

81 All Out - A Cricket Podcast
81 All Out
Talking cricket with Siddhartha Vaidyanathan
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Episodes
Mentioned books

Dec 30, 2020 • 1h 10min
The Melbourne bounceback
We discuss India's memorable eight-wicket win in Melbourne and place it in context of some of the famous Indian victories in Australia.
Talking Points:
Placing the victory in context
Parallels with Melbourne '81
Rahane's touch
Ashwin's immaculate control
Bumrah's skid and the ball to hoodwink Smith
Gill v Shaw, Pant v Saha
Siraj's debut
Looking ahead to Sydney
Participants:
Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview)
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)
Ashoka (@ABVan)
Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)
Related:
A tragicomedy called 36 all out - 81allout podcast
The Melbourne Miracle of 1981 - 81allout podcast
Ashwin, Bumrah bowl India to MCG victory - Kartikeya Date
Ravi Shastri: India's triumph one of the great comebacks in Test history - Sidharth Monga, ESPNcricinfo
'No spinner has done that to me in my career' - Steve Smith on R Ashwin
Tactical tweaks, delightful drift - Amit Gupta on R Ashwin, Scroll.in
Saini and Siraj better placed than their predecessors - Varun Shetty, ESPNcricinfo

Dec 20, 2020 • 1h 6min
A tragicomedy called 36 all out
We process India's 36 all out in the Adelaide Test. Was it a tragedy? Or a dark comedy? Is it even something that can be explained?
Talking Points:
The visceral shock that accompanies a rapid collapse
Pain, grief, and decades-long hurt
How does the emotional reaction to 36 all out compare with 81all out?
The deadly duo of Cummins and Hazlewood
How cricketing narratives are so batsmen-focused
The role of luck in every single cricketing event
The great Indian heartbreaks from years past
Chennai '99, Kolkata '99, Barbados '97
The discourse that accompanies a batting collapse - and how it has changed over time
The urge to find a scapegoat
Participants:
Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview)
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)
Ashoka (@ABVan)
Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)
Related:
Australia's perfect storm catches India in the wrong place at the wrong time - Sidharth Monga - ESPNcricinfo
Collapso relapso - Tom Eaton - ESPNcricinfo archive
Outliers - Kartikeya Date
A classic '90s heartbreak - 81allout podcast on the famous 81 all out in Barbados
India. Pakistan. Chennai. 1999 - Siddhartha Vaidyanathan - ESPNcricinfo
Heartbreaking for Jayasuriya, backbreaking for Indians - Arunabha Sengupta - Cricketcountry

Dec 14, 2020 • 1h 1min
Great rivalry, strange times: Australia Vs India Test series preview
We preview the upcoming Australia v India Test series, which has seen more headlines about bio-bubbles, quarantine, and player absences than the great rivalry between these two teams.
Talking Points:
Impact of Kohli's partial absence for both commerce and cricket.
How badly would India miss Ishant Sharma?
India's choice of third seamer. The permutations and combinations for both playing XIs in each Test.
Pattinson's workload and case for him to play at MCG.
Lyon's effectiveness against India.
Could this be the breakthrough series for Shubman Gill?
Eminence of Steve Smith.
A January Test at Gabba.
Saha vs Pant.
The never ending Shaun Marsh comebacks.
Quality of Bumrah-Shami.
Jaywant Lele's legendary prediction.
Participants:
Rav (@rav_man0)
Ananthasubramanian (@_chinmusic)
Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Dec 9, 2020 • 1h 1min
The Melbourne miracle - India's tour of Australia 1980-81
In this episode, we look back to India’s tour of Australia in 1980-81.
India went into the Test series against a strong Australian team after playing merely one Test since the end of the home series against Pakistan in 1979-80. India suffered a thumping loss by an innings at Sydney, just about squeezed out a draw at Adelaide, and registered a miraculous win in Melbourne – overcoming a massive first-innings deficit, a near-forfeiture by their captain, and injuries to three of the four bowlers in their attack.
Talking Points:
Greg Chappell’s serene double hundred
Vengsarkar’s rough start to his Test career
Lillee playing against India for the first time
The allure of Pascoe’s pace and the charm of Kim Hughes
Sandeep Patil’s sparkling 174 at Adelaide
Gavaskar’s near-forfeiture and Wing Commander Durani’s timely intervention
Viswanath’s priceless hundred
Ghavri’s “rank long hop”
Doshi’s marathon spell in the first innings and bowling through pain in the second
Kapil’s miraculous spell powered by painkillers
Participants:
S Giridhar (@midwickettales)
Raja Swaminathan (@Raja_sw)
Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

