81 All Out - A Cricket Podcast

We discuss the World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand in Southampton. Click here to support 81allout on Ko-Fi (PSA: We will be donating all your contributions till the end of June towards Covid relief in India. We plan to match your contributions upto $800) Talking Points: The WTC and the extra layer it has added to gauging a Test side The abundance of fast bowling riches around the world The quality – and variety – of bowling on display Kohli opening up his stance, Williamson batting deep in his crease India's bowlers' choice of lengths and their exceptional control New Zealand's four-man pace attack - left, right, short, full, curve and swerve Rishabh Pant and the complexity of the risk-reward judgement Unsung Williamson, unsunger Ross Taylor, unsungest BJ Watling New Zealand's triumph coming at the perfect transition moment Fans from the Big 3 adopting New Zealand as their favourite team Participants: Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) Ashoka (@ABVan) Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd) Related Not luck, not fluke: New Zealand deserve to be World Test Champions - Jarrod Kimber - ESPNcricinfo Worthy World Champions - Mark Geenty - stuff.co.nz World Test Championship a glorious tribute to cricket’s ridiculous allure - Andy Bull - The Guardian New Zealand's climb to the top - Fidel Fernando - The Cricket Monthly

Click here to support 81allout on Ko-Fi We celebrate the 100th episode of the 81allout podcast with an illuminating conversation with Gideon Haigh - the gold standard when it comes to cricket writing. We could have spoken to Gideon about anything – cricket or otherwise - but we chose to focus on his brilliant book On Warne - a remarkably original take on a remarkably original cricketer. Gideon talks about Warne's ability to "make the unscripted look scripted" and why he was such a joy to write about. (PSA: We will be donating all your contributions till the end of June towards Covid relief in India. We plan to match your contributions upto $800) Talking Points: Writing a book in 31 days Warne coming along at the 'perfect time' Would a cricketer like Warne have succeeded in the 1970s? The SSC Test in 1993 - when Warne found himself in international cricket The ball of the century - and the perfection of timing The theatre of Warne - and the art of manipulating everyone around him Warne and the media - a never-ending saga The post-retirement phase in Warne's life How the Warne legend is likely to endure Participants: Gideon Haigh Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd) Related: The man who became legspin - Gideon Haigh - ESPNcricinfo; The ball of the century - cricket.com.au; 'We dominated for over four days but lost in half a session' - ESPNcricinfo on the 1993 Sri Lanka v Australia Test in Colombo; Hits and myths of Shane Warne, a suburban hero - Gideon Haigh - The Australian; Legspin masterclass with Shane Warne - Cricket Masterclass video; 281-degree panorama - Shane Warne on VVS Laxman's 281 in Kolkata in 2001 - The Cricket Monthly Books discussed: No Spin: My Autobiography - Shane Warne; The Vincibles - Gideon Haigh; Mystery Spinner: The story of Jack Iverson - Gideon Haigh; Stroke of Genius: Victor Trumper and the Shot that Changed Cricket - Gideon Haigh; Crossing the Line - Gideon Haigh

