Latest news with #HarshaBhogle
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Sport
- Telegraph
Ben Duckett is now the best all-format batsman in the world
That was a truly incredible win for England. The mindset England have is potent. The captain and coach have fostered a belief that they can win from any situation, no matter how bleak it might look. India controlled the game, and played well for three-quarters of it. They scored five individual centuries and Jasprit Bumrah looked utterly unplayable at times. They were 430 for three on day two, and 339 in front, five wickets down on day four, and lost. If they had held some simple catches, they would have been out of sight on first innings. At the heart of this win was Ben Duckett. He doesn't get the credit he deserves in this team. Pound for pound, I reckon he is the best all-format batsman in international cricket right now. There may be players who are better at one of the formats, but none of them are as good at all three. Others in the conversation would be Travis Head or Aiden Markram, but on current form I'd have Ben over them, especially as he does it in such a tough position, opening, across all formats. Duckett is unique, and there is a bit of genius about him. His reverse-sweeping of Ravindra Jadeja in this game was staggering. It's his smile and relaxed manner, allied with an incredible eye for the ball and clever strategies, that make him so brilliant. He sets the tone for a batting order that is very settled at the start of a massive year. I've been working on Indian TV this week, and my colleagues there, including Harsha Bhogle, think England have the best batting line-up in the world. Keep that going Ben Duckett, what a shot! 🏴 — Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) June 24, 2025 They are stronger than this India team, despite four different players scoring hundreds here (and the brilliant Rishabh Pant doing it twice), and they will definitely go Down Under for the Ashes with the stronger and more settled batting order, based on the one Australia are fielding against the West Indies tomorrow. One thing I will say, is that Australia will not be nearly as forgiving with the drops as India were here. All the noise has gone around the batting order, from No 1 to 7. I have been critical of Ollie Pope, but that was a super hundred. He is starting his innings more calmly, and he is lining up Bumrah better than any of the other right-handers, including Joe Root. That is what allowed him to bat for such a long period of time. Zak Crawley was also under a bit of pressure, but he looked a class act. He played the anchor role for Duckett. In the first innings, he had a slightly closed bat-face to Bumrah, which can happen with his angles. But the little and large, left- and right-hand partnership is ideal. Teams don't know how to bowl at them, and their lines and lengths do awry quickly. What I most liked about how they chased was they looked like they were having fun, and relishing the challenge. A few times over the Bazball era, England's batsmen have been their own worst enemies. Take the fourth evening, when they had six overs to get through. They could easily have come out and tried to put a dent in the score, but they just dug in, and got through. Same again when Bumrah had the new ball in the morning; they knew that they couldn't win the game in that hour, but they could lose it. So they just gave India that period, and waited for others to come on. There were other moments in the game when that joy of playing the game was obvious. India were 430 for three on the second day, but you couldn't tell from the body language. That is an amazing strength to have, and it is a mentality that means you can do great things. We are starting to see the pieces come together for this massive year of Test cricket. I didn't agree with Stokes's decision at the toss, because there were easier ways to get ahead of this game, despite the statistics about Headingley as a chasing ground. But they got there in the end. I've said there are no questions about the batting order, and I was actually very impressed with England's ability to take 20 wickets on a pitch like this, especially given they didn't get last use of it. Brydon Carse looks every inch a Test cricketer, capable of hitting the pitch hard at tough moments, or pitching it up and swinging the new ball. Body language is so important at this level, and he is such a competitor. I'd have loved him in my attack. And they've been crying out for years for someone to quickly clean up the tail, and Josh Tongue has done it twice. There's a bit of chatter floating around that England are planning to bring Jofra Archer straight back in for Edgbaston, and are already planning to play Gus Atkinson at Lord's. I really hope they aren't pencilling in names this early. Don't rotate for the sake of it. What's the rush, when these guys have been injured and will have played so little cricket? And for who? Carse is a shoo-in, and Tongue needs to play if he is to continue to improve at this level. He played a single Ashes Test two years ago, then was taken out of the side. Don't make that mistake again. After this, another Headingley classic, England will believe they can win any game any way. Of all their crazy wins, this was different. They weren't in charge at any point, then pulled off a massive chase in controlled fashion. It was Bazball with brains.
