Moving…

I haven’t updated this blog for a while since I am in the process of transferring all the posts to my website sidvee.net. I have also been hosting podcasts (and occasionally writing) for 81allout.com, a website I co-founded two years ago. You can subscribe to the 81allout podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Google podcasts and a

Remember this guy from the Karachi Test in 1989?

The Karachi Test of 1989 featured four debutants. We know what became of Sachin Tendulkar and Waqar Younis. We are familiar with Salil Ankola’s start-stop career and his foray into acting. We can glean more details online and scan his social media handles for updates. But we know close to nothing about Shahid Saeed, a

Steve Bucknor unplugged

Steve Bucknor may have umpired in 309 international matches, including five successive World Cup finals, but he is often reminded of the decisions he got wrong. “Last year, I was in New York umpiring a local match and there was one fellow who came and said: ‘On my phone, I have a video with 10

Backyard tales: when England trounced India in 1993

In a piece for issue 30 of The Nightwatchman, I wrote about England’s infamous tour to India in 1993. The series – in which India won all three Tests – is now seen as the lowest point for the England team in what was a bleak decade. Running parallel to the series was my own

Kapil’s crazy day out in Kent

In a piece for the summer 2019 edition of The Nightwatchman, I revisited Kapil’s iconic 175* against Zimbabwe at Tunbridge Wells. It was published in the Wisden blog here.  Image credit to Jan Traylen (who is interviewed in the piece). Excerpts: One of the greatest innings of modern times began 18 minutes past 11 o’clock with

If Wasim Akram were to bowl today…

Wasim Akram is sitting by a window on the 11th floor of a hotel room in Toronto, but he is imagining himself at the top of his bowling mark on a hot afternoon, with a belter of a pitch laid out for a T20 match. In this hypothetical game, Wasim has the new white ball

The power and glory of Jasprit Bumrah

In what was to be his last act in this World Cup, Jasprit Bumrah walked into the middle of Old Trafford when large sections of the crowd were making their way out. India needed 23 off the last over in the first semi-final. A sense of gloom hung over the stands. Bumrah stood at the

The uncategorisable Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli asks the crowd at The Oval to applaud Steve Smith, not boo him or call him a cheat. Virat Kohli gives R Ashwin a flaming send-off at the end of an IPL match in Bangalore. Virat Kohli doffs his cap and bows to a section of the Melbourne crowd, during the Boxing Day

Ind v Aus: a storied World Cup rivalry

One of the first things Yuvraj Singh said after India won the tense World Cup quarter-final in 2011: “This is the moment I have lived for as a cricketer. Over the last year, I have been dreaming of staying till the end and taking the team to victory against Australia in the World Cup.” Yuvraj

The forgotten parts of unforgettable World Cup games

I have no idea where I was and what I was doing when Mohinder Amarnath dismissed Michael Holding on June 25, 1983. That is hardly surprising given that I had only recently turned two. My parents have no idea what they were doing that evening. Where were you when India stunned the great West Indies,