Archives for June 2025

Leeds: K L Rahul drove his way to a sublime 47 after England negated India’s advantage by totalling 465 in their first innings as the visitors had another ordinary day in the field on day three of the first Test here on Sunday.

India dropped as many as five catches and barring Jasprit Bumrah, the effort from the pacers left a lot to be desired, allowing England to even out the game after the Shubman Gill-led side posted 471 in its first essay.

At stumps, India reached 90 for two with Rahul (47 batting off 75) and Shubman Gill (6 batting off 10).

Brydon Carse had Yashavi Jaiswal (4 off 11) caught behind with a ball that seamed away while Ben Stokes got rid of debutant Sai Sudharsan (30 off 48) for the second time in the game, the southpaw’s flick falling into the hands of Zak Crawley at mid-wicket.Rahul was a delight to watch as he majority of his seven fours came via the cove driver off the fast bowlers. He did not look any discomfort whatsoever despite the ball doing a bit in overcast conditions.

Stumps were drawn when rain arrived at Headingley with India leading by 96 runs..

In an extended afternoon session, Harry Brook ran out of luck on 99 before Jasprit Bumrah completed a well deserved five wicket haul to ensure a slender six run first innings lead for India.

Before Bumrah castled Josh Tongue to end England innings, Chris Woakes (38 off 55) punished a predictable Indian pace attack to take his team close to India”s 471.

Hosts continued to find the boundaries at will as they collected 138 runs in 23.4 overs in the afternoon session with the loss of five wickets.

Prasidh Krishna removed Jamie Smith (40 off 52) and Brook (99 off 112) with the short ball but leaked too many runs at the same time with his one dimensional tactic, conceding 128 runs in 20 overs.

Bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur was under bowled again, raising questions over his selection. Bumrah, who has by far been the best Indian bowler on display, picked up his 14th fifer in the longest format ending with figures of 5/83 in 24.4 overs.

India’s fielding have been their weakest link so far in the game and having been give two lives, Brook was dropped again, on 82, by Jaiswal off Bumrah.

The explosive England batter however could not use those chances to score a famous hundred and was dismissed on 99 in the 88th over. India had taken the new ball after 80 overs but were not able to make good use of it.

Captain Shubman Gill made questionable calls like introducing Ravindra Jadeja towards the end of the session and bringing back Bumrah for a late burst.

In the opening session, Brook went on the offensive against an inconsistent Indian pace attack, taking England to 327 for five at lunch.

Resuming at an overnight 209 for three, Brook ensured that England scored at a brisk pace, totalling 118 runs in 28 overs.

The visitors got two welcome wickets of overnight centurion Ollie Pope (106 off 137) and England captain Ben Stokes (20 off 52).

Like day two, the other Indian pacers could not match the accuracy of Bumrah.

Brook, dismissed off a Bumrah no ball at the stroke of stumps on day two, was dropped by wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant on 46 shortly before lunch. Jadeja, who was able to extract sharp turn from the rough, got one to turn away sharply but Pant could not hold on to the rising ball.

In the same over, Brook completed his 12th Test fifty, adding to the frustration of the Indians who have been sloppy with their catching thus far in the game. Led by captain Shubman Gill, the Indians were also very vocal about their issues with a worn out Dukes ball throughout the session.

The umpires relented before the 75th over while the new ball will be due after 80 overs.

The session belonged to the highly rated Brook who produced a display of audacious strokeplay from the get go.

Krishna offered two loose balls in the first over of the day and Brook duly put them for a four through point and six off over mid-wicket.

Brook’s tactics against the pacers, including Bumrah, stood out as he charged down to them for aerial drives over extra cover.

Krishna, in his following over, was lucky to get Pope out as the England number three edged a short and wide ball to the keeper.

Kolkata: Former skipper Sourav Ganguly has categorically ruled out entering politics, but says he is not averse to coaching the Indian team.

Ganguly, who will turn 53 this July, was the Team Director of Delhi Capitals between 2018-19 and 2022-24.

“I never really thought about it because I got into different roles,” Ganguly told PTI in a free-wheeling podcast interview when asked if he would like to coach the Indian team.

“I finished (competitive cricket) in 2013 and then became Board (BCCI) President,” said Ganguly, noting that his biggest contribution to Indian cricket in that role was to promote women’s cricket.

When suggested that he could have contributed more by becoming India coach, Ganguly said: “We’ll see what the future holds. I’m just 50 (53), so let’s see what happens. I’m open to it. We’ll see where it goes,” the veteran cricket.

One thing he is not getting into is politics.

Asked if he would like to join a political party ahead of West Bengal assembly elections in 2026, Ganguly said with a smile: ” I am not interested.”

What if he is promised the state chief minister’s post? “I am not interested,” he repeated.

Asked which party he would like to join if he has a choice, Ganguly said he has never thought about that.

“It’s not as easy as you say. I get the opportunity (to enter politics) every year but I don’t think that’s my cup of tea. I have no interest in politics, I just observe because a country and a states’ progress is directly attached to people who run it.”

Ganguly was all praise for incumbent coach Gautam Gambhir, who he feels, has picked up pace as coach since Champions Trophy victory in Dubai earlier this year.

“Gautam (Gambhir) is doing a good job. He started off a little slow, losing to Australia and New Zealand, but he picked up with the Champions Trophy. This is going to be a big series (vs England),” Ganguly said.

Asked how astute a tactician Gambhir is, Ganguly praised the southpaw’s passion and his ability to express his opinions in a straight forward manner.

“I haven’t seen him from very close in this role, but I know he is very passionate. I haven’t observed his strategies closely because I haven’t worked with him as a coach.

“He’s very straightforward, he sees things clearly, and he’s very open about what he feels, about the team, players, people, everything. From the outside, you can tell he’s a very transparent person – what you see is what you get.”

Ganguly recollected his playing days when he found Gambhir to be very respectful towards senior.

“I’ve played with him. He was a great guy with a lot of respect for me and the senior players. Even now, I can see he is extremely passionate about his job.”

Ganguly also feels that with just a year into the job, Gambhir should be allowed time to grow as a coach and learn with passage of time.

“I wish him all the best. He’s just a year into the job, and this will be an important (England) tour. He struggled a bit in Australia, but just like everyone else, he’ll learn, he’ll grow, and he’ll become better.”

Ganguly revealed that by the end of 2026 his biopic will release and Rajkumar Rao will be the protagonist.

“The shooting will start in January, the pre-production, scripting and story writing takes a lot of time, shooting does not take much time,” he said.