Specials – Best of the 1999 World Cup, Part 2

As the 2019 World Cup rolls on, we continue our five-part series on the matches that shaped the 1999 edition of the tournament, after having begun the nostalgic ride in Part 1. Tendulkar’s courageous century – India v Kenya, Group A, Bristol Following defeats to South Africa and Zimbabwe, India’s chances of going […]

Specials – ODI cricket in Singapore, Part 2

The second triangular ODI tournament in Singapore took place three and a half years after the first, at a new venue. The Kallang Ground played host to India, the West Indies and Zimbabwe in the Coca-Cola Singapore Challenge from September 2-8, 1999, and like the Padang, it was characterised by short boundaries, which contributed towards […]

Specials – Best of Indo-Pak duels in the desert

The Asia Cup group game between India and Pakistan in Dubai on September 19 was the first instance of the arch-rivals playing each other in the United Arab Emirates in over 12 years. The previous instance of the two teams meeting in the UAE was in 2006, when they played a two-ODI series in […]

Specials – ODI cricket in Singapore, Part 1

In the first of this three-part series, we look back at the first ever One-Day International (ODI) tournament to be hosted by Singapore. The subcontinental trio of India, Pakistan and newly-crowned World Cup champions Sri Lanka came together to contest the Singer Cup, a week-long round-robin competition played on the Singapore Cricket Club ground […]

IN FOCUS – Legends and stars galore in a Lord’s special

A much-awaited limited-overs match is set to be played at Lord’s on Saturday, 5th July as part of the iconic ground’s bicentenary year celebrations. The said game will be a 50-overs-a-side contest between a Marylebone Cricket Club (M.C.C) side and a Rest of the World side, with both teams featuring some of the former […]

VIEWPOINT – The doyen of ODI batting retires

Is Sachin Tendulkar India’s greatest ever One Day International (ODI) batsman? Definitely, yes. Is he the world’s greatest ODI batsman too? After a bit of deliberation, the answer is yes again. In my opinion, there have been many batsmen who have been better than Tendulkar in Test cricket, but when it comes to ODI’s, […]

VIEWPOINT – The team should always be greater than the individual

This is not the first time that Sachin Tendulkar is going through a rough patch. In fact in the 2005-06, he was shockingly booed at the Wankhede Stadium – his very own home ground, by the very same ‘fans’ who hypocritically call him ‘God’ – as India sank to a big defeat to England. […]

REVIEW – The spin theory that spun back

Just about a week ago, India looked confident and determined to achieve their goal of a ‘revenge’ series whitewash. It had all gone according to script in the first Test – a slow track at Motera, England as expected succumbing to spin, and an easy 9-wicket triumph for the hosts. But captain MS Dhoni […]