Sports कट्टा

Vishwanath ‘Vishu’ Jadhav used to play under-arm cricket as a kid and always wanted to be a batter. He often used to accompany his local team to cricket games but never liked it when he was used just as a fielder. Even then he was clear about two things - he enjoys batting and he doesn’t enjoy studying. Vishu used to roll his arm in practice and would do well against left-handed batters. But one d...

The IPL 2024 (Indian Premier League) will kick off on March 22 with the Southern Derby between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore. But this IPL feels different from the rest. Why so? Not just the players, but even selectors are padding up for what follows next. The T20 World Cup that begins on June 1. Players will be eager to make their cases and earn a ticket to the West Indies a...

“Captain Ajinkya Rahane has held this Mumbai team together.” Rahane’s Mumbai teammates rightfully said this throughout the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy season. On 14 March 2024, Mumbai clinched the Ranji Trophy for the record-extending 42nd time. Rahane was available for Mumbai for the entire season, barring two games, which he had to sit out due to a niggle. He scored a vital half-century in the second i...

Umesh Ydav b Dhawal Kulkarni 6. This was the final wicket of the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy season that earned Mumbai their 42nd Ranji Trophy title. The bowler who got that final wicket also called time on his 16 years of domestic career for Mumbai. Dhawal Kulkarni came into the Mumbai Ranji side from the U-19 set-up and shared the dressing room with the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Wasim Jaffer, Zaheer K...

He grew up in a 10x10 room with his parents and elder sisters in Ganeshnagar, a slum in Mumbai's Wadala area. He lost his father when he was in school and his mother had to pick up an odd job to ensure the children continued with their education. He then started playing kabaddi on a stage with his friends in his locality. He rose through the ranks playing Junior and Senior Nationals. Then came a c...

Hitesh Walunj picked up cricket in his school days and would train at Nehru Stadium in Pune. In academically crucial class X, he asked his parents to let him continue his cricket and as a trade-off, he carried his books around in the kit bag under the pretext of studying. But books never came out of the kit bag as Hitesh had set his mind on a cricket career. He progressed through club cricket and...

Kaushal Inamdar is a renowned music composer as we know him. However, he is an ardent sports fan. He grew up in Dadar near Shivaji Park, so it was obvious that he picked up a bat and ball. But he also played hockey in his school days. Today, he passionately follows tennis as well. An athlete and music share a close bond as athletes often find themselves surrounded by music. In this episode of ‘Spo...

Mumbai won the Ranji Trophy in the 1984-85 season and had to endure a drought of eight seasons to lift the coveted trophy again. In his swansong 1993-94 season, Ravi Shastri guided Mumbai to the Ranji title. The quarter-final between Mumbai and Karnataka is still regarded as a landmark game in the history of Indian domestic cricket. Why is the very next season considered the finest domestic season...

Finally, Sarfaraz Khan made his India debut and how. He scored scintillating half-centuries in both the innings against England in the third Test. But this opportunity came Sarfaraz’s way after banging scoring runs and tons in all conditions and situations. This was a reward for his hard work. Amol Karhadkar, Deputy Sports Editor, at The Hindu, shares his story. But does every cricketer get his re...

In a first in the Marathi podcast world, Sports Katta and  @LeleSunandan  present the first 'crossover podcast' while previewing the third Test between India and England, to be played at the Niranjan Shah Cricket Stadium in Rajkot. The episode features Sunandan Lele and Amol Karhadkar, Deputy Editor with The Hindu... मराठी पॉडकास्टमध्ये प्रथमच एक क्रॉसओव्हर घडतंय... स्पोर्ट्स कट्टा आणि सुनंदन लेले...

India and England are set to resume their five-match Test series after a break of 10 days and one can sense that something is bubbling under the surface. The big question is, are IPL stars reluctant to play Test cricket? Or is it just a matter of prioritizing white-ball cricket? The debate can and will go on. On the other hand, records beckon in the third Test. Sarfraz Khan can make his Test debut...

The U-19 Cricket World Cup once again highlighted a couple of things. India’s consistent performance to make it to the final for the fifth consecutive time. However, their unbeaten run came to a grinding halt against a familiar foe in the final - Australia. But what are the takeaways of this tournament? Uday Saharan came out with flying colours as a skipper and a batter. Musheer Khan and Sachin Dh...

Shrikant Jadhav grew up in a small village in Ahmednagar district. A certificate of appreciation at the hands of a chief guest in school on Independence Day was a big deal for him at that time. As his game flourished, he moved to Mumbai to compete in Professional tournaments. The journey hasn't been easy by any stretch of the imagination. Shrikant had to pull out of the first two seasons of the Pr...

