

Tag: India (Page 2 of 3)

India wins, Indians live and love

Kohli hints at Bangalore surprises

Pitch obsession leaves Kumble in a spin

Life’s a pitch

No names? No pitch? No-ball from Harbhajan Singh

India gives the world Bishan Singh O’ Keefe

This Australian team may be the weakest, but they are not weak

ICC should know what happens if they try to kill Indian cricket, the golden goose: Shastri

Parvez Rasool doesn’t need to prove his patriotism by any means other than on the cricket field

Yuvraj Singh’s newest chapter – a chance to turn the clock

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