The Independent
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Rishabh Pant conjures maverick magic to cap remarkable comeback to Test cricket
'Stupid, stupid, stupid,' echoed the words of Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar. The first player to ever reach 10,000 Test runs, he is known as 'Sunny' to his mates, Mr. Gavaskar to you or I, and as a demi-god to the 1.5 billion people of India. 'He should not be going into the Indian dressing room,' Gavaskar continued, live on air for ABC Radio in Australia. His fit of rage continuing as his co-commentator, the experienced Harsha Bhogle, himself a veteran of over 30 years of broadcasting, looked and listened on in cowed disbelief. 'He should be going into the other dressing room,' concluded Gavaskar. The player responsible for the outburst was Rishabh Pant. The maverick's maverick, Pant is one of few athletes in the world capable of eliciting such strength of emotion from onlookers. The cricket you dream of is his reality. When it works, it's wonderful; but when it doesn't, it can look woeful. Gavaskar's dressing down was the result of the latter. With the match in the balance, Pant had gone for a scoop off Aussie bowler Scott Boland and succeeded only in finding the fielder in the deep. Pant plays these shots while falling over. And so as the ball settled in the hands of Nathan Lyon, he found himself on his backside both figuratively and literally. The thing with mavericks is just as strongly as the emotion burns in you when they fail, equally it glows when they succeed. And as Pant soaked in the celebrations that accompanied him bringing up his second century of the match at Headingley, he looked towards the media balcony where a beaming Gavaskar was standing in applause, imploring Pant to recreate his celebration of day one where he debuted a front flip upon reaching three figures. Pant acknowledged the legend's request, smiled, and waved it away. 'You just stand there and admire and sometimes scratch your head,' Pant's batting partner KL Rahul said of his teammate after play. Rahul, himself, made 137. 'He's a unique player and you just leave them be.' Pant is well en route to becoming arguably the greatest wicketkeeper batter to ever live. An average of 44.44 speaks to his consistency; the 82 sixes he has hit in only 77 innings speaks to his chaos. In ten matches in England he has made four centuries, the joint most of any wicketkeeper in history along with Alec Stewart and Matt Prior, two of England's longest ever serving wicketkeepers. MS Dhoni, India's most-loved wicketkeeper in history, made six Test centuries in total. Pant already has eight. Not to mention the seven times he has been dismissed in the nineties. Pant's achievements are all the more remarkable given the near fatal car accident he suffered in 2022. Driving along a motorway in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, Pant's car struck the central reservation after he fell asleep at the wheel. It was a miracle he survived. 'It's a remarkable comeback, honestly,' said Aussie great Ricky Ponting, who is close with Pant after working together in the Indian Premier League. 'If you can even see his leg now, and if you listen to the stories he tells about what he confronted when he woke up on the side of the road having been thrown out of his car 40 metres up the road at 200kph, I mean…' Pant's return to the Test arena took just under two years, a stage where, despite his legend in the shorter formats, he describes as the one 'where I belong most'. Pant's twin centuries showcase how fast cricket and life moves on. India are a new-look side. Pant, himself, a newly appointed vice-captain. The question was what shape would India take after losing the father figures of the side in Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin and Rohit Sharma all in one go. Within the space of three days, the answer is already clear: Rishabh's. Greater responsibility brings the expectation of greater maturity. But it also gives the chance for greater mischief. After all, an 18-year-old is allowed in both the voting booth and the pub. Pant said ahead of the series that he relished the chance for greater responsibility and confirmed he'd be batting at number five. But that extra responsibility hasn't quelled his eccentricities. 'He has a method to his batting which none of us in this room understand,' Rahul continued when describing Pant. 'But it works for him and he's gotten hundreds all over the world.' When facing seam, he still runs down the wicket and charges the seamers. When faced with spin, he still wallops the ball for sixes at will and takes risks others wouldn't consider. All while providing a commentary soundtrack for the world to listen to. 'No twos between these two,' joked Harry Brook at Pant and KL Rahul's expense, inferring the duo don't fancy running that much against the spin of Shoaib Bashir. 'If he bowls a full toss, no twos,' came Pant's reply with one eye on Brook and the other on the stand he planned on hitting the ball into. Pant spent 26 balls in the nineties. An uncharacteristic show of nerves, but not a surprising one for a player who has been dismissed within ten runs of a century on seven occasions. Pant's blase attitude to the 'nervous nineties' is his personality in a nutshell. He's not here for personal accolades. But his nudges and nurdles as the three figures approached suggested that it wasn't a habit he wished to turn into a tradition. A cut into the offside brought up the century and saw the entirety of Headingley rise to their feet. Pant is a rare player that entertains those who are new to the sport, and wows those who are old to it. At Headingley this afternoon, a player who will go down in history, made today his.
