(Part 45.) Turner turns up again. With only six days to go to the 50th anniversary of the West Indies victory over Australia in the 1975 World Cup final, and having put the focus on the Caribbean side’s surprisingly easy defeat of the ‘Aussies’ on the last day of group action …
Read More »1975 CWC: Gavaskar’s go-slow—“by far, the worst innings I’ve ever played”
On the day the 1975 Cricket World Cup got underway in England, the West Indies’ demolition of Sri Lanka by nine wickets with almost 40 overs to spare in Manchester was not the only no-contest of the four matches being played simultaneously. At Lord’s, in front of a near full-house, …
Read More »1975 CWC: New Zealand, Pakistan and the chasing Cricket World Cup pack
(Part 29.) Contenders and pretenders. With 22 days to go to the 50th anniversary of the West Indies victory over Australia in the 1975 Cricket World Cup final, and having examined the credentials of the Caribbean side in great detail before considering the prospects of Australia and hosts England, let’s …
Read More »1975 CWC: From India to the world—how limited overs cricket bowled off
(Part three.) It started in India. Given the duration of the traditional game—in most cases spanning between three and five days—it was inevitable that at some time, someone would formalise the idea of a game of cricket played on a limited-over basis, starting and finishing on the same day. So, …
Read More »Early Bird: India win Champions Trophy—with a little help from their ICC friends
“If India don’t win the Champions Trophy,” Bobby greeted me early on Friday morning, “it won’t be the ICC’s fault.” “After all,” he added before I could respond, “they have certainly done all they can to hand the Indians the trophy.” And Rohit Sharma’s side, always favourites to walk away …
Read More »Best: Inside protean heads; how lack of flexibility cost South Africa a T20 World Cup
June 29, the T20 World Cup final. David Miller, the finisher who came in at #6, has just given his hand away. Unnecessarily. Kagiso Rabada can win the coveted trophy for South Africa. True, he’s batting at #10. But cometh the hour, cometh the batsman. Even a #10 can get …
Read More »Where T20 cricket is going next; and how Sobers and Viv helped shape its course
At a critical moment in the final Super Eights game, one of the team coaches left the pavilion and came to the boundary’s edge. Bangladesh looked well on course to get the 115 runs they needed to stop Afghanistan in their semifinal-bound tracks. One point is enough to make the …
Read More »T20WC24: Kohli, Suryakumar, Proteas give inspired India 2nd T20 title
They choked! Again! At the last hurdle, just the wrong time! At just the right time, struggling star batsman Virat Kohli found his form to help 2007 Champions India sneak past South Africa by seven runs at Kensington Oval in Barbados on Saturday. The former skipper’s carefully constructed 76 (59 …
Read More »T20WC24: India avenge 2022 England defeat; set up final clash of unbeaten teams
A measured third-wicket partnership of 73 between skipper Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav put India in the driver’s seat in the T20 World Cup semifinal in Providence, Guyana today. On a track where the bounce remained low throughout, the pair got India to a just-above-par score of 171—a sub-par England …
Read More »“We weren’t good enough”; Hetmyer shines but WI trounced, as Simmons looks to T20 W/Cup
West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran conceded that his players were simply outclassed again, as India whipped them by 88 runs today in the last outing of their five match T20I series in Lauderhill, Florida. India batted first and posted a total of 188/7, as opener Shreyas Iyer top-scored with 64 …
Read More »Pooran: “I can finally breathe!” McCoy takes 6/17 as WI beat India to snap 7-match losing streak
The West Indies cricket team ended a white-ball losing streak that spanned seven matches across three series today in St Kitts, as a historic bowling spell by Obed McCoy and a personal best with the bat by Brandon King saw them down India by five wickets in their second T20 …
Read More »Pooran seeks solace in upcoming T20 series and Hetmyer’s return, as India complete ODI sweep
On the plus side, there will only be 20 overs to navigate—with the bat and ball respectively—when West Indies face India again at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba on Friday. Talented top order batsman Shimron Hetmyer is available for selection too, after passing a fitness test yesterday. West …
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