Cricket world

Nicholas Pooran’s carnage against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Image: IPL He has always had a calmness about him. A very West Indian relaxed kind of mindset and demeanour. And having seen adversity, he knows that one needs to celebrate and value the good that comes your way. The urge to keep getting better, and be the best version of oneself, is what defines the new Nicholas Pooran. That’s what came through in the candid conversations we had on the IPL and his own approach to batting. Not overawed by the 21-crore price tag or the weight of expectations, Pooran is simply going about his job. He knows he can hit the ball miles and is keeping it simple. Go and do what you do best for hours and hours at practice, and in doing so, help your team Lucknow Super Giants] demolish opponents. “The best part about this franchise is they have never put me under pressure,” he told me. “When you are paid a lot of money, there is always pressure. Not so much from outside but from within. You know you ne...

Ashwani won the Player of the match award on debut. (PC: X.com) A new star was born on one of the biggest stages in franchise cricket. Making his debut for Mumbai Indians, left-arm pacer Ashwani Kumar ensured his first day at the office was nothing short of spectacular. The Punjab-born speedster made an immediate impact, dismissing Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Ajinkya Rahane with his very first delivery. He didn’t stop there – his fiery spell saw him claim the wickets of Rinku Singh and Manish Pandey in his second over before sending the dangerous Andre Russell back in his third. Finishing with remarkable figures of 4/24 in just three overs, Ashwani played the all-important role in restricting KKR to a mere 116 runs, shattering records along the way. His stellar performance earned him the Player of the Match award, and he was visibly elated after the game. Want to make it count: Ashwani “It’s a huge moment for me to receive this opportunity and be named Man of the Match. I com...

Sunil Narine and Andre Russell’s dismissals against Mumbai Indians. Images: IPL Surely, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) aren’t this bad. To be routed in under 30 overs and pummelled by eight wickets. It was a no-contest that even the most ardent Mumbai Indians (MI) supporter found difficult to believe. Understandably, the fans are angry. In fact, fans often overreact and that’s always been the story of fandom. But, to a degree, they are entitled. In my book, the two most important constituents of the IPL are the players and the fans. Unless the fans watch it, there is no IPL. They help the broadcaster make money, encourage the advertisers to spend and make the tournament what it is. They make heroes of the players and create brands of them. The best example was when the KKR won the tournament in 2012. Over 80,000 fans made it to the Eden Gardens on a scorching summer day to be a part of the celebrations on the team’s return. If we don’t call that an overreaction and hail the gesture...

‘Royal Wildfire’ Wanindu Hasaranga celebrates after getting a wicket against CSK (PC: IPL) Rajasthan Royals finally got their campaign up and running in this season’s Indian Premier League, but their victory came at the expense of countless broken hearts in yellow. While Wanindu Hasaranga and Nitish Rana starred on the scoresheet, the real party-crashers were Sandeep Sharma and Shimron Hetmyer. Their late-game heroics ensured that CSK fans in Guwahati were denied the fairytale finish they had all hoped for — one more match-winning moment from their beloved Thala. Nevertheless, RR clinched victory by the barest of margins, winning by just six runs. Hasaranga claimed a four-fer, while Rana smashed a blazing half-century. The pitch at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati resembled the surface from the first match held there, with spin playing a crucial role. CSK, boasting the formidable trio of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Noor Ahmad, opted to bowl first after winning the toss. ...

Left: Dinesh Lad, Rohit Sharma’s childhood coach. Right: Rohit Sharma, Image: BCCI -Subhayan Chakraborty in Mumbai Rohit Sharma will be in focus when Mumbai Indians face Kolkata Knight Riders at Wankhede Stadium on Monday. This will be the first home game for the five-time IPL winners in the ongoing Indian Premier League. While Rohit has had a poor start to the campaign, scoring a duck and eight against Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans respectively, his childhood coach Dinesh Lad reckons the ‘Hitman’ will be back among runs soon, adding that the IPL form shouldn’t be a benchmark for selection in Test cricket. In the bigger picture, Rohit’s batting form is under the scanner considering India will play a crucial five-Test series in England just after the IPL. Notably, Rohit had stood himself down in the final Test against Australia in Sydney after a poor run of form with the bat in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy which India lost 1-3. With many experts and fans on social media sa...

Patidar won the man of the match award. (PC: X.com) The Rajat Patidar-led Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) ended their 17-year-long losing streak at Chepauk with a thumping 50-run win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their IPL match on Friday. What initially seemed like an uphill battle turned into a dominant performance as RCB posted an impressive total of 196/7. Their bowlers then stepped up brilliantly to defend the target, with the pacers doing most of the damage through precise execution, rather than the spinners. When the required run rate was climbing to 15 runs per over, the CSK players tried to find gaps and rotate the strike. Even with MS Dhoni in the dug-out, the game was slipping away, and their approach felt like that the home team was looking to play out the overs and get as close to the target as possible without getting bowled out. Josh Hazlewood’s twin strikes in the second over pushed CSK on the back foot. Rahul Tripathi and Ruturaj Gaikwad both fell to short-...