Click here to support 81allout on Ko-Fi (PSA: We will be donating all your contributions till the end of June towards Covid relief in India. We plan to match your contributions upto $800) In the latest episode we chat about India's historic triumphs against West Indies and England 50 years ago. Cricket writer and author Nishad Pai Vaidya and veteran sports journalist Clayton Murzello join us to relive the heady moments through a series of anecdotes. Talking Points: Indian cricket in 1971 and what the sport meant for a young nation The selection drama before the West Indies tour - Rusi Jeejeebhoy in, Daljit Singh out The 'great what if' around Kenia Jayantilal The dominating presence of Vijay Merchant in Indian cricket A largely unknown Sunil Gavaskar on his debut tour - and his glorious returns The inspired choice of Ajit Wadekar as captain The value of Dilip Sardesai across the twin victories Eknath Solkar and the never-say-die spirit - and that catch to dismiss Alan Knott Salim Durani's twin strikes in the Trinidad victory Wadekar getting the better of both Garry Sobers and Ray Illingworth The touching story of Saeed Hatteea Participants: Nishad Pai Vaidya (@NishadPaiVaidya) Clayton Murzello (@claytonmurzello) Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) Related: Twice Upon a Time: India's Fairytale Cricket Victories of 1971 - Nishad Pai Vaidya and Sachin Bajaj - Amazon.com Sunny Days - Sunil Gavaskar - Amazon.com The Beginning of India's Cricketing Greatness - Boria Majumdar and Gautam Bhattacharya - Amazon.com My Cricketing Years - Ajit Wadekar - Amazon.com India v West Indies, 1971 - Video - Jai Galagali's YouTube channel The History of Indian Cricket - Mihir Bose - Amazon.com India's day of glory - Martin Williamson - ESPNcricinfo.com The Oval Test of 1971 - YouTube video (uploaded by Martin Williamson) Ajit Wadekar recalls his Test debut and gift from Sobers - Cricketcountry.com The other great '71 victory - Clayton Murzello on Bombay's triumph in the 1970-71 Ranjit Trophy - Mid-Day

Click here to support 81allout on Ko-Fi In the latest episode we chat about Chennai Super Kings and the nature of fandom the team has inspired since the start of the IPL. Three CSK fans share their experiences of being drawn to the team and take us through the highs and lows over the last 13 years. (PSA: We will be donating all your contributions till the end of June towards Covid relief in India. We plan to match your contributions upto $800) Talking Points: The early impressions of CSK - and the importance of Tamil Nadu players for the team to form an identity The city at the center of the marketing, and the organic connection fans made with the franchise The rise of Dhoni in parallel to the rise of CSK The value of whistle podu - an anthem that captures so much Suresh Raina's importance to the CSK batting line-up The allure of the CSK run-chase The Aussie connection - from Watson to Hayden to Hussey to Bollinger The conflict in loyalties when CSK players turn out against India The gut-punch over the two-year ban The taint against the franchise and the burden the fans have to bear Participants: Aravind SA (Aravind_SA) Tejas Jayaraman (Jazz_CB) Ashoka (ABVan) Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) Related: R Satish catch in the ICL - YouTube video Dear CSK - Fully Filmy - YouTube film How Chennai Super Kings kept the whistle alive - Varun Shetty - ESPNcricinfo The allure of CSK - Kaushik Rangarajan - cricbuzz.com Original Whistle Podu song - Aravind and Jaishankar - YouTube What MS Dhoni said about CSK's two-year ban - Scroll.in The greatest IPL performances - Suresh Raina's 87 off 25 balls - ESPNcricinfo Which is the most popular IPL team? - Tariq Engineer - The Cricket Monthly CSK and that special something - Siddhartha Vaidyanathan - Sportskeeda.com Chennai Rules - Suhrith Parthasarathy - The Cricket Monthly

Click here to support 81allout on Ko-Fi (We will be donating all your contributions till the end of June towards Covid relief in India. We plan to match your contributions upto $800) Our special guest this week is Jai Galagali, a cricket fan who runs a YouTube channel focused on Indian cricket history. Jai talks about falling in love with the game in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and his quest to seek out clips from the Films Division of India. "How do we remember so much from some phase of our life and so little from many others?" Jai explores this question through the conversation. Talking Points: Discovering the inner child and love for cricket Seeing Chandra, Vishy, Prasanna and so many larger-than-life figures for the first time Watching cricket highlights in the cinema theaters in the 1970s Viswanath and the poetic essence of cricket The history of the Films Division and documenting a young nation's evolving cultural, political and social landscape Zul Vellani - the master of the universal Indian accent The difficulty of procuring archives from the Film Division of India The cancellation of his YouTube channel and Shashi Tharoor's role in its revival A personal trauma that propelled Jai towards his passion project Interviewing CD Gopinath about India's first Test victory Participants: Jai Galagali (@jaigalagali) Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) Related: Jai Galagali's YouTube channel India v West Indies, Bangalore, 1974 - YouTube Vinoo Mankad: interviews - YouTube Kapil Dev's first Test century - India v West Indies, 1979 - YouTube Subhash Gupte original bowling action - YouTube India v England, Golden Jubilee Test, 1980 - YouTube Vijay Hazare radio autobiography - YouTube - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 Now playing: vintage Indian cricket reels on YouTube - Kanishkaa Balachandran - The Hindu  The things we remember, the things we forget - 81allout podcast From mustache to Mushtaq - 81allout podcast What we talk about when we talk about cricket - 81allout podcast

