Sports Stories
It’s not the size, it’s the science: How cricket bats got smarter
As cricket sees bigger scores with each passing season, bat manufacturing has become a more precise technology, fuelled by R&D and players’ constant inputs to fashion that perfect piece of wood that takes power-hitting forward
- Arani Basu
- TNN
With IPL bets in excess of $100bn, why Indian banks are struggling
India's IPL cricket frenzy is fuelling massive gambling, straining banks' IT systems, particularly due to the surge in real-time transactions via the UPI interface. Why this is an elephant in the room that needs to be tackled
- Andy Mukherjee
- Bloomberg
Are CSK and MS Dhoni stuck in denial?
CSK seem to have a Dhoni-sized problem and to make matters worse their approach to T20s has looked outdated.
A sports revolution in the middle of Bihar could make it India's next sporting hub
Not too far from the ancient academic complex at Nalanda, a new sports centre in Rajgir is driving the state’s bid to emerge as India’s next sporting powerhouse
Can IPL Keep Growing Into More Teams & Cities?
Its business is booming as its 18th edition takes off today. But a lot of the value is tied to marquee players and to tournament success — this is a hard constraint on increasing the franchises
Why PM Modi called this small village in the heart of India 'Mini Brazil'
Hailed as India’s ‘Mini Brazil’, an MP village's love of football is bringing about social transformation. School dropout rates have dropped, enrolment is up, parents cheer girls on the ground, new schools have opened, and now even a hospital. And, of course, the village’s boys and girls are making it to the nationals
Helicopter heartthrob: How Ranchi boy became super king of Tamil hearts
The cult of Dhoni has transcended cricket. To Chennai, he is ‘The Thala’, exemplifying grace and grit, and inspiring with his humility. Meanwhile, at 43, he is still hitting sixes for fun. His first match this IPL is on March 23
Is pressure to be a ‘good Muslim’ dragging Pak cricketers down?
The latest debacle at the Champions Trophy has again prompted questions in the Pakistani media about how important enthusiastic display of religiosity is in the country’s cricket team. Can a lack of willingness to wear your religion on your sleeve cost you a place in the team? And do cricketers use religion to shield themselves when things go wrong on the field?
- Team TOI Plus
- TIMESOFINDIA.COM
Thrice Champions, Two Questions
Team India lifting the Champions Trophy shouldn’t push underlying issues under the carpet. One, big gaps in catching & outfielding. Two, the future of Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli
- Avijit Ghosh
- TNN
Meet the 4-year-old chess prodigy who's world’s youngest Fide-rated player
He's still in pre-school and has been playing the game for just over a year. But he's already done enough to become the youngest Fide-rated player in the world., when he beat two rated players in the Bengal State U-9 meet
- Saibal Bose
- TNN
When Sunil Gavaskar achieved Test cricket’s ‘moon landing’
On March 7, 1987, the legendary Indian opener achieved what no batsman had done before. Decades later, the achievement continues to be celebrated.
In red and blue meltdown, Manchester is football’s misery town
Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering City find themselves banished from the continent. Ruben Amorim’s Red Devils are languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League, the nadir of United’s long and steady slide since Sir Alex Ferguson and the glory days departed. It’s a season of discontent in Manchester, whose two clubs have dominated the league for three decades, and for legions of fans red and blue
Cricket's darkest overs: When Pak umpires denied India victory
India and Pakistan have played 135 ODI matches against each other. The game on February 23 will be their 136th. But the one with the most controversial ending was the Sahiwal game of 1978
- Avijit Ghosh
- TNN
50-Over Cricket’s Midlife Crisis, With India Twist
Champions Trophy, an ODI tourney, will get real buzzy only with an Indo-Pak final. Indian selectors, however, have batted for the past and interrupted the future
- Avijit Ghosh
- TNN
Inside Indian cricket’s succession plan for Rohit, Virat
Their performance in the ODI series against England at home and the Champions Trophy could play a role in deciding the futures of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
Why targeting touring cricketers' WAGs won’t help Team India’s fortunes
After a dismal couple of Test series, among the moves planned by the Indian cricket board is to limit players’ time with their partners while touring. There’s no evidence that helps anyone.
Why the entire world is guilty of letting Afghan women down
While the Afghan men’s cricket team is free to play the sport, the women’s team members have been left in the lurch. Why is the world turning a blind eye to this gender apartheid?
- Harinder Baweja
- TIMESOFINDIA.COM
How Mumbai got the Wankhede stadium and why its first game saw a riot
The iconic stadium in South Mumbai was built 50 years ago despite the fact that the city already had a stadium to host cricket matches. It’s first Test also didn’t quite go as intended.
'Nobody saw what I did – one of the greatest cricket knocks from 22 yards'
Kapil Dev's innings of 175* against Zimbabwe at the 1983 World Cup is considered one of cricket's greatest innings of all time not recorded on video. Syed Kirmani - who walked in to bat when India was reeling at 140/8 -describes in this excerpt from his autobiography what it was like to be Kapil Dev's partner during an epic innings
- Syed Kirmani
- TIMESOFINDIA.COM
Was BCCI presidentship a carrot to get Ganguly into politics?
According to senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai in his new book ‘2024: The Election That Surprised India’, before the 2021 assembly polls in West Bengal, the BJP was desperate for a local face who could carry the party’s campaign in the state along with, of course, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. That face was star cricketer Sourav Ganguly. Here’s an excerpt from the book that details how hard BJP tried to rope in Ganguly and why it failed
- Rajdeep Sardesai
- TIMESOFINDIA.COM