ChinmayC Blog

During this England Tour of India-2023-24 things have really happened in the five-match Test Series. All the matches have produced results within four days each and there was no one-way traffic as both the teams fought tooth and nail to win. The first Test in Hyderabad that England won by 28 runs and the 4 th Test in Ranchi that India won by 5 wickets proved to be nail-biting suspense dramas. In between the Indian debutants shone bright in the Third Test in Rajkot that India won by a record margin. One of the debutants, Dhruv Jurel, went on to shine the brightest in this 4 th Test, his only second. On the second day at stumps of the 4 th test match this writer had left you stating that if India conceded more than 100 runs to England it would most likely prove fatal for the hosts. Dhruv Jurel changed that story in its entirety and scripted a brand-new chapter (in fact, this writer did hint on a coincidental partnership like that of England): with his team reeling at 219/7, still tra...

England spinners, Shoaib Bashir and Tom Hartley, have made India struggle, once again after Hyderabad, and put the home team in a precarious position on the second day of the 4 th Test between India and England in Ranchi today. Bashir who replaced Rehan Ahmed is the chief damager, capturing four very important scalps that are Yashasvi Jaiswal (73), Shubman Gill (38), Rajat Patidar (17) and Ravindra Jadeja (12). This was followed up with gusto by the match-winner of the First Test, Tom Hartley who consumed one of the two debutant match-winners of the Third Test, Sarfaraz Khan and then dismissed R Ashwin whom the team dearly depended upon to hang on for the day and thus anchoring a partnership with Jurel, the second successful debutant of the Third Test. The two English spinners took absolute control of the proceedings after James Anderson removed captain Rohit Sharma cheaply and in just the third over of the India reply. Like in the previous outing a partnership was blooming between Ja...

Although it wouldn’t be wholly correct to say that the visiting England team has lost the last two Tests thanks to their solid adherence to Bazball cricket, they apparently, trailing 1-2 in the five-match Series, did or had to change their tactics on the first day of the 4 th Test match that began in Ranchi today. To add to their ‘positive approach to Test Cricket’ they won the toss today choosing to bat first, and therefore, they decided to surge ahead with that aggressive cricket, the openers—Crawley (42) and Duckett (11)—keeping the run-rate nearly at five-an-over. One more debutant for the inexperienced Team India, pacer Akash Deep, replacing a roaring Bumrah for whatever reasons of ‘rest’ the selectors may have decided, however, got both of them out quickly including the danger man Ollie Pope for a duck in between them, and thus captured three scalps reducing England to 57/3, an ominous start batting first.  Nonetheless, Jonny Bairstow carried on with Bazball scoring 38 in 35...

Arguably the most inexperienced playing eleven India had ever fielded in the international Test playing arena, has blasted away the much-talked-about Bazball approach to cricket that England adopted under their aggressive coach Brendon McCullum and an equally aggressive captain Ben Stokes in 2022, beating the visitors by the biggest-ever margin in terms of runs (434) in the last session of the fourth day of the Third Test between India and England in Rajko t today with India leading the five-match Series 2-1 now. The Indian selectors had reportedly included two debutants in the top seven of the playing eleven as far back as in 1999, and in 2024 for the third test match they had to do so by including debutant Sarfaraz Khan as a batsman and Dhruv Jurel as wicket keeper-batsman and a rookie batsman Rajat Patidar, apart from the other youngsters of great promise like Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal. This crucial decision had to be taken with the continuing absence of the two stalwarts V...

When we were school students the Television was not there in our regions, and so, nothing about ‘watching’ cricket. Those days we caught up with the radio whenever India were playing, I remember lying awake the whole night till daylight, particularly when the matches were going on in the West Indies; and those were only the five-day Test matches as the shorter formats were also unknown except for our gully or home cricket being always limited-overs encounters. And we were free of any superstitious beliefs because listening didn’t necessarily involve them. It’s only when we started getting blessed with the live telecasts (early eighties in India) and began watching our favorite players in action that such superstitions began to emerge. Perhaps watching it live made the exchange of vibes or thoughts between us and the players possible with what you call the body language behaviors of both sides affecting the prospects, somewhat. And in came the superstitions, beliefs or say superstitious...

Well! What the heck! Invisibility is infinite because our own God Himself is invisible! Some scientists say that even ZERO is a concept akin to being infinite! Therefore, both ways, it’s only great to be invisible! While God hides Himself behind whatever you don’t need to know, He has created the humans that are immensely visible; once you’re born as one you cannot hide anywhere in the universe until you drop dead in which case you’re either burnt to ashes or buried under, making you finally invisible as far as the ‘real you’ is concerned, because you continue to exist virtually in family albums and the social media, and if you happen to be a huge celebrity you continue to have an extremely dominant virtual existence till perhaps when earth itself gets obliterated. However, problems are more obnoxious when you and other ordinary mortals like us are kicking alive! Even if you wish to disappear instantly from all human views, like Sita in Ramayana did, you fail to accomplish that. In thi...