Rajasthan Royals are wasting no time on the flights criss-crossing the country, as their star players get chatty in the sky-lounge. LSG are warming up to captain Rishabh Pant, even putting out an unedited post clearing the air, where Sanjiv Goenka hugs Rishabh Pant after their first loss which mischief makers left out. And Bhuvi and Krunal talk about their minefield of a homeground that routinely leaks 200 scores, making life treacherous for their own bowlers.
Jesal-Toral: Romantic apocalypse tale told by History Prof Jaddu to Virat
A dozen years ago, Ravindra Jadeja had told Virat Kohli about the tale of Jesal-Toral, J, a 14th century bandit who reformed under the loving influence of poetess Toral, and both were immortalized through their adjacent graves. Kohli narrated the tale, in which details slightly changed to two buildings that keep shifting closer to each other and will end in apocalypse. “I’ll take Virat to that place. It’s actually Jesal, Toral’s samadhis (tombstones) in Kutch. But Virat added masala and told the story as if it’s in Jamnagar. You guys should learn the history,” Jaddu told Insta. The love ballad signifies sacrifice and power of belief that turned a bandit into a saint, and local legend has it that the graves are inching close to each other every year due to their unbreakable vow. ‘When RR met ’, is awaited.
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Zulu as Pushpa; Rishabh, clutch captain
celebrated their last-over win against posting a video, with the much-adored Zulu, Lance Klusener lifting his shoulder and doing a Pushpa celebration in a wholly unconvincing reel as the bespectacled giggling Zulu just can’t look savage. But the franchise batters got the work done.
We were sitting outside and wondering why’s Rishabh leaving it till late. I met him after
Ball was so soft. Scoring was so difficult. That we knew only a set batter can get the chase done and score winning runs.
It wasn’t easy for a new batsman to come on and immediately start hitting shots. It was important for a set batter to be there. He stayed there and got it done.
LSG’s coaching staff is as star studded as its players – Tom Moody, , Justin Langer, Lance Klusener, Zaheer Khan, Vijay Dahiya and Rajat Bhatia. And the man getting nicknamed BAP: Bharat Arun’s Pace battery, a truly fearsome bunch, with Shami, Prince Yadav, Mohsin, Avesh and Nortje, Mayank Yadav, Naman Tiwari.
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Bhuvi – The Batters’ Empire Slayer
Bhuvneshwar Kumar became the first fast bowler to get 200 wickets, when bowling against . However in the game of life – which pits hard working bowlers vs stationary, bat-swinging batters, a challenge has been issued: by teammate who said bowlers needed to hit the next level. How does a bowler at hazardous homeground Chinnaswamy which routinely leaks 200+ runs, survive? “The unsaid thing in our group is we never talk about how it’s a high scoring ground. We never put pressure on ourselves and we believe in ourselves,” Bhuvi told Krunal Pandya.
For a ground that throws around as many runs as his career-haul (200) for a lark, Bhuvi has for company a similarly suffering but never complaining bowler in Krunal Pandya.
“Being a spinner in Chinnaswamy is not easy. In 18-19 years, Chahal was our best bowler. He’s a totally different spinner. But you have established yourselves as a top bowler,” Bhuvi shared the credit. Krunal says, “We are taking it as a challenge. When all odds are against us it motivates us to work hard. We know 200 keeps getting scored. I know if I do well here against all odds it’ll be so much fun. We work hard in practice, to deal with those situations.”
But Bhuvi’s silent 200 is a nice compilation: “When you achieve something like this it’s more for when you retire and look back at what you’ve done. But good to get reward for what you’ve worked hard for,” he says. His IPL stat strands: his best bowling figures 5/19 vs Punjab; first IPL wicket – Shaun Marsh; Powerplay wickets – 79; wicket to equal IPL record for – Shubham Gill in 2025.
