Back to the 90s

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Displaying remarkable prescience before the start of the match, MS Dhoni, with his usual sage-like demeanour and circumlocutory reasoning, had this to say about his beleaguered side's chances of beating the in-form Sri Lanka with a bonus point: "It's happening after a long time. When I was young, I used to watch these games in Sharjah and all, when equations like this were provided to the team. Often we were supposed to chase 240 or 250-odd runs in 40 overs and we have been doing that quite consistently. So the belief is there." This was, indeed, a lot like those games, when India would often go into the final match of a series needing to win within a certain number of overs to improve their net run-rate or get a bonus point so that they could sneak into the finals. Remember the tri-series between India, Australia and....

'Captain Controversial,' Terry takes centrestage yet again

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It's a clichéd storyline - The 'hero,' in the face of extreme adversity, displays courage and determination to overcome the odds in a thrilling climax. He can hardly be considered a 'hero,' except perhaps by die-hard Chelsea fans, but John Terry did his best impression of the heroic captain against Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday, barely 24 hours after becoming the first footballer to face criminal charges over alleged racist remarks towards Queens Park Rangers' Anton Ferdinand in a league game back in October. The setting couldn't have been more hostile than a hotly-contested London derby at White Hart Lane, and the match gained even more significance as both teams harboured legitimate, albeit slightly optimistic, title ambitions. With the Manchester clubs continuing their charge at the top a day earlier, the stage was set and the pressure was on. The end-to-end action....

Hassled but happy: A day at the Kotla

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It was a tough call this morning - to go to bed (at 6 AM) after a late shift at work (flexible timings take a whole new meaning when you work in sports), or to go to the Kotla for the final day of the Test, with an unprecedented 100th Sachin Tendulkar century and an India victory imminent? Sleep or cricket? Actually, it wasn't a tough call at all. Sachin and India won hands down. That decision turned out to be the easiest part. Getting into the stadium proved to be far more difficult - apparently, lessons from the mistakes made in organizing the first Test here in November 1948 are yet to be learnt. Nevertheless, just like the archetypal 'Indian cricket fan' who is passionate, vocal and perseverant, I too was determined to fight the odds and see the match at any cost. The cost, literally,....

25 years at United: Ferguson's biggest achievement

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"It has all been a fairytale dream - give or take the occasional nightmare." On Sunday, November 6, 2011, Sir Alex Ferguson celebrated 25 years in charge of Manchester United. That's more than the age of half of the players in his current squad. The likes of David de Gea, Phil Jones, Tom Cleverley, Nani, Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez weren't even born when Ferguson took over at Old Trafford in 1986. A quarter of a century and 37 trophies later, the 69-year-old is still going strong, his retirement near, but not imminent. It is a remarkable feat in every way, and the numbers only serve to highlight just how incredible and unparalleled his achievement really is. TURBULENT BEGINNING TO DOMESTIC DOMINANCE It may be hard to believe now, but when Ferguson joined United, the club was in the relegation zone in a First Division....

Terry slips up as Chelsea fall behind

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John Terry would have thought he had suffered his share of 'slip-ups' on the football field, after the nightmare in Moscow when he missed a penalty that would have won Chelsea the Champions League trophy they so desperately desire. Unfortunately for the Chelsea skipper though, he had to endure the ignominy once again, as his slip allowed Robin van Persie to score the decisive goal in Arsenal's 5-3 win at Stamford Bridge on the weekend. While his error against the Gunners may yet not prove to be as critical (the Premier League title is decided after 38 games, of which Chelsea have played just 10 so far), it capped a miserable week that has seen an alarming fall from grace of Terry and, indeed, Chelsea as a club on the whole. Before the start of the game against QPR last Sunday, the Blues were a point behind....