India doesn't know how to honour its sporting heroes

Indian cricket has been blessed with Princes and Maharajahs ever since its inception. We have had Royals like Ranjitsinghji, the Maharajah of Vizianagram and Duleepsinghji don the sport and make it richer. But indisputably Indian cricket's Greatest Maharajah has been the man w...

IPL picks up pace

With the cash rich Indian Premier League taking off from the Rainbow Nation of South Africa, the word ‘recession’ will take a back seat for at least a month. It will be a honeymoon period for the Franchise owners from India who hope to make the IPL the next big thing in wo...

Sourav won the match for KKR

‘Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo Re’ was the song of Tuesday afternoon as the Kolkata Knight Riders took on the Kings XI Punjab on a gloomy day at Kingsmead, Durban. And the Knight Riders did not disappoint. Riding on the magnificent performances of Sourav Ganguly with the ball and Chr...

Is 'Fake IPL Player' faking it?It’s just five days into the IPL and we already have a superstar; his name –FAKE IPL PLAYER. Don’t be surprised— he is undisputedly the biggest hit of this year’s IPL, as of now. But the big question is: who is this superstar? No one knows, but he has a fan following th...

Kolkata deserves a better performance from its KnightsSo near yet so far— this was the tale of the two teams that played better cricket in their respective games on Thursday: the Chennai Super Kings and the Kolkata Knight Riders. Both the teams should have cruised to victory yet they manufactured a loss for themselves out of nothi...

Bowlers— the backbone of a team Mark Waugh was once nicknamed “the forgotten Waugh" because the more famous Waugh, his twin Steve, used to hog most of the limelight. Similarly, bowlers, in the T-20 format seem to be the forgotten bunch as much of the credit goes to the batsmen. They say T-20 is a batsman's ga...

Legends’ day out

It was a national holiday on Monday in South Africa and the Double header matches at the IPL provided the crowds with amazing entertainment. In the first match of the day, Team Chennai led by India skipper MS Dhoni took on the revamped Deccan Chargers. The Super Kings were giv...

The IPL heats up....As the IPL enters into its second month, the excitement and tension curve amongst the fans is slowly reaching its zenith. In the midweek matches this week, some crucial matches have taken place, which could have an important bearing in determining the semi-finalists. The Mumbai I...

"Korbo Lorbo Haarbo Re"With their second consecutive victory over the Kolkata Knight Riders, the Mumbai Indians have completed the first double of this year’s IPL— i.e. beating the same team over both the legs. It was a match which so prudently highlighted the kind of mental phase members of the Kn...

Time to come back, guys

In T-20 cricket, strategies have an ephemeral lifespan. Hence, those who hatch them shouldn’t be held as important as their ODI or Test counterparts are. But, as players go hell-for-leather from the first ball, a team without a strong leader in T20 is akin to a ship minus a ...

Does Buchanan really have answers?Navjot Sidhu’s famous quip “The Indian openers in South Africa are as confused as a child in a topless bar” holds ever so true now. The Kolkata Knight Riders are in the same plight what the Indian openers got into during the 2001 tour. The loss against the Daredevils came a...

Stories from the League

The cash rich Indian Premier league has been so thoroughly covered by the news savvy media, that there has hardly been any aspect of it that has gone unnoticed. Yet there have been many inside stories which have not gained the attention of the common man. A recent book called ...

A Warne-ing for all the teams

Genius cannot be explained and Shane Warne is no different. His bag of tricks has been puzzling for the opposition in the short history of the IPL. Prior to the crucial match against the Mumbai Indians, the newspaper reports were that Shane Warne was going to be out for at lea...

Mind games on the field

Shahrukh Khan in one of his memorable dialogues in the movie Chak De! India had said “Hamla samne wale team ke goal pe nahi, dimaag pe karo, Field pe goal apne aap ho jaayegi”. The very statement holds a fundamental asp...

En route to the winning formulaA surprising series of incidents commenced on Saturday with the defeat of the Left in Bengal after more than 30 years. Then, Sunday witnessed a fit Rafael Nadal lose a match on clay after over a year. And on Monday, the Kolkata Knight Riders, won for a change. It was beyond the w...

A fitting end to a great tournament The majestic Wanderers in Johannesburg was the setting for the IPL final as glitz and glamour icons from all across the world descended on the bull ring. The final of this year’s edition pitted two teams against each other who had occupied the last two slots in the previous yea...

World T-20: A previewAs the intensity of T-20 cricket grips the world cricketing audience, the focus shifts from South Africa to cricket’s spiritual home, England. After a tremendous IPL, players from different nations will fight it out for the biggest prize in T-20 cricket – the World Cup. Ev...

Have we seen the last of Symonds?There have been many characters across many sports who have managed to outperform themselves more off the field than on it. Temperamental Aussie all-rounder Andrew Symonds is definitely one such cricketer. Arguably one of the most ferocious hitters of the cricket ball, Symonds ha...

The favourite jinxAs the T-20 World Cup reaches its penultimate stage – the semi-finals – the hype and euphoria will also be reaching its peak. India will be represented in the semi-finals – not by their illustrious men but by the lesser hyped women’s team. The men’s team, the defending...

Redemption at last

Redemption at last— the second edition of the T-20 World Cup can be brilliantly summarised in these three worlds. For a team which was just a match away from exit in the opening round, scripting a fairytale story and winning the World Cup was romance of the highest order. Li...

Years of Sachin—A fan's tribute

As Sachin Tendulkar enters his third decade in International cricket, praises and tributes are pouring in from all corners of the globe. As someone who has worshipped Sachin, I feel privileged to be able to voice my thoughts about someone who I feel has changed the face of Ind...

On top of the world at Eden

The series was billed the world championship of cricket as it pitted against each other the world’s top two teams fighting it out for the coveted ICC Test Championship. In one of the greatest test matches played recently at the Eden Gardens’ hallowed turf, India chalked up...

Let the game begin

The focus of the sporting world has shifted to the continent of Africa which plays host to one of the biggest sporting extravaganzas of the planet – The FIFA World Cup 2010. It will be a coming-of-age event not only for the country of South Africa but for the whole of the Af...

The Return of the King25 June, 1994 – FIFA World Cup Group Stage Match, Foxboro Stadium, Boston – Argentina vs Nigeria. 12 June, 2010 – FIFA World Cup Group Stage Match, Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg – Argentina vs Nigeria. Separated by sixteen years and three World Cups, these two id...

In search of the beautiful gameUntil yesterday, thirteen matches have been played in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. But we are yet to witness sparkling and heart-beating football normally associated with an event like the World Cup. Hence, when five-time champions Brazil, arguably the most "beautiful" team in the hi...