Nov 17, 2020 • 1h 10min
The toxic side to the 'Australian Way': a chat with Jarrod Kimber
In this episode, we chat with journalist, blogger, author, podcaster, vlogger – or in short, the Mark Waugh of cricket coverage – Jarrod Kimber.
We focus on a piece Jarrod wrote last year titled 'The Ugly Australian: the evolution of a cricket species'. He talks about his formative experiences with sledging and hyper-aggression at the club level and how his views on behavior and moral codes have changed over time. No other team treats cricket as a team sport like Australia does, says Jarrod, but they also stretch the limits of what team-mates must do.
Talking Points:
The island that is Australian cricket - with moral codes and 'good bloke, bad bloke' conventions that combine into the 'Australian Way'
Club cricket in Australia in the 1980s and 1990s - when the game was sometimes a violent, contact sport
The atmosphere at Australian cricket grounds in the pre-2000s
The culture of Australian cricket that built up to Sandpapergate
The two sides to Allan Border's legendary quip to Dean Jones in the furnace of Madras in 1986: 'let's get a tough Queenslander out here'
Cameron Bancroft and the demands of young players fitting in
The ruthless punishments handed out post Sandpapergate
How David Warner would have been seen in the Australia of the 1980s
The drinking culture in Australian cricket
The vastly different culture around Australian women's cricket
Participants:
Jarrod Kimber (@ajarrodkimber), Patreon
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)
Related:
Reverse-swing: cricket's ball-tampering in plain sight - Jarrod Kimber, ESPNcricinfo
The problem with the Australian Line of Control - Sharda Ugra, ESPNcricinfo
Crossing the Line - Gideon Haigh's book post Sandpapergate
Steve Smith's Men - Geoff Lemon's book post Sandpapergate
Man, Manlier, Manliest - Geoff Lemon, The Cricket Monthly
When a tie was a victory for Border's battlers - 81allout podcast with Michael Sexton
Kumar Sangakkara welcoming Shaun Pollock to the crease in the league game of the 2003 World Cup
Warwick Armstrong keeps Frank Woolley waiting - Arunabha Sengupta, Cricketcountry.com
Justin Langer's bail-nudging incident in Sri Lanka - YouTube video
Brad Haddin dislodging the bails before the ball hit the stumps - YouTube video

Oct 28, 2020 • 1h 33min
The episode that really matters
In this episode of the 81allout podcast, we zero in on the cliche that makes an appearance in all sporting contests: the moments that mattered. We discuss how for fans some moments take on more significance than others, why writers need to guard against falling into narrative traps, and how the struggling media ecosystem is fertile ground for turning cricketing stories into those of heroism and villainy.
We also discuss how one approaches writing about selection, and predict what sportswriting might look like five or ten years down the line.
Participants:
Sidharth Monga, assistant editor, ESPNcricinfo
Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview)
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)
Related pieces:
Against narratives - Kartikeya Date
What's the story, Morning Glory - 81allout podcast
Rahul Tewatia and the romance of the struggle - Sidharth Monga
Who removed my spinner - Sidharth Monga
The mother of all myths - Tom Eaton, The Cricket Monthly
Why there is no such thing as a finisher in ODI cricket - by Kartikeya Date
Clock ticking on Dhoni, the T20 finisher - Sidharth Monga

Sep 28, 2020 • 60min
Sledges, brawls, and epic contests: the Tamil Nadu - Karnataka rivalry in the Ranji Trophy
We are thrilled to be joined by two former India cricketers - Hemang Badani and Vijay Bharadwaj.
Hemang and Vijay enjoyed stupendous domestic careers and took part in some of the most memorable Tamil Nadu - Karnataka contests in the Ranji Trophy. There was no shortage of banter and competition when we paired them up for this podcast.
Talking points:
Their first memories of playing against their arch-rivals
The day when Karthik Jeshwant told Vijay Bharadwaj about the importance of scoring against Tamil Nadu
The Ranji final in 1996 - when Karnataka piled on a mammoth score (as Hemang watched from the stands)
A match in RSI grounds in 2001 when matters got heated and the players nearly came to blows
The never-ending batathon at Tirunelveli in 1998
The constant threat of D Vasu in these contests
Dodda Ganesh and David Johnson: never short of fire in the belly
The Cauvery politics and how it affected the players
How Karnataka players benefited from playing league cricket in Chennai
and much more...
*
Partipants:
Hemang Badani (ESPNcricinfo player page, Twitter handle: @hemangkbadani)
Vijay Bharadwaj (ESPNcricinfo player page)
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)
*
Related:
From Bangalore's parks to the Indian team - Vijay Bharadwaj on the 81allout podcast
Travails of TN tragics - 81allout podcast about following the TN Ranji side
The Tamil Nadu - Karnataka rivalry through the ages - V Ramnarayan - ESPNcricinfo
When brothers were pitted against each other in the final - Deccan Herald
Karnataka retain title with innings win - match report of the 2015 Ranji final - ESPNcricinfo
Hemang Badani interview with Reena D'Souza
Vijay Bharadwaj interview with Karthik Jeshwant for Star Sports Kannada

