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Are we there yet? Have we entered Pakistan’s ‘high-risk’, ‘aggressive’, and ‘as-un-Pakistan-as-can-be’ cricket era? Is the gloom and doom in Pakistan cricket a relic of the past? They chased down 205 with nine wickets and four overs to spare in Auckland. The more you look back at how New Zealand fared, the better Pakistan’s performance appears in hindsight. Perhaps the hosts took the young Pakistan side too lightly. Whatever the reason, it inspired a comprehensive comeback from the visitors. Doing so they CPR-ed the series. But how long before the lifeline deflates again? How long before reality jumpscares them from…

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) ended last season as the runner-up. It could (and should) have been Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their place, playing the final. After all, how can a team with as many as four quicks in their XI expect to win in Chennai? They could not possibly have hoped for their part-time spinners to exploit Chepauk, could they? Turns out, they could – and thats how RR were robbed of a place in the final. But sidekicks doing the main job was nowhere near the highlight of SRH’s IPL season the previous year. Their destructive batting order instilled fear…

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have a title to defend, and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have never wandered far enough in the tournament to worry about such burdens. But despite their contrasting legacies, this clash has never failed to deliver some edge-of-seat stuff over the years. It all started with Brendon McCullum’s unbelievable 158, long before Bazball was even a thing. Like any good rivalry, this one has witnessed its fair share of heated bits, some very ugly, some less so. That is precisely why it was a clever move by the management to open the season with an RCB vs.…

Pakistan have been able to attain little to triumph over so far in this series, but the good news is they still have time to make amends. 2-0 down in a five-match series does not mean it is over, even if the odds point to the opposite. But that could take a lot more than the young Pakistan side can offer. On the other hand, New Zealand can turn the remaining two games into dead rubbers by delivering a coup de grace to the visitors in this game.  But results are hardly what matters right now. Both sides laid out…

Dunedin was not as unwelcoming to Pakistan as Christchurch, but they ended up getting humbled at both venues. It’s not unusual for teams to go down 2-0 early, especially in a longer series, but Pakistan has a reason to worry. And that, as per Haris Rauf, is the criticism that has become a norm in the country. Speaking to the media following Pakistan’s defeat in Dunedin, Rauf urged that Pakistan’s new-look team be given a few matches before scorn is poured on them. “You talk about criticism, I think it has become common in Pakistan,” Pakistan pacer said. “These are…

New Zealand played India in the Champions Trophy final a week ago. Seven days later, they find themselves gearing up to face their favourite opponent with whatever manpower they could scrape together on the cusp of IPL season. Pakistan, too, are light on experience, but it has nothing to do with any franchise league commitments. Instead, their watered-down squad is due to a calculated attempt to rebuild their shortest-format side before the T20 World Cup next year. Having crashed out of the group stage in their last three ICC events, an overhaul was expected for Pakistan. But even for the…

England pacer Mark Wood has been ruled out of competitive cricket for four months after undergoing left knee surgery in London on Wednesday. The four-month recovery timeline will see him miss England’s five-Test home series against India in June. However, he is likely to regain fitness before the Ashes series down under later this year. Wood was taken out of England’s Champions Trophy campaign and remained warming the benches with a heavily strapped leg after limping off the field in the group stage game against Afghanistan. He was four balls into his fourth over when he appeared to be in…

After months of anticipation and wrong judgments by fans and pundits, the defending Champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) named Ajinkya Rahane as their captain. Shreyas Iyer, who led the side to victory last year, was neither retained nor repurchased during the mega-auction in Saudi Arabia. This meant the KKR management had to find an equal replacement, which, many thought, would be Venkatesh Iyer, KKR’s most expensive buy this season. However, the franchise went with Rahane instead to lead the team, which has nearly the same core as last time, albeit with a new captain and coaching staff.  Gautam Gambhir mentored…

Back in 1877, Melbourne witnessed two teams contest each other in what was an unusual sport at that time, which stretched over several days. They called it Test cricket, for reasons no one cares to remember now. The same Test cricket will turn 150 years old in 2027, and to commemorate that, England and Australia will play a Test match on March 11 that year, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, exactly a century and a half later. But that anniversary Test game will be nothing like the first-ever long-format game. In fact, it will not be like any men’s Test…

At this point, Pakistan and New Zealand are in a long-distance relationship. Neither wants to let go of the other. New Zealand could lose an ICC final one week and still find a way to face Pakistan the next. Pakistan could very well be stuck in the middle of their existential crisis, yet would still ‘roger’ any opportunity to play the Kiwis.  In addition to death and taxes, Pakistan vs New Zealand bilaterals are the new certain in this world. Something many of the players who faced India in the final on Sunday would also nod to, as they gear…