Press Box 2020

An unusual Test match for the Press Box 2020 podcast. Bharat Sundaresan’s final Test in India as an Indian reporter — he would move to Australia and follow that team soon after. And Anand Vasu was out of the press box, thanks to issues with accreditation. The two stayed together in Hyderabad, perhaps for the first time, this Test and for a change the podcast looks at what goes on behind the scenes in a journalist’s life.

Bharat talks about things outside of control and how the life of a sports journalist might look like a constant party while never really feeling like one.

The cricket itself only lasted three days. The West Indies did not put up much of a fight and the series was remembered for Prithvi Shaw making his debut and scoring runs. Before the Test Bharat spoke to his old mate Devendra Bishoo about his Indian roots, the manner in which he practices Hinduism and explains why he kept that story away from his mother!

Bharat dissects the rivalry between the islands in the West Indies. While the neighbouring islands may not have the kind of tensions India has with its neighbours, the dynamics of the Caribbean are fascinating in their own way.

Bharat talks about four member of one batch of one school in Barbados being in the Test team together and the allegations of favouritism towards Barbados. How does Jason Holder deal with this? Can he shake it off? Bharat traces his rise to the captaincy, explores the consistency in the cricketer and his character off the field.

Anand traces the differences between being at the ground, where you can take a wider view and look at what you choose, in comparison to television where you only see what is shown to you.

And finally Bharat recalls when he first met Umesh Yadav, who walked around the streets of Bangalore unrecognised!

India and Australia snuck in a thriller of a two-Test series in the shadow of the Commonwealth Games in India in 2010. For the first time in ages, cricket took a back seat in the newspapers and on television, in India and it was a pity, because the action on the field was taut, tense and memorable.

Ricky Ponting got shaded in Mohali by a VVS Laxman special, in one of the last games where batsmen were allowed a runner. The rule might have changed since, but you had to be a beaten Australian captain to remember that game for a runner rather than Laxman’s heroics.

The second Test, in Bangalore, a ground where India did not always arrive expecting to win, was easier on the nail-chewing, but had many highlights.

With Laxman out injured there was a debut for Cheteshwar Pujara who began shakily but more than made up for it in the second innings, announcing that he belonged at the highest level.

Remember Sreesanth, the gun bowler overseas who did not always have the best time in India? And Pragyan Ojha, the man who was Man of the Match in Sachin Tendulkar’s final Test?

You may remember that Australia had Marcus North, Nathan Hauritz, and the likes but it takes Bharat Sundaresan to remember Adelaide’s own Peter George from that game. George played that one Test and it was all over for him.

Even as India won, Anand Vasu suggests that this was the first time an Australian attack came to India without that fear factor. All good bowlers in that line-up, but not one than opposition batsmen would fear.

The Tendulkar-Ponting run-fest rivalry, M Vijay finding his feet, the joys and challenges of open air press boxes and much more from Bangalore.

Bharat the outsider eats a lot at Koshy’s and hangs out on Church Street while fails to understand what cool means in a city that oddly felt like home long before it actually was.

But, most importantly, Bangalore gave Bharat one of the greatest moments of his life. What was that? Well, you’re just going to have to listen to find out.

The Boxing Day Test of 2014 couldn't have ended in a more perfect fashion at the MCG as far as the Press Box was concerned. Despite it having been a run-heavy affair on a Melbourne pitch that was fast-gaining a reputation of being the flattest in the country, the facile draw which gave Australia an unassailable lead in the series meant everybody could go ahead with their New Year plans in stress-free fashion. Dhoni's post-match press conference too added to that relaxed air. Then, just minutes later, all hell broke loose, as a press release from the BCCI announced that the Indian captain had retired from Tests with immediate effect. 

Anand Vasu & Bharat Sundaresan still shudder while recalling the aftermath of that shock retirement, which included freezing their backsides off outside the Indian team hotel as they desperately tried to make sense of it. Not to forget the impact it briefly had on their personal lives. And in this episode of Press Box 2020, you'll hear a lot about how our co-hosts dealt with the mayhem that Dhoni had casually caused by slipping away into the sunset. 

While Anand managed to get team director Ravi Shastri that night to reveal the scenes inside the Indian dressing-room, Bharat would go on to write a book on the man who ruined that New Year for him, and he grudgingly shares some of the aspects of Dhoni's life that make him such an enigma while wondering whether the seeds of what would eventually become the book were sown on that chilly evening in Melbourne.  

The city that never sleeps, that never stops, was brought to a grinding halt for a brief moment. The year was 2013, and the cricket world turned its collective gaze on one of the world’s great cities, to one of cricket’s spiritual homes, to say goodbye to one of its favourite sons.

Sachin Tendulkar played his last Test at the Wankhede Stadium, against the West Indies, and although the match was a contest was nothing to write home about, the manner of the moving on of a man child destined for cricket glory moved grown men to tears.

Bharat Sundaresan, who called Mumbai home till very recently, watched the action as it unfolded, having come up with some fascinating Tendulkar stories in the lead up to the retirement.