Sep 17, 2020 • 33min
The iconic shot that captured the Madras tie
In this special episode of the 81allout podcast, we chat with the photographer Mala Mukerjee on her historic photo from the tied Test in Madras in 1986.
Ms Mukerjee watched the last day of that famous Test from the stands in Chepauk and, while anticipating a thrilling finish, clicked a number of photos that captured the dramatic finish. The most famous of those was the shot she clicked at the very end of the match.
Ms Mukerjee has gone on to become an internationally renowned photographer and has held several exhibitions around the world. Her many accolades and awards include honors from the Photographic Resource Centre in Boston, the Academy of Visual Media in New Delhi, and the Bangladesh Photographic Society.
You can view her work here.
Talking points:
Memories of the final day from Chepauk in 1986
The circumstances that helped her be at the right place at the right time
The tension enveloping the ground in the final overs
The challenges posed by the fading light
The final ball and the historic click
A visit from N Ram, the editor of The Hindu
The Hindu front page the next day
The blatant copyright infringement that the photograph has suffered
The luck and skill involved in cricket photography
Participants:
Mala Mukerjee
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@Sidvee)
*
Related:
When a tie was a victory for Border's battlers - 81allout podcast with Michael Sexton
Scorecards of the tied Test – Chennai ’86
Madras Magic – a documentary on the Chennai tied Test
Martin Smith on how the tied Test ended the career of Vikram Raju
Arunabha Sengupta on the dramatic last day of the Madras Test
Dean Jones and the second tied Test at the Bradman Museum

Aug 27, 2020 • 1h 44min
The Allrounders
The purple patch of Ben Stokes has provoked a lot of discussion about the greatest allrounders. We take a deep-dive to talk about the role of allrounders in Test cricket, the great allrounders over the years, and how to make sense of their immense contributions.
Our guests for the episode are Arj and Rav. They have recently started a cricket project called CricVestigate which aspires to uncover hidden cricket truths - past and present, and to provide alternative opinions and analysis.
Talking points:
What is a good definition for an allrounder?
The allrounder index created by CricVestigate to rank the allrounders
Batting allrounders vs Bowling allrounders
Great cricketer vs Great allrounder
The pitfalls of the allrounder obsession and its impact on team balance
Narrative fallacies around allrounders - mixing formats, aggregate career stats vs peak phase stats
Is it possible to nurture an allrounder?
Do the different skills of an allrounder necessarily add value to the team?
Are wicketkeeper-batsmen allrounders? Making sense of the Gilchrist phenomenon
Allrounders XI playing in their positions
Participants:
Arj
Rav (@rav_man0)
Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)
*
Lead image from Wisden.com
Related:
Cricinfo's S. Rajesh on Gary Sobers - an allrounder like no other and Imran Khan - A giant among allrounders
Gideon Haigh on Garry Sobers and Kapil Dev
Osman Samiuddin on Imran - the original transformer
Cricinfo's Greatest allrounder poll
Kartikeya Date on Kallis, a great batsman but no allrounder
CricVestigate's allrounder index:

Aug 17, 2020 • 1h 40min
Street cricket chronicles: TN - the land of idea batting, sodukku ball, and face bowling
Street cricket chronicles moves to Tamil Nadu and we were delighted to be joined by Tamil Nadu's promising wicketkeeper batsman Narayan Jagadeesan to talk about playing amateur cricket in his formative years in Coimbatore and the influence of tennis ball cricket on some of the TN legends. We also bring plenty of color from the street cricket culture in Chennai.
Jagadeesan opens up about his journey from Coimbatore to the Tamil Nadu Ranji side, playing alongside TN legends, being part of the CSK squad, and about working with Dinesh Karthik and MS Dhoni.
Talking points:
The hierarchy of balls: Rubber, Cork, Rubber-Cork, Tennis - Mercury > Cosco, Leather
First world problem of poor outfield in Coimbatore vs no field in Chennai
The legend who may or may not have taught L Balaji on how to grip a cricket ball
Boost-Bournvita bat, maavu bat, oil bat, oil sheet bat, modus operandi of seasoning the bats
Different dynamics of sodukku ball in Tennis ball vs Cricket ball
Transitioning from Tennis ball to professional cricket - influence of bat flow and the great horizontal swing
Common grounds of conflict - right arm over, edged but wide, constantly changing popping crease, line belongs to the umpire
Local cricket parlance - Idea batting/bowling, tough-a-podu, OC gajee, adeetail, maanga, bat-pitch, kaatu suthal
Characters of the game - Idea Mani, Veera Afridi, Switch-grip batsman
Imitating Dhoni-Gilchrist-Haddin, bowling like Mohammad Zahid, copying Dravid's classical leave and Azhar's flicks
International cricketers best suited for Chennai street cricket
Substantial rise in representation of district players in Tamil Nadu
Being part of TN team and CSK squad
Contrasting experience of working with Dinesh Karthik and MS Dhoni
Participants:
Narayan Jagadeesan
Ashoka Rao (@Abvan)
Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)
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Lead image from here
Related:
Ashwin talking about his street cricket experiences (From 20.57)
Glossary of street cricket terms in TN
Street Cricket Chronicles from West Bengal - 81allout archive
Street Cricket Chronicles from Delhi – 81allout archive
Street Cricket Chronicles from Karnataka – 81allout archive