Zawya
5 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
India - UAE partnership and AI take center stage at Pan IIM Alumni Forum in Dubai
IIM Ahmedabad's Dubai campus marks a historic milestone as the first overseas campus for any IIM, expanding world-class management education to the Middle East. Ambassador Sunjay Sudhir and H.E. Hadi Badri, CEO of Dubai Economic Development Corporation (DEDC) highlighted how India-UAE collaboration is driving innovation and economic growth in the region. Renowned cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle, an IIM Ahmedabad alumnus, shared his personal journey, reflecting on how IIMA shaped his career and drawing parallels between sports and business success. Dubai, United Arab Emirates - The Pan IIM Alumni Network – Middle East Chapter successfully hosted its seminal event, Human Capital in the Age of AI Economy, bringing together leading voices from government, business, and academia. Senior diplomats, industry leaders, and thought pioneers convened to discuss the evolving landscape of talent, innovation, and management education in today's rapidly digitalizing world. The Pan IIM Alumni Network represents over 2000 MBA alumni of the elite Indian Institutes of Management, including leaders in business, startups, philanthropic organizations, and government. The event was co-sponsored by Emirates NBD and the IIMA Endowment Fund. Moderated by Chhavi Moodgal, Founding CEO at the IIM Ahmedabad Endowment Fund, the forum featured three engaging panels that addressed critical themes shaping the future of work and education in the India-UAE corridor and beyond. The opening keynote was led by Sunjay Sudhir, Indian Ambassador to the UAE, and H.E. Hadi Badri, CEO of Dubai Economic Development Corporation (DEDC), part of the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET). Their addresses centered on the strengthening strategic partnership between India and the UAE, emphasizing talent development as a cornerstone of this collaboration. Ambassador Sudhir remarked, 'The inauguration of IIM Ahmedabad's first international campus in Dubai is a landmark moment that exemplifies the deep and enduring partnership between India and the UAE. This initiative not only strengthens educational ties but also fosters innovation and talent development across our two nations. I am confident that IIMA's presence here will inspire a new generation of leaders who will contribute significantly to the region's economic and social progress.' Echoing this sentiment, Hadi Badri remarked, 'Dubai's vision to become a global hub for talent and innovation aligns perfectly with IIM Ahmedabad's legacy of academic excellence and leadership development. The establishment of IIMA's Dubai campus is a testament to the strong bilateral collaboration between Dubai and India. We look forward to supporting this partnership as it nurtures future-ready professionals who will drive sustainable growth in the UAE and beyond.' The second panel, 'The Future of Work,' delved into how artificial intelligence and digital transformation are fundamentally reshaping business models, workforce dynamics, and organizational strategies. Panelists examined the urgent need for upskilling and lifelong learning to ensure that human capital remains relevant and competitive in an AI-driven global economy. The role of leadership in this evolving landscape was highlighted by the panellists. The forum concluded with Harsha Bhogle sharing how his time at IIM Ahmedabad built his resilience and survivor mindset. He reflected on his cricket commentary career and connected lessons from sports to business, ending with an engaging rapid-fire session. Harsha also spoke about the importance of giving back to your alma mater, encouraging fellow alumni to contribute to the legacy of institutions that shaped them. The forum coincided with the exciting phase of IIM Ahmedabad's preparation to launch its first international campus in Dubai in September 2025. This marks a historic milestone as the first overseas campus for any Indian Institute of Management. The campus will offer a full-time, one-year MBA program tailored for global professionals and entrepreneurs, with admissions opening shortly. Initially operating from Dubai International Academic City (DIAC), the campus will transition to a permanent facility by 2029. The choice of Dubai is strategic, given its vibrant business landscape, large Indian diaspora, and commitment to innovation, aligning with the Dubai Economic Agenda, D33, and India's National Education Policy 2020. The campus is expected to deepen educational and economic ties between the two countries and create a thriving hub for talent and leadership development. About IIM Ahmedabad Dubai: IIM Ahmedabad Dubai is the first international branch of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA), India's top-ranked business school. Established in partnership with the Government of Dubai, IIM Ahmedabad Dubai brings world-class management education to the Middle East, offering a full-time, one-year MBA program tailored for working professionals and entrepreneurs. The institute combines IIMA's renowned academic rigor, research excellence, and case-based pedagogy with a regional focus on innovation and leadership development. Operating initially from Dubai International Academic City (DIAC), IIM Ahmedabad Dubai will expand to a permanent, state-of-the-art facility by 2029, strengthening educational and economic ties between India and the UAE and supporting Dubai's vision to become a global hub for talent and knowledge. About IIM Ahmedabad: The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA), established in 1961, is India's premier management institute and is consistently ranked among the world's top business schools. Renowned for its academic excellence, pioneering research, and influential alumni network, IIMA offers a comprehensive portfolio of programs including MBA, doctoral, and executive education. IIMA's commitment to leadership, innovation, and societal impact has made it a benchmark in management education globally.
