The Guy in the Stands

Dale Steyn | Getty Images A few days back, former South African fast bowler Dale Steyn posted a question on his social media account – The most beautiful fast bowlers' action of all time…? While conjectures may be many and varied, the question is a bit hard to answer without a proper reading of every fast-bowling action there is.  From the smooth and daunting action of the Rolls Royce, Michael Holding to the wrist-extending unorthodox tennis ball cricketer-like action of Jasprit Bumrah, the list goes on. Point to be made, for Steyn, Alan Donald’s action stands atop but his own isn’t any less of a poetry in motion either. However, it might be difficult to interpret whose action is the most beautiful; it might not be to analyse the greatness of the action through their dominance in the longest format. Longest format because every great fast bowler in order to prove their mettle has to perform there; it takes a lot of grit and determination to bowl incessantly, especially on the uncov...

  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...

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 - l...

  Pic Credit: Business Standard By Naman Suri “No matter where you come from, we all share the same struggles as human beings, and my beginnings are no different.” ~Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, a Jamaican track and field sprinter Women’s cricket has been breaking records for the past few years, as it has seen a massive surge in its popularity, and the 2020 Women’s T20 World Cup final between India and Australia was reaping these gains. A record 86,174 people were in attendance for this match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia. Women are now starting to enjoy the same benefits as men's cricket. This surge in popularity can mostly be attributed to the inclusion of shorter formats into the game, for both men’s as well women’s cricket. But that too started back in 2004, the first women’s T20 international match played between New Zealand and England. The more appropriate thing to say here would be that the addition of franchise leagues has been the core of this surge in the popular...

  Pic Credit: BCCI By Naman Suri “I still think the history of the game suggests it’s a spirit of cricket thing… You don’t expect players to do that,” Warner was quoted as saying by ‘news.com.au’  The law related to the spirit of cricket has been thrown into a fray for quite some time now, over running out of non-striker if he goes out of the crease before the bowler releases the ball. This might be stemming from the fact it pre-empts everything: the bowler hasn’t bowled the ball yet, and the batsman hasn’t gotten into the act yet, so it feels like being cheated because of the non-consummation of the cricketing act. This non-consummation is considered against the spirit of cricket, and that’s why players have been raising their concern over the law, despite MCC incorporating it within law 38 pertaining to legitimate runouts. But what is this spirit of cricket? "Cricket is a game that owes much of its unique appeal to the fact that it should be played not only within its Laws b...

  India Vs South Africa 2022. Pic Credit: Indian Express By Naman Suri A poor performance in the last of the three-match ODI series against India made matters worse for the African country. The team that has only once before been bowled out on a score as low as 99, and that too never against a subcontinent side, was in a state of disarray on Tuesday. India dominated not only the match but also the competition between the two sides, winning both the T20 series and the ODI series 2-1. Mohammed Siraj turned out to be the trump card for India in the series and potentially for the ODI World Cup next year at home. He took 5 wickets at an average of 20.80 in the three-match ODI series, hence becoming the man of the series. The spinning quadrant of Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed and Ravi Bhisnoi was not far behind as they too contributed significantly, claiming 13 wickets combined. While the Indian bowling department was up to their level, the South Africans were strugglin...

Ajinkya Rahane hit 61 runs off 27 deliveries as Chennai Super Kings beat Mumbai Indians by seven wickets. | Photo Credit: SPORTZPICS for IPL Chennai Super Kings 159 for 3 (Rahane 61, Gaikwad 40*, Kartikeya 1-24) beat Mumbai Indians 157 for 8 (Kishan 32, Jadeja 3-20, Santner 2-28) by seven wickets Chennai Super Kings were on song Saturday night, as Ajinkya Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja set up a seven-wicket victory over arch-rivals Mumbai Indians with 11 balls to spare in the 12th match of Indian Premier League 2023, here at the Wankhede Stadium. The pitch offered some grip and turn to the spinners and saw CSK's ace spinner Jadeja and Mitchel Santner making full use of it, restricting Mumbai to 157/8. The left-arm duo proved successful for the Chennai-based side as they combined to grab five wickets for 48 runs.  Mumbai had a bright start with Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan at the top, scoring at almost 10-per-over before local boy Tushar Deshpande skidded one past Sharma's defenc...