Pratika’s century was one of the finest

India opener Rawal’s first World Cup ton was a delight to see for its technical perfection and range of shots. There was no crass hitting, but just stylish, smart batting, embodying cricketing shots, recognising where the gaps were and fielders weren’t

The unexpected passing away of the one and only Piyush Pandey has brought forth such an outpouring of tributes that the man himself would have reacted with a scoff and that uninhibited laugh saying, “ullu de pathe.” For someone, who was not what would be termed a public figure, the tributes tell you what a well-loved person he was. He loved his cricket and having studied in the same college with Arun Lal, our conversations would be about his dear friend’s cricket. He loved the story of Arun Lal and Kris Srikkanth, with the late Pakistani