India’s premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is on the cusp of 500 Test wickets with 499 against his name after the second India vs England Test. To mark his imminent landmark achievement, in this episode of Weekly Katta, Aditya Joshi and Amol Karhadkar look at his career, the hurdles he had to cross and where his achievement stands in terms of the rich lineage of Indian spinners. Is he the gre...

Aditya Ganpule won a gold medal in the 100mtrs sprint in his school days. But he opted to play kho-kho because his brother played the game. Today, he plays for Telugu Yoddhas in the Ultimate Kho-Kho league but the journey wasn’t an easy one. He had to deal with failure multiple times at a young age but he kept going without giving up. Still 21, Aditya shares his journey to the top in this episode...

Rohan Bopanna recently became the oldest tennis player to achieve the World No. 1 ranking in men’s doubles. He also clinched his first men’s doubles title at the Australian Open to add the cherry to the top. Bopanna’s achievements become even more special when you realise that he is 43 years old or in his own words, he is on Level 43. Amol Gokhale, Gaurav Rao and Ninad Indapurkar put into perspect...

India’s kabaddi star Aslam Inamdar has a touching story. He hails from a poor background and lost his father at a young age. His mother had to work as a domestic help to run the house. The situation compelled Aslam to pick up odd jobs at hotels and farmlands to help his family. However, he never gave his Kabaddi practice a miss. His life changed for the better after he moved to Thane-Mumbai to pla...

Pacer Prem Devkar began his cricketing journey at 13, playing tennis ball cricket in the backyard with his brothers. Even though he tasted success in that format he always aspired to play ‘leather ball’ cricket. But, in Dombivali, he did not get as many opportunities as he would’ve liked. However, his life shifted into a fast lane on December 13, 2022, when he met coach Sanjay Gaitonde. In the pas...

The U-19 Cricket World Cup kicks off on January 19 in South Africa. The stalwarts of Indian cricket - Yuvraj Singh, Mohammed Kaif, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli - to name a few, all played in the U-19 World Cup. That put them in the limelight but they had to go through the grind of domestic cricket to earn the India cap. Arshin Kulkarni, Sachin Dhas and Musheer Khan are three Maharashtrians in this ye...

Indian women’s cricket team recently played two marquee home series against England and Australia. Indian team triumphed in the red-ball format but were outclassed in the limited-overs cricket. How does one look at the team’s performance with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh later this year in mind? Does out-of-form skipper Harmanpreet Kaur need a break? Juili Ballal and former India international...

Pratik Waikar was good at ‘Langdi’ in his school days. Thus, he would frequent the ‘Kho-Kho’ ground for Langdi practice. That’s how his Kho-Kho journey started and he excelled at it. So much so that Pratik has captained Maharashtra in all-group categories and today leads the Telugu Yoddhas side in ‘Ultimate Kho-Kho’ league. In this episode of Kattyavarchya Gappa with Amol Gokhale, Pratik shares th...

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli returned to the Indian T20 side for the first time since November 2022, for a three-match series against Afghanistan. The former will lead the team in the absence of injured Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav. Does this move mean the duo is back in the scheme of things for the T20 World Cup in June? Is this a step in the right direction? On the other hand, Cheteshwar P...

देशांतर्गत क्रिकेटमध्ये पाच संघाचं प्रतिनिधित्व केल्यानंतर त्यांनी आजतागायत  चार संघाचं प्रशिक्षकपद भूषविलं आहे. तरी सुलक्षण कुलकर्णी यांची खरी ओळख ही कायम 'खडूस मुंबईकर' अशीच राहिली आहे. 'माझा संस्मरणीय रणजी ट्रॉफी हंगाम' मालिकेत सुलक्षण सांगत आहेत त्यांच्या उमेदीच्या काळातील आठवणी. पाहूया शाळेत असताना ठाण्याजवळ कळव्याहून वानखेडेला सामना  बघण्यासाठी जाणं, शारदाश्रम शाळेच्या संघासाठी खेळून मग रेल्...

The two-match Test series between India and South Africa barely lasted five days and ended 1-1. India skipper Rohit Sharma rightly raised the question about pitches that were offered. He now faces potential sanctions from the ICC for criticising match officials. How one should look at this series? Amol Karhadkar, Sports Journalist, The Hindu and Amol Gokhale hold this new year’s Test and the Test...

2023 was a largely successful year for Indian sports, Indian athletes put up their best performance in the Asian Games in Hangzhou. Indian shooters bagged 22 medals including seven gold medals. Anjali Bhagwat is still a premier name in the Indian shooting fraternity but her expertise isn’t limited to shooting only. In this year-ender episode of Kattyavarchya Gappa, Amol Gokhale and Anjali Bhagwat...