Author: Mishaal Mubarak

The hosts outplayed the young Indian team by 13 runs in the first match. But it’s fine. Everyone knows one has to go through such defeats during the new hiring process. India’s young blood still has four games to prove their worth but even thats not what they are here for. They are here to build a new team that can carry the legacy of their experienced countrymen. No one would mind winning a game or two, but Shubman Gill’s men should not forsake the real mission. But no talks about young blood and secret missions should take away anything…

The World Cup victory jubiliations still continue for India but what needs to be done has to be done. With three out of the eleven who won the final game having already bidden farewell to the format and the next World Cup slated to be played in India, the team has to be restocked with champions to defend the title successfully. Shubman Gill has been relayed the task to lead this team of young applicants and let them make a convincing case for themselves for the senior team.  Zimbabwe had a more than decent run during the previous T20 World…

The dust has settled. The tornado warning is over. And team India is due to take their flight from Barbados back to their country where people are waiting to laud the national heroes and, if they get lucky enough, touch the coveted silverware. After the trophy comes home after almost two decades. But critics and devils dwell in the details and there is not a greater duo in cricket than hindsight and weeding through the details. Despite the euphoria outbreak in the cricket-mad country, some pundits have managed to extract some killjoy details to question the victory, with Sanjay Manjrekar…

Indian women’s team has done the unthinkable in the first innings of the Chennai Test against South Africa. Taking the South African bowlers to cleaners, the hosts posted a mammoth 603 runs on the board before declaring the innings. Doing that the women’s team has shattered many records. This is the highest aggregate any cricket team, be it women’s or men’s, has ever scored in a day’s play, going past Sri Lanka men’s total of 509 in Colombo against Bangladesh back in 2002. This is also the first time any team has crossed the 600 runs mark in women’s Test…

Two Little Soldier Boys sitting in the sun; One got frizzled up and then there was One. Its still hours to go before we can know which soldier will get frizzled up and which will end up winning the glory. The T20 World Cup has always been cruel to the unbeaten teams but this time it has attempted to make up for its behavior by allowing, not one, but two unbeaten teams to proceed to the finals. South Africa’s unbeaten record is not as immaculate as India’s, they have made it so far by stumbling and bumbling, missing many close…

India are through to the finals. That too for the second time in a year. Though the match timings for this World Cup are spread through different time zones, the match started at an even weird time for India, perhaps at a different stage as well. It began for them in the winter of 2022 miles away from where they played today. It was the second semi-final of a happening World Cup too. It had India and England clashing against each other as well. But for the world, it ended on the same day, with news headlines announcing India’s 10-wicket…

It has been a dream run for Afghanistan. After reaching the Super Eight stage, every victory brought them closer to hitherto unknown parts of the competition. They will play their first-ever semi-final of a T20 World Cup against South Africa. Quite opposite to Afghanistan, South Africa are entering the semis unbeaten. However, none of them were one-sided affairs. Barring their first World Cup game which they bested against Sri Lanka by 6 wickets, all other results could have gone either way. It is either that the luck which has for a long time been tricking them, is finally on their…

If it was about who deserves to make it to the final four this edition, none would have denied Afghanistan an entry. But cricket is a cruel game. It’s not always the deserving who gets the pass. And so, Afghanistan’s job is not done just yet. They have one final stepping stone to hop over before they can rest in the first-class train to the semi-final. Beating Bangladesh is not the only job, though. They will have to tread carefully lest they unleash the wrath of the wretched devil which shows no mercy while throwing teams out of contention: the…

Both sides have made it to the finals of two back-to-back ICC events in the past year, the first time at the Oval for the WTC Finals and more recently in Ahmedabad. On both occasions, the Kangaroos helmed toward the victory, elongating India’s wait for revenge. They meet again. This time at a relatively lesser stakes game. Losing isn’t necessarily a death sentence for any of the sides but whoever loses will face the unforgiving nature of this tournament more openly. Suppose Australia end up on the losing side or begrudgingly watching the rain wash away the match. In that…

The clock has struck midnight for the USA team. The magic has turned back to ordinary and the carriage back to the pumpkin. But the glass slipper remains shining on the stairs. And by a stroke of luck, the slipper can have the good fortune come knocking at their door. This likely-to-be last match in this edition of the World Cup is slated against the defending champions, England. While there is just an outside chance for an upset, the Americans don’t have any option but to hope that with all they can. Even if they fail to grab this opportunity,…