Anand Vasu, who has covered so much of Tendulkar, starting from 1999, was also at hand for the final curtain.

For these two, it was work, one the one hand, but also a moment for ages, on the other. No wonder then that this episode of the Press Box 2020 Podcast, is one of the most lively yet.

And you even get that Sa-chin! Sa-chin!!! chant as an added bonus.

After being battered repeatedly, by Quinton de Kock, rain and South Africa, not necessarily in that order, India went into the Johannesburg Test of 2013 mildly undercooked.

It was, after all, India’s first big test minus Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman. It goes without saying that the fourth corner of the Fab Quartet, Sourav Ganguly, had already receded into the background, but, this was still Life After Fab Four, in a real sense.

There was uncertainty, a bit of shakiness and for viewers that feeling of watching from between fingers, hidden by the sofa as a horror movie unfolds. And yet, here came Virat Kohli, questioned for his ability to play the short ball, dropped once from the team after similar struggles, taking on Dale Steyn when he was breathing fire. Kohli was all control, all batting mastery, before expressing himself, a phrase he likes so much.

While the age of certain batsmen may have ended, this was also the comeback of Zaheer Khan, returning from injury, and just having to turn up to get Graeme Smith out. What a story for a fast bowler just about setting his legacy in stone.

The Zaheer disciple, Ishant Sharma, also seemed to get on the road to finding his feet in Test cricket. There was also Mohammad Shami, in his first overseas series, quietly but firmly taking the responsibility from Zaheer.

But, enough of that already. By the end of this amazing drawn Test, both teams were questioned for not going for the win and neither team would’ve been excused if they lost. All hail the great draw!

In Episode 4 you will hear how Bharat Sundaresan was living it large in Johannesburg while Anand Vasu was just about coming out of his shell. Oh, and there’s also a bit about beers in the press box and giant potato twirly-swirly things.

By the barest of margins. The baaaarest of margins. The 2019 World Cup was decided — some will argue it wasn’t even decided — by the barest of margins.

When the game was completed, nothing separated England and New Zealand. When the SuperOver was done, nothing separated England and New Zealand. And yet, England won the World Cup, on the back of having scored more boundaries than New Zealand.

Ben Stokes was epic, Jos Buttler a star, but Kane Williamson was the one who walked away with the most credit, for the manner in which he had led his team in trying circumstances; for showing the world it was possible to accept defeat and victory with the same grace; for rising above nationalistic and tribalistic feelings and keeping the game front and centre.

For England, it was a moment that they had been waiting for since the invention of 50-over cricket. And Eoin Morgan’s men were that rare set of Englishmen who were not a group that every neutral in the world was against. Here was an England team who caught the eye, playing an attacking brand of cricket, embracing multiculturalism and overcoming the pressure of playing a World Cup at home to come out on top.

Few matches have had such sustained drama at the death. Few games have lived up to their billing in terms of occasion and spectacle, as the 2019 World Cup final.

Did the right team win? Was the ICC napping when it came to making rules? Are Williamson’s New Zealand just too nice?

So much to talk about and so little time. Get stuck in, as Bharat Sundaresan and Anand Vasu did. And don’t miss the bit about the cakes at Lord’s!

Remember the name, remember the game.

On a hot, steamy evening in Kolkata, West Indies and England provided a finish that was made for television, made for drama and will be replayed in minds for some time to come. The sight of Carlos Brathwaite standing tall and launching Ben Stokes, and with him England, to defeat, was something else. But the game was not just about that big finish.

The West Indies team were deservedly favourites in the tournament. Packed with the kind of players who excel in Twenty20 cricket the team had all the resources to go all the way. But, with a sub-par total in the final, there was every chance they would falter at the final hurdle. Fortunately for them, Samuels was in a mood to drag his team over the line with sheer willpower. But he could not have gone all the way. For that, the West Indies needed Brathwaite's cheerful fury.

The excitement on the field did threaten to boil over into something less savoury however. The manner in which the West Indies players gave every England batsman a send off with the Champions song and dance routine, irked a few. But, what really changed things was Samuels's anger. Even in victory there seemed to be little joy to be had, and even after the game was done, Samuels was seething. Eventually the International Cricket Council would step in with sanctions.

And this episode of the podcast brings out those contrasting perspectives. While Anand Vasu had little time for the antics of Samuels and some of the others, Bharat Sundaresan tries to explain the thought process that led to the eventual outburst. Where do you stand? Listen in, and then make up your mind.

India's tour of Australia in the 2014-15 season was plunged into despair when Phil Hughes died, after being struck on the head by a bouncer, just as India were preparing to leave for Australia's shores. The players went to Macksville for the funeral, the Brisbane Test was shifted to Adelaide,  and when play began, India were without Mahendra Singh Dhoni, their captain.

Standing in, Virat Kohli led the team his own way, going for broke in pursuit of victory, only for India to lose. David Warner and Michael Clarke scored emotional runs, Nathan Lyon proved he could bowl Australia to victory in the final innings and Australia won a Test that meant so much to the entire country.

For Bharat Sundaresan and Anand Vasu, the Test, the city and the occasion were memorable in unique ways.