Time of India
01-06-2025
- Climate
- Time of India
Rain, rain, go away! Ahmedabad crowd groans as showers greet PBKS & MI players; fans still hopeful for IPL action
The toss was done, the players were warmed up, and all was set for Qualifier 2 between Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. But just as the players stepped onto the field at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad for the 7:30 PM start, the rain returned. It had been drizzling on and off since yesterday, with the pitch staying covered throughout. There was no rain at the time of the toss, but the covers remained on as a precaution. However, just as the match was about to begin, the skies opened up. Within minutes, the rain intensified, forcing players to leave the dugout and head back to the dressing rooms. The game has a 120-minute window before overs start getting deducted. 🚨 Update 🚨Start of play delayed due to tuned for further updates ▶ | #PBKSvMI | #Qualifier2 | #TheLastMile Fans react If the rain continues, a 20-over game can still begin at 9:30 PM. While RCB fans may not be too concerned, supporters of PBKS and MI are eagerly waiting for the match to start, hoping to see their team win the crucial clash. Many took to X (formerly Twitter) to plead with the rain to go away. One said, "OOPSIE! Just when the action to begin in Ahmedabad, it started to drizzle out there. As per Harsha Bhogle on air, it is not heavy and is very windy out there, so, hopefully, the wind will blow away all the clouds threatening to pour down." "OOPSIE! Just when the action to begin in Ahmedabad, it started to drizzle out there. As per Harsha Bhogle on air, it is not heavy and is very windy out there, so, hopefully, the wind will blow away all the clouds threatening to pour down #AHMEDABAD #MIVSPBKS #RAIN # Another said, "Ohh bad stared in match." Ohh bad luck Rain 🌧️🌧️🌧️🌧️ stared in match PBKS vs MI #MIvsPBKS #PBKSvMI #IPLPlayoffs One wrote, "Rain go away, let us see the Eliminator!" Rain go away, let us see the Eliminator!#MIvsPBKS Another added, "PBKS entered the field and the rain gods decided to put on a show. Raining and raining heavily. Covers are on." PBKS entered the field and the rain gods decided to put on a show. Raining and raining heavily. Covers are on.#MIvsPBKS PBKS vs MI: Teams Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Priyansh Arya, Josh Inglis(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Nehal Wadhera, Marcus Stoinis, Shashank Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Kyle Jamieson, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra ChahalImpact Subs: Prabhsimran Singh, Praveen Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Xavier Bartlet, Harpreet Brar Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Jonny Bairstow(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, Raj Bawa, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Reece Topley Impact Subs: Ashwani Kumar, Krishnan Shrijith, Raghu Sharma, Robin Minz, Bevon Jacobs
Mint
30-05-2025
- Sport
- Mint
‘Why does Harsha Bhogle hate RCB?' Grok AI schools Royal Challengers Bengaluru fan after Punjab Kings lose Qualifier 1
Harsha Bhogle's social media post after IPL 2025 Qualifier 1 has gone viral, gaining nearly 4.5 lakh views. 'This is why the system for the play-offs is so good. Punjab Kings have played outstanding cricket and they deserve another opportunity,' the seasoned cricket analyst wrote on Twitter (now X). Bhogle expressed himself after Royal Challengers Bengaluru emphatically defeated the Punjab Kings and stormed into the IPL 2025 final. However, the post did not impress some RCB fans. One of them asked Grok, 'Why does Harsha hate RCB?' Grok, Elon Musk's AI tool, reacted with a befitting reply. 'There's no evidence Harsha Bhogle hates RCB. He has praised RCB players like Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis, suggesting their retention for IPL 2025 due to strong performances. His commentary is neutral, focusing on analysis, not bias,' the AI tool responded. 'Fan perceptions of dislike likely stem from his praise for other teams, like Punjab Kings, or RCB's playoff struggles, but this is a misinterpretation. Bhogle's role demands balance, and no concrete instances show prejudice against RCB,' it added. Grok's reply earned praise from various other social media users. 'Well done, Grok,' wrote one user. Another wrote, 'Morons are adamant on putting a stamp on Harsha Bhogle.' 'Typical RCB fan. Even a god damn AI has more logic,' came from another. On the other hand, many others appreciated Harsha Bhogle's post. 'They fell short today. But Punjab's full journey earned this lifeline. Play-offs show value over time. That is the game's balance. The play-offs respect the full campaign. That is the weight of a format,' posted an X user. Another user commented, 'Both teams deserve the results. RCB deserve to be in the finals for the way they played & PBKS deserve a second life for the way they played the league phase. But today PBKS will be very very upset with their performance.' Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat Punjab Kings by 8 wickets to reach their first IPL final since 2016. Punjab were bowled out for just 102, with Hazlewood and Suyash Sharma taking three wickets each. RCB chased the target easily, thanks to Phil Salt's unbeaten 56. Punjab captain Shreyas Iyer said they had failed to judge the pitch and batted poorly. RCB captain Rajat Patidar praised his bowlers and Salt's form. Player of the Match Suyash said the pitch had helped his spin. Punjab still have a second chance in Qualifier 2 against the winner of GT vs MI.
