81 All Out - A Cricket Podcast

Dear Listener, This website began as a blog where Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd) and I exchanged leisurely thoughts on Test cricket. When I suggested the name 81allout, Mahesh had said: “Can’t get a more symbolic name for a suicidal mission. Love it." Soon we branched out into podcasting, inviting others to exchange their cricketing stories and perspectives. From the outset, the plan for the podcast...

We preview the upcoming India v England Test series which comes on the back of an epic series win for India in Australia, and a very impressive win for England in Sri Lanka. While the teams prepare for fresh challenges in Chennai and Ahmedabad, they still have to contend with bio-bubbles, quarantines, injuries, and player rotation. Talking Points Context of the India-England rivalry over the years...

In this special episode of the 81allout podcast, we chat with journalist and author Bharat Sundaresan on his experiences of covering India's recent tour to Australia. Bharat is a cricket reporter at cricbuzz.com  and is the author of The Dhoni Touch: Unravelling the Enigma that is MS Dhoni Talking points: Covering a Test series in COVID times Driving from one Australian state to the other, av...

We discuss the final day of the fourth Test in Brisbane, where India did the improbable. Talking Points: Excuse me, what did we just see? India's greatest series win? Teams getting ambitious with fourth-innings chases The value - and strategic brilliance – of Pujara's innings Gill and Pant in their audacious element The Washington Sundar cameo Starc's off day and below par series Why isn't Lyon he...

We discuss the third Test in Sydney, where India held on for a valiant draw. Talking Points: When a draw was like a win Steve Smith resumes normal service The versatile Mr Jadeja Rohit and Gill - partners in promise India's decision to pick Pant despite his wicketkeeping problems Is one allowed to get run-out in Test cricket? Pant's sizzling 97 on day five Ashwin and Vihari and the show of defianc...

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 ( @crick...

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 r...

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 eac...

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 firs...

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...

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 v...

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 ar...

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...

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 hi...

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 journe...

In our latest episode of the podcast we chat with former Bangladesh Test cricket Shahriar Nafees and ESPNcricinfo journalist Mohammad Isam. Talking points: Street cricket in Dhaka Legends of tape-tennis cricket The value of age-group cricket in Bangladesh The period when cricket started to overshadow football in Bangladesh Memories of cricket from the 1990s The Fatullah Test against Australia in 2...

In this special episode of the 81allout podcast, we chat with Michael Sexton on his latest book Border's Battlers, which provides a fascinating account of the iconic tied Test between India and Australia at Chepauk in September 1986. Michael has been a journalist, producer, and sportswriter for over three decades and been a part of ABC, BBC, and Channel Nine. He has written eight books and two of...

We started with Delhi, moved to Karnataka, and now head to West Bengal for our next edition of the street cricket chronicles. Through this series we hope to bring out the cricket culture in different cities at the most amateur levels: whether it is on the streets, in the gullies and driveways and terraces, on beaches, or in the parks. In this episode we chat with two guests who grew up in Kolkata...

Our special guest this week is Nadeem F Paracha, an historian, author, and cultural critic who writes a regular column for the  Dawn newspaper. NFP, as he is fondly known, has been a keen observer of Pakistan cricket for close to half a century. Drawing on his vast knowledge of history and culture, he brings a unique perspective when writing about the game. And he adds vital context with rega...

In our latest episode of the podcast we talk to Abhinav Mukund, who has played seven Tests for India and recently became only the second batsman from Tamil Nadu to cross 10,000 first-class runs. Abhinav has not shied away from expressing his views on matters as important as mental health and colourism. In a wide-ranging chat, he opens up about matters both cricketing and non-cricketing and reveals...

Our special guest this week is Prof Surya Prakash Chaturvedi , a veteran cricket writer from Indore. Prof Chaturvedi, a retired professor of English, chose to write about his passion in Hindi and went on to author 15 books on the game. The 83-year-old Chaturvedi has had a chance to witness the great breadth of Indian cricket - starting with CK Nayudu and Mushtaq Ali all the way to the current gene...

Our special guest this week is Mudar Patherya, a cricket writer for Sportsworld magazine through the 1980s - before he moved on to other interests. Across five trips to Pakistan, visits to Sharjah, a tour to West Indies, and several assignments within India - Mudar made a name for himself as one of the finest writers on the game. The more we listened, the more we were convinced that he was the 'Fo...

Our special guest for our latest episode is Clayton Murzello , group sports editor of Mid-Day in Mumbai. A few months ago, we had chatted with Clayton about his journey in cricket journalism and of the stories surrounding club cricket in Mumbai. This time we chose to ask him about the stories behind the stories – and the challenges that a journalist often has to overcome in the process of doing a...

In this episode, we chat with former India Test cricketer, columnist, author and commentator Aakash Chopra. Aakash tells us about his initiation into the game – in the mid-1980s – and of learning the fundamentals from his legendary coach Tarak Sinha. He goes on to review his international stint and admits he hadn't fully understood his game until mid-way through his career. Talking Points: Memorie...

In this episode, we chat with journalist and author Samanth Subramanian. Samanth, an accomplished author and internationally renowned journalist, is a long-time cricket fan who began his career as a sub-editor at Cricinfo. He rewinds to the time he fell in love with the game – in the mid-1990s – and gives us a terrific overview of his relationship with cricket over the years. As a fan, a full-time...