Click here to support 81allout on Ko-Fi Our special guest this week is Hassan Cheema, the strategy manager at Islamabad United – the Pakistan Super League champions in 2016 and 2018. Hassan talks about the rapidly evolving T20 format and gives us a peek into what franchises are doing to stay ahead of the curve. Having observed some of the top T20 players first-hand, Hassan brings forth the complexities of the game and the challenges involved in managing a team. Talking Points: How West Indies revolutionized the approach to T20s The overwhelming importance of the toss Measures used to judge a T20 batsman The flexible batting order and how best to use an anchor Unlearning the lessons from red ball cricket Retiring out batsmen and tactical drops What constitutes a good over in T20? Tactics v execution: the tightrope walk How one builds a player's trust and the need to go beyond cricket The unquantifiable value of some fielders The grammar of T20 and what TV can do better Participants: Hassan Cheema (@mediagag) Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) Related: The flexible team - Tim Wigmore - ESPNcricinfo How to watch a T20 game - Sidharth Monga - ESPNcricinfo Cricket 2.0: Inside the T20 Revolution - Tim Wigmore and Freddie Wilde - Amazon.com 'If you go searching for wickets in T20, you're playing into the batsman's hand' - Samuel Badree interview - ESPNcricinfo T20 openers are more conservative than they need to be - Kartikeya Date - ESPNcricinfo Is a single in T20 the same as a dot ball in ODIs? - Kartikeya Date - ESPNcricinfo

Click here to support 81allout on Ko-Fi Our special guest this week is Prem Panicker, a veteran journalist who has been writing on cricket for over 25 years. Prem was one of the founding journalists at Rediff.com and a pioneer with regard to online commentary and internet radio. Talking Points: Falling in love with cricket in the late 1960s and '70s The granular detail with which one remembers games from one's childhood Listening to the radio and enacting the action based on the commentary The arrival of television to India and the magic it brought forth Entering the world of journalism The brave new world of the Internet - and the leap of faith it entailed Figuring out the internet while writing on cricket during the 1996 World Cup How Indian cricketers embraced the new reality of online coverage The BCCI's contradictory stance with respect to online portals like Rediff JY Lele and his famous quote that predicted India would lose 3-0 in Australia The match-fixing saga and falling out of love with cricket The lure of blogging and the flexibility it offered Twitter as a second-screen in the cricket viewing experience Participants: Prem Panicker (@prempanicker) Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) Related: Prem Panicker's blog - Smoke Signals Prem Panicker's column archive - Rediff.com The Prem Panicker files - The Seen and the Unseen podcast with Amit Varma Money in cricket - Prem Panicker and Gideon Haigh on The Seen and the Unseen podcast with Amit Varma Prem Panicker interview from 2011  - Couch Talks Lele unplugged - Faisal Shariff - Rediff.com The day naivety, not football itself, died - Jonathan Wilson on Brazil's loss to Italy in 1982 - The Guardian Radio Frequency - Srikanth Natarajan - 81allout.com * Lead image from here.

