The Guy in the Stands

Indian Tokyo Olympic stars  Aspirations to reach the skies - that high are the expectations the Indian athletes have set up for themselves at the international events. With less than four months left for the biggest bragging rights of all, the Paris Olympics, Indian athletes will again be at a crossroads to prove their mettle. After securing its highest-ever medal tally of seven at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, including a first-ever gold in a Track & Field event, India has been steadily making strides in the sports, which is not just limited to cricket. The country last year achieved a century of medals in the Asian Games in China and had a reasonable 2022 Commonwealth Games in England. Except for a hiccup during the 2016 Rio Olympics, where India achieved only two medals, the subcontinent nation has been able to increase its medal tally every four years. This July, when the Indian contingent will be heading to Paris with an assortment of Olympic medallists and world champions, exp...

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 R...

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: 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...