Blog Posts by Jharna Kukreja Chauhan

Scorecard / Action in Images / All the results / Schedule

England humbled Afghanistan by 116 runs to win their first game of the ICC World Twenty20 2012 on Friday in Colombo. Afghanistan was knocked out of the competition after they were bundled out for just 80 in their answer to England’s total of 196-5.

Earlier, Man-of-the-match Luke Wright fell just short of becoming the second centurion of both the day and the tournament, when he ended up on an unbeaten 99 off 55 balls at the end of England’s 20 overs. 

Wright batted through the innings after opener Craig Kieswetter was bowled by Shapoor Zadran in the first over, even before a run had been scored. Not one to shy away from the big shots, Wright’s knock was characterised by eight fours and six sixes. His strokeplay allowed the England side to build their total around him and accelerate towards the end.

His innings equaled Alex Hales 99 against West Indies earlier this year as the highest score by an Englishman in T20 Internationals.

Read More »from Everything goes Wright for England

You would be forgiven for mistaking the bunch huddled together at Pallekele in Sri Lanka to be the Indian cricket team. What with their blue Sahara training gear.  Upon closer glance you will realise that it’s actually the Bangladesh side.

In June this year, the Bangladesh Cricket Board sold sponsorship rights for $14 million for four years to Aamby Valley, an affiliate of the Sahara India Parivar.

Meanwhile, India-based property developer Homestead will be sponsoring the Sri Lankan Cricket Team for the next three years.

The recently concluded Sri Lankan Premier League saw all seven teams as well as the title sponsorship being bought by Indian business houses.

When it comes to cricket, it clearly seems to be ‘love thy neighbour’ for corporate India.

********

Aside from their many on-field batting partnerships, Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara also present a joint defence in the kitchen. The duo are co-owners of a restaurant in Colombo called the ‘Ministry of Crab’ Read More »from Not just cricket

Expectations were meagre from the inaugural Twenty20 world championship. India’s demoralising exit from the first round of the 50 over World Cup earlier that year along with its excruciatingly long format kept the hype around its shorter cousin suitably low key. That in all probability contributed to the tournament’s ultimate success.

The then Indian skipper Rahul Dravid, along with fellow stalwarts Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly opted out of the Twenty20 competition as they felt the game’s shortest version was better suited to younger legs. That brought Mahendra Singh Dhoni to the fore, in what was his first tournament as captain.

Unlike what many expected, the competition did not spell immediate death for bowlers. In fact, it was India’s bowling and fielding that took them all the way. Conditions in South Africa assisted in making the games a true contest between bat and ball. Only one century was scored (yes, by Chris Gayle) and it was the bowlers that dictated terms in the Read More »from Rewind: 2007 ICC World Twenty20

Now that Shah Rukh Khan and Mamata Bannerjee have milked more mileage from Kolkata Knight Riders’ IPL victory than an Oscar winner, Olympic gold medalist and World Cup champion combined, it may be time to look at the person who actually played an instrumental role in the win.

Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir not only made the tactical decisions that took the team all the way but also led from the front, thereby inspiring his men to go the extra mile. He stuck with players he believed in even when they fell below expectations and despite being viewed as someone with a rigid personality he showed flexibility on the ground in matters like bowling changes and strategy.

All this just three months after India’s vice-captaincy was taken away from Gambhir without any explanation or forewarning. At the time, Chairman of the National Selection committee – Krishnamachari Srikkanth, deemed Virat Kohli ‘an excellent future captain’ and his justification for appointing the youngster as Read More »from Making the case for Gambhir

A meeting of India’s national cricket selectors isn’t expected to be free from surprises and I’m not talking about pleasant ones.  Idiocy has been their forte for generations – with one of the current five having even branded a previous committee as a ‘bunch of jokers’.  His inclusion into the five-member panel unfortunately has neither brought about more astuteness or transparency.

Offender-in-chief Krishnamachari Srikkanth The last time an Indian side was picked for an international commitment – the Asia Cup – Chairman of selectors Krishnamachari Srikkanth ended up shouting at a reporter, asking him to shut up and furthered it with "You keep quiet. Aap aise googly bol-bol  ke baat karega toh mai bhi gussa ho jaega. Aap mere ko ungli daloge toh mere se kya expect karte ho." (If you bowl a googly then I will get angry.  If you provoke me, I will also give it back).

Aside from the fact that Srikkanth didn’t exactly distinguish himself, the real issue was what had prompted the outburst. The waiting media was questioning the reasonRead More »from India's selectors and their selective myopia

What is your favourite movie based on a sport? Is it Lagaan, Chak De India or Iqbal? Maybe it’s Karate Kid, Rocky or Remember the Titans.  Whatever your pick may be, there’s a good chance that the theme underlying it is a common one – the triumph of the underdog.

Popular culture is full of examples of David overcoming Goliath but the difference between reel and real-life is that support for the underdog isn’t necessarily conditional on victory. Provided they have given their all and haven’t surrendered, the underdogs are considered a success, even when they don’t end up on the podium.

When Bangladesh surpassed heavyweights India and Sri Lanka to make the finals of the Asia Cup last month, the cricket world was full of praise for their coming of age. They lost the final by the narrowest of margins to Pakistan but in the process won most hearts. Many Pakistanis on Twitter were actually rooting for the opposition and like one of them mentioned – “How can you not be cheering for

Read More »from In Support of the Underdog

Why is cricket referred to as a gentleman’s game?  When you think of the phrase so often used to describe the sport, the image that crops up is of mild-mannered men in white flannels with their shirts tucked in and their hair parted neatly. Maybe a pat on the back, a gentle handshake or  a shared joke while walking back to the pavilion with opponents at the end of a session. A game that supposedly segregates the classy from the crude, the boorish from the benign.
 
Cricket is often regarded as unique compared to other sports because aside from the laws of the game, players are expected to abide by the ‘spirit of the game’. So what constitutes this intangible spirit?

Walking when you know you’ve knicked a delivery even if the umpire hasn’t pronounced you out, not claiming a catch that was grassed, abstaining from an lbw appeal when you know there was an inside edge, refraining from abuse of an opponent are just some of actions used to describe cricket’s indefinable attribute.

Common Read More »from Can cricket still be called a gentleman’s game?

Picture this: You’re a parent to a child who once yielded ‘straight As’ but has since flunked eight algebra papers in a row. Moreover, the child has also been bickering with his/her siblings and peers. How would you react? Would you feign ignorance and gloat about your child’s once-upon-a-time achievements or would you try getting to the root cause of the matter and help your kid overcome the demons that have set in?
 
Likewise, after a year in which the then No 1 Test team and 50 over World Cup champions plummeted to eight consecutive away losses in Tests and couldn’t go beyond the league stage in two successive ODI tournaments, what should the management of the team in question do?

Neither shaken, nor stirred

As guardians of the Indian national cricket team, you would expect BCCI’s head honchos to be concerned about the drastic decline of the goose that lays the golden egg. However, as it transpires, that’s clearly expecting too much. BCCI’s office bearers seem to have taken an oath Read More »from BCCI’s brushing under the carpet act