Click here to support 81allout on Ko-Fi In our latest episode we talk to Amol Muzumdar, a legend for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy and a bona fide domestic great. Muzumdar's illustrious career spanned two decades and he finished with 9,205 runs in the Ranji Trophy - which stands as the second-highest aggregate of all time. Muzumdar scored 30 first-class hundreds and was the backbone of the Mumbai Ranji Trophy side through much of the 1990s and 2000s. He won seven Ranji Trophy championships with Mumbai and captained them to the title in 2006-07, when they rallied after a poor start and upstaged the rest of the competition. Talking points: The importance of playing league cricket in England How helmets transformed batting techniques - and resulted in more players getting hit on the head Today's players preferring power-hitting techniques to an artistic approach The delicate balance with coaching - what to tell a player and when to pass on advice How players can be so vulnerable to advice, and change the techniques that have been working for them The case of Gautam Gambhir and Mayank Agarwal making tweaks to their batting technique The concern over lack of quality spinners in Indian domestic cricket – and its knock-on effect on batting techniques against spin How DRS has been a game-changer with regard to playing against spin Pujara's unique approach to spinners and why it works Participants: Amol Muzumdar (@amolmuzumdar11) Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd) Related: Amol Muzumdar's chat with R Ashwin - YouTube video Amol Muzumdar interview - Sportsnasha.com - YouTube Amol Muzumdar interview with Cyrus Broacha - Cyrus Says podcast Ask Me Anything with Amol Muzumdar - NewsBytes - YouTube video 'When you step into the ground, it doesn't matter what team you are playing for' - Amol Muzumdar interview - ESPNcricinfo Might they have played for India? - V Ramnarayan - ESPNcricinfo Defence as the best form of defence - Sriram Veera on Sitanshu Kotak - ESPNcricinfo Is the DRS a good thing? - Kartikeya Date - ESPNcricinfo Are umpires giving more lbws now than they did before DRS? - Karthik Krishnaswamy - ESPNcricinfo Cheteshwar Pujara interview - Subash Jayaraman - Couchtalks podcast Abhinav Mukund interview - 81allout podcast

Buy War Minus the Shooting in: India (e-copy only) USA (paperback and e-copy) UK (paperback and e-copy) Australia (paperback and e-copy) Canada (paperback and e-copy) Germany (paperback and e-copy) For the rest – please check your country-specific Amazon pages. In the latest episode we revisit War Minus the Shooting, Mike Marqusee's book on his journey through the subcontinent at the 1996 World Cup. Participants: Sharda Ugra; Fidel Fernando (@afidelf); Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee); Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd) Related: War Minus the Cliches - Rob Steen's review; Why Cricket? - Mike Marqusee; Mike Marqusee's website with many of his writings; Madras Machinations - Benjamin Golby on Mike Marqusee's novel - The Cricket Monthly; 'You Little Beauty' - 81allout podcast on the 1996 World Cup Books discussed: War Minus the Shooting; Anyone But England; Slow Turn; Pundits From Pakistan; Beyond a Boundary

We discuss the fourth Test between India and England in Ahmedabad. Talking Points: India's terrific achievement across eight Tests A triumph of depth for the Indian team Axar's 27 wickets and his perfect debut series Why Ashwin's value to the side is double that of their best batsman Mohammad Siraj - the classic Indian fast bowler Rahane, Pujara and the problems of mortality Rohit Sharma's ability to tune his game as per the conditions and situation Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar and the value of time against pace Washington's possible future as a top-order batsman Looking ahead to the World Test Championship fina Click here to support 81allout on Ko-Fi Participants: Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) Ashoka (@ABVan) Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd) Related: A two-day shootout: India v England, 4th Test review - 81allout podcast A tale of two series - Kartikeya Date The full range of Rohit Sharma - Karthik Krishnaswamy - ESPNcricinfo Munaf Patel: A fast bowler and the slow life - Sriram Veera - Indian Express Ravi Shastri sees glimpses of himself in Washington Sundar - Outlook India What Rishabh Pant did in the last two months, no one would do that in a lifetime: Ravi Shastri - NDTV.com