Image: IPL/BCCI Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) finally put an end to their long-standing losing streak at MA Chidambaram Stadium (Chepauk), securing a commanding 50-run victory over Chennai Super Kings (CSK). This marks RCB’s first win at this venue since 2008 in IPL. With two wins in two matches, they now sit at the top of the points table. Top Three Highlights from today’s CSK vs RCB Clash MS Dhoni’s Stumping Brilliance & Noor Ahmad’s Spin Magic “A lion may grow old, but he’ll never forget how to hunt and roar.” MS Dhoni proved this phrase true once again, executing a lightning-fast stumping to dismiss the dangerous Philip Salt in just 0.10 seconds. At 43, his reflexes continue to amaze. On the bowling front, Noor Ahmad was RCB’s star spinner, delivering a match-winning spell. He dismissed key batters—Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, and Liam Livingstone—finishing with figures of 3/36 in his four-over quota. RCB Batters’ Blistering Finish RCB’s batters dominated the second hal...

Left: KKR Captain Ajinkya Rahane. Right: CAB Pitch Curator Sujan Mukherjee. Much has already been written on the Eden Gardens pitch issue. But in all that is being said, a lot of impractical suggestions are also being peddled. And that’s where the focus is getting lost. Let me make things clear – there is nothing unfair about asking for home advantage. At the heart of the IPL is the home-and-away concept and home advantage is something that is expected and assumed. KKR are well within their rights to ask for it and suggest the same. And like I had written yesterday, all that is needed at the moment is a conversation between Ajinkya Rahane and the curator where things get resolved. But to suggest that KKR should move out of Eden Gardens because of this issue shows a complete lack of understanding of the reality. Some have suggested that KKR should think of moving to Jharkhand or Odisha. Really? There is one Eden Gardens, and it is unique. As many as 70,000 people making heroes out ...

Nicholas Pooran vs SRH, IPL 2025 (PC: IPL) After Shardul Thakur’s heroics with the ball, it was Nicholas Pooran who led the charge with the bat, guiding the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) to a dominant victory. LSG started strong in the second innings, with Mitchell Marsh scoring a quickfire 52 off 31 balls. But it was the explosive left-hander, Pooran, who truly stole the show. His blistering 70 off just 26 balls made the chase a mere formality for LSG. Silencing the doubters, Pooran smashed six sixes and six fours, entertaining the crowd with yet another electrifying knock. In LSG’s season opener against the Delhi Capitals (DC), he had already shown his power, hammering 75 runs off 30 balls with seven sixes and six fours. His consistency has been remarkable, with his last five IPL innings reading: 48 (26), 61 (27), 75 (29), 75 (30), and 70 (26).* Raining sixes in Hyderabad… but by #LSG Nicholas Pooran show guides LSG to 77/1 after 6 overs Updates https://t.co/X6vyVEvxwz #TATAI...

Ajinkya Rahane and Sujan Mukherjee (PC: X) Where do I stand on this pitch controversy? Many KKR fans who are regular viewers of my show have asked this question. More so after the KKR spinners did what they did in Guwahati, winning the game against the Rajasthan Royals. First things first, I don’t really think it is a controversy. I also think there is no need for any further statements from either Ajinkya Rahane or Sujan Mukherjee. All that we need to see are some back-room discussions. Diplomatic back-channel dialogue, which is so very common in sport, is all that is required. No one is asking Sujan da to dig up the pitch. No one is dictating anything to him. No one is remotely suggesting that he has to follow orders. All that is being said here is that the pitches could be made a little more spin-friendly. As the home team which has to cater to home fans, the statement is logical and rational. It is not a diktat. It is a request. And it needs to be perceived as such. But exp...

Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma Runs and lots of runs. In Sunrisers Hyderabad’s opening game of the 2025 IPL against Rajasthan Royals in Hyderabad, they scored a whopping 286 runs while RR replied with 242. With SRH now having four of the five highest scores in the IPL and Lucknow Super Giants possessing an inexperienced attack, we could be in for another high-scoring game at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.  LSG would definitely be poring through videos to chart out plans against the likes of Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Heinrich Klaasen, Ishaan Kishan and co. The silver lining for LSG is that Avesh Khan, one of the experienced pacers out injured, did partake in a net session before the game. In the match versus Delhi Capitals, it was quite evident that the inexperienced Prince Yadav attempted too many yorkers and didn’t pull his length back. So, Avesh’s addition could help LSG. Shardul Thakur, who bagged a couple of wickets in the previous game, will once again have ...