Press Box 2020

Press Box 2020•podcasters.spotify.com

Twenty memorable journeys around the world, Twenty unforgettable matches, Two very different journalists. One podcast. Where do their paths intersect? In the Press Box. Cricket writers Bharat Sundaresan and Anand Vasu relive some of the incredible events in cricket that they witnessed and covered together.

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Episodes

Hyderabad 2018: West Indies in three days and a wander off the field

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 j...

Aug 24, 2020•37 min•Season 1Ep. 8

Bangalore 2010: Cricket in the time of the Commonwealth Games

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 capta...

Aug 17, 2020•45 min•Season 1Ep. 7

Melbourne 2014: When MS Dhoni retired from Tests with immediate effect and the shit hit the fan

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 l...

Aug 10, 2020•30 min•Season 1Ep. 6

Mumbai 2013: Sa-chin! Sa-chin! One final time as destiny's man child leaves cricket's embrace

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 cri...

Aug 02, 2020•33 min•Season 1Ep. 5

Johannesburg 2013: The draw is a thing ... Kohli arrives after the Fab Four have left the building

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 v...

Jul 26, 2020•41 min•Season 1Ep. 4

Lord's 2019: World Cup for England, Love for New Zealand -- by the barest of margins

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 cr...

Jul 19, 2020•42 min•Season 1Ep. 3

Kolkata 2016: Brathwaite makes a name and Samuels snarls as West Indies win

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 ...

Jul 13, 2020•53 min•Season 1Ep. 2

Adelaide 2014: Captain Kohli's blaze in the shadow of Phil Hughes

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 War...

Jun 26, 2020•50 min

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