The Guy in the Stands

Jesus Navas in a select media interaction As the referee blew his final whistle, on the night of 1 June, 2023, the atmosphere at Hungary's Puskas Arena went wild with cheers erupting from a fervent section of the crowd. Sevilla FC had just clinched its seventh Europa League title, defying Jose Mourinho's Roma in a nail-biting penalty shootout. As we snap back to the present day, the same crowd can be seen yet again biting its nails, but this time because of the crisis their club is going through. From the realisation of European dreams to the nightmares of the Spanish league, thus has been the year for the fans of Sevilla FC. The club’s European success seems to have done a damning job of masking the inefficient tactics and waning individual abilities.  And despite the urgent requirement for the club to revamp its ageing squad, the club is determined to go through its eventual plans to renovate its iconic stadium, Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan, from where the club president plans to ex

  Mayank Yadav, the new sensation in IPL 2024 "The flying Sikh," exclaimed General Ayub Khan, the then President of Pakistan, in awe of Indian sprinter Milkha Singh's remarkable speed.  In a reminiscent moment, the legendary West Indian fast bowler, Ian Bishop, dubbed Mayank Yadav the "Child of the Wind" upon witnessing his exceptional bowling against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. But you cannot blame Bishop, for he was in awe of the raw talent at display, consistently clicking thunders. He has played only two matches in the IPL 2024 for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and is already in the purple cap race. So, he continues to garner praise from around the world for his ferocious bowling. The right-arm quick bagged a second consecutive 3-wicket haul in the ongoing tournament, registering the third-best bowling figure this season. This Mayank Yadav Kid bowling like a child of the wind,,,pphhoofff. — Ian Raphael Bishop (@irb

India Vs England 4th Test Living by the sword and dying by it, is the mindset that Stokes and his Bazballers have always been promulgating as their very own discrete brand of cricket. A mantra that has always put them on the brink of eternal glory or a colossal collapse like the one we witnessed at Rajkot in the third test of the five-match series against India. The latter has prevailed in the last two tests as the team faced a scathing indictment for their lack of perseverance while batting. And England’s aggressive style of play which had received much applause after their win in Hyderabad, came back under the scanner after their humbling defeat in Rajkot.  The poms in the first three tests have averaged 48.3 runs per wicket for their first two wickets. While it drops to 20.6 for wicket number three, four, and five combined, positions occupied by Root and Bairstow - both of whom have consistently failed in their roles.  Part of the “Fab Four”, the ever-so-prolific Joe Root, as p

IND vs PAK World Cup 2023 Highlights: India maintained a clean sheet over Pakistan in the ODI World Cup history with a seven-wicket win over the side in Ahmedabad. World Cup 2023, IND vs PAK Highlights: India beat Pakistan by 7 wickets; pic credit: AFP Marred with political and religious din, that started more than six months before the actual match was to be played, the spectacle of India vs Pakistan in an ICC tournament as usual faltered in the face of its expectations. The match, which was being watched by around 20% of the world’s population, turned out to be a muted contest from one side both on the field and in the stands.  The pressure of facing 11 men in a blue jersey supported by more than 100,000 blue masses of humanity, proved a little too much for the men in green. They floundered amply in their attempt, even though their first four batters gave the rest of the team a reasonable start to build upon. The situation for Pakistan was intricate from the get-go when India - learn

Marco Bezzacchi the winner of Indian GP: MotoGP New Delhi Mooney VR46 Racing rider Marco Bezzecchi ensured he was still in the Championship title race with a dominating display at the inaugural Indian Grand Prix, finishing the race with an 8.64-second gap over the second-placed Spanish rider, Jorge Martin. “I am very happy, it was a tough race, very long, but after yesterday, where unfortunately, in the start, I got hit by Luca. Today, I wanted to get my revenge and fortunately, I started better, I got on the lead quite early and then I just started to put my rhythm on,” said Bezzecchi, the winner of the first Indian GP in a post-race Interview. Bezzecchi has had an all-around weekend, starting with the qualifying on Saturday, where he secured the pole with the fastest lap of 1:43:94. But things went haywire for the Italian during the Tissot Sprint race, when he got hit from behind, on the first turn, by teammate Luca Marini. Marini was later diagnosed with a fractured collarbone, putt

Magda Linette beats Oksana Selekhmeteva in the R-16 match of the WTA Chennai Open  In pic: Magda Linette in action. Pic Credit: The Tribune By Naman Suri Chennai: Polish number-one ranked, Magda Linette was able to quickly overcome her Russian counterpart, Oksana Selekhmeteva in straight sets 6-2, 6-0 in the R-16 match of the WTA Chennai Open here at the SDAT Tennis Stadium on Thursday. The 30-year-old, Linette will now move on to the quarter-finals, where she’ll face Rebecca Marino, who is seed seven in the tournament.  Linette and Selekhmeteva were facing each other for the first time, and the match was scheduled to happen on the Center Court of the 5,800-capacity stadium, here in Chennai. The number three seeded started off well with a calm and aggressive game style, winning two games straight, before Oksana nudged the third game. The 67th-ranked Polish later won the first set 6-2, as she blasted through Oksana's defence in the second set, 6-0. It took Linette 1 hour and 23 minu