1
SKY’s the limit
✍️ Devendra Pandey has a rare interview with Suryakumar Yadav about his and India’s 18-month journey to their latest World Cup win.
“No one will remember, but [Dube] scored 27 off 15 balls in the 2024 World Cup final — the most important contribution that day. After that, Gauti bhai and Ajit bhai told me this player needs to be tested in different positions and got ready. So if you watch, he has batted everywhere from four to seven. His role was simple: if he bats, he creates impact; if he bowls, he covers a few overs. He was another underrated player in this tournament.”
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“Traditional, predictable, lethal”
✍️ Osman Samiuddin writes about Jasprit Bumrah’s slower ball domination.
2
How India won the final
🔒 Jarrod Kimber reviews the World Cup final and says that IND are playing a different sport than the rest of the cricketing fraternity.
“Before this World Cup, I said India was playing a different sport to everyone else. This is what I was talking about. They were still susceptible to form, dew, pitches and collapses. But when they bat, they are doing things we have never seen before.
This was a road for a while, but by the end of the first innings, the balls were gripping. Even India’s batting order struggled before Shivam Dube’s great last over, which was helped by a headbutted boundary. But what India can do with their skill, power and intent is score 20% more than par on any pitch.”
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“Samson’s magical World Cup”
📊 S Rajesh analyses Sanju Samson’s high control-high intent play.
3
The plane ride from hell
✍️ Aditya Iyer on watching the depravity of demands that everyday fans placed on MS Dhoni on a recent commercial flight.
“Now begins the pushing and shoving in the aisle, as people of all genders and age groups attempt to surge forward, even as the cabin crew try – very much in vain – to contain them. A sixty-something Gujarati man, from the middle seat of the last row across from me, simply bulldozes his way through the lady seated beside him on the aisle seat, thanks to his size and enthusiasm, both large.”
4
The best of the rest
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“Healy’s hopes for a cricketing legacy”
✍️ Mrinal Asija on Alyssa Healy’s legacy of caring a lot. -
“Against All Odds”
✍️ CS Chiwanza profiles SA’s 19-year-old left-arm spinner Enathi Kitshini who’s taken an unorthodox and difficult route from a township to cricket -
“A small town near São Paulo”
✍️ Simon Burnton reports on the growth of Women’s cricket in Brazil. -
“Following a changing game”
✍️ Brent Simmonds on following cricket in Japan from the mid aughts, getting exposed to associate and Women’s cricket via Cricinfo scorecards at internet cafes, and the general growth of non-Full Member teams in the last two decades.
5
The best videos and podcasts
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“Is Jasprit Bumrah the Best Ever?”
📽️ Michael Vaughan sits down with Harsha Bhogle to discuss IND before the final, ENG’s next steps, and – as any good podcast must do for five minutes every episode – the brilliance of Jasprit Bumrah. [YouTube] -
“Is T20 glory next for India’s Women?”
📽️ The Final Word talk to Clare Connor, managing director for England Women, ahead of this summer’s World Cup. [YouTube] -
“Cricket Writing in the Digital Age”
🎤 The Last Wicket talks to former ESPN & Cricket.com writer Shubh Agarwal about the trials and tribulations of getting into cricket journalism in the modern social media age. [Apple/Spotify]