All Out For No Loss

AOFNL Episode 28Just as tempting as it was, we are not talking about something that happened 32 years ago to this day when world witnessed (should I say read about) the greatest (still the case) ODI inning by an Indian batter.A preview of the Headingly Test and the palindrome at LordsThe 2025 India in England series for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy (or is it Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy) will start on June 20 with the first skirmish at the Headingly cricket ground. A new look and relatively inexperienced Indian team takes on an English team whose bowling attack seems somewhat lacking in experience as well. QuestionsWill India give Sai Sudharsan his debut and have him bat at 3 ? Or would it be Easwaran ? How will Karun Nair do on his much awaited return to interational cricket ? Will we see a flat track more suited to the English Bazball model of play that also will defang India's bowling spearhead ? What are we talking about in this episode ?Before jumping into the England-India series we do a little review of the WTC final where the South Africans channeled Shakira with "This time for Africa" with a wonderful heist at Lords. And just like that 27 years of waiting including several moments of agony were washed away, a little like how RCB did so a couple of weeks ago. We then delve into the Headingly test including a short detour to the last two tests in Headingly that featured these teams - one in 2021 and one in 2002, both of which ended with teams winning by an innings and some. Incidentally these two teams have faced off only twice at Headingly since the turn of the century - the Wall was unbreakable in one and the Lord could not single handedly carry the team in the other. We talk about the various likely combinations of the two teams, essentially on those slots that are not set in stone as yet. And also dwell on the likely nature of the playing surface and its impact on the selections. England has since announced their playing XI. Take a listen and let us know what you think. #INDvsEng #Headingly #Tendulkar #JimmyAnderson #KapilDev #Markram #WTCParticipants:Vasant KumarVijaykumar BalasubramanianRamakrishnan G IyerAnand Kumar Sankaran

All Out 4 No Loss - Episode 24 IPL 2025 - Reviews and PreviewsTen days into IPL 2025 and most teams have shown their good, bad and ugly parts, maybe with the exception of PZ's boys whom have been very impressive.In this episode we review the 9 teams other than CSK (who merited a separate episode of oppari aka lamenting).Preview the next week of matches 16 through 24.Also available on Apple Podcast and Spotify.https://all-out-for-no-loss.captivate.fm/episode/ipl2025-10-day-review-previews-matches-16to24Given that this is IPL season, do take a listen at the podcast from Acquired that talks about the genesis and growth of the league. Focusses more on the business side of things and is a fascinating portrayal of the league in terms of how a business was created out of nothing and could well overtake the NFL as the biggest sports entertainment league in the world. The NFL is easily the gold standard of sports league and is streets ahead of every other sports league.https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/indian-premier-league-cricket#IPL #IPL2025 #BCCI #ChennaiSuperKings #DelhiCapitals #GujaratTitans #KolkataKnightRiders #LucknowSuperGiants #MumbaiIndians #PunjabKings #RajasthanRoyals #RoyalChallengersBengaluru #SunrisersHyderabad Participants:Vasant KumarAnand Kumar SankaranRamakrishnan G IyerVijaykumar Balasubramanian

The IPL 2025 his cranking along in style with some terrific performances from various players - some expected and some new ones. In this episode -We review the first 7 games - RCB at KKRRR at SRHMI at CSKLSG at DC (Vizag)PK at GTKKT at RR (Guwahati)LSG at SRHPreview the next 8 ones - RCB at CSKMI at GTSRH at DC (Vizag)CSK at RR (Guwahati)KKR at MIPK at LSGGT at RCBSRH at KKR#IPL #IPL2025 #BCCI #ChennaiSuperKings #DelhiCapitals #GujaratTitans #KolkataKnightRiders #LucknowSuperGiants #MumbaiIndians #PunjabKings #RajasthanRoyals #RoyalChallengersBengaluru #SunrisersHyderabad Participants:Vasant KumarAnand Kumar SankaranRamakrishnan G IyerVijaykumar BalasubramanianAlso available on Apple Podcast and Spotify.https://all-out-for-no-loss.captivate.fm/episode/ipl2025-reviews-matches-01to07-previews-matches-08to15

All Out 4 No Loss - Episode 22IPL 2025 - Previews: Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Kolkata Knight RidersIn the last of the team preview episodes for IPL 2025 we will take a look at the Chennai Super Kings, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and the Kolkata Knight RidersChennai Super Kings continues to be the same old efficient squad to the point of being boring. They bat very deep and have a slew of two way players. The spin bowling attack is fearsome with two Chepauk specialists in Jadeja and Ashwin plus the precocious Noor Ahmed. The seam bowling group is workmanlike, but seems sufficient. The batting might just be a little thin. Should make it to the playoffs with this team if they can operate on potentialRoyal Challengers Bengaluru had a very big unboxing event where they introduced their players and Mr.Nags was at his inimitable best. As usual the team looks pretty decent on paper, but once again they might just be a tad short on the bowling. And once again they will need Virat to have a monster season to take them ahead. Playoffs might just be out of reach. They do have a surprise packet in the form of Jacob Bethell who might be the game changer for them.The Kolkata Knight Riders have done a pretty decent job with regards to retentions and the auctions. They could not keep Phil Salt, but managed to get Quinton De Kock as the replacement. They however did manage to retain their core. The only real question mark is the need to have Rahane because they needed an experienced captain. The balance of the team suggests that they should be a strong playoff contender. What also stands out is they have a backup for every position without really sacrificing much quality.The first game will be played on Saturday between KKR and RCB. Looking at the two teams, the over arching belief is that KKR might be a little too strong for RCB in the opener especially at the Eden Gardens.#IPL #IPL2025 #BCCI #ChennaiSuperKings #DelhiCapitals #GujaratTitans #KolkataKnightRiders #LucknowSuperGiants #MumbaiIndians #PunjabKings #RajasthanRoyals #RoyalChallengersBengaluru #SunrisersHyderabad Participants:Vasant KumarAnand Kumar SankaranRamakrishnan G IyerVijaykumar BalasubramanianAlso available on Apple Podcast and Spotify.https://all-out-for-no-loss.captivate.fm/episode/ipl2025-previews-csk-rcb-kkr

All Out 4 No Loss - Episode 20IPL 2025 - Previews: Punjab Kings, Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat TitansIPL returns with all the usual fanfare and this time around it is after a mega auctions which means all teams are looking different from the previous campaigns. In some cases the are significant differences in the makeup of the teams and in some cases teams have managed to stay the course with minimal changes.This is the first of a series of episodes where we will be previewing the teams in the competition. In this conversation we will take a look at the Punjab Kings, Lucknow Super Giants and the Gujarat TitansThe Ponting era at the Punjab Kings has resulted in a move from a team that was loaded with big-hitters and a modest bowling attack to a unit where their bowling attack has become super-charged at the expense of some fire-power with the bat.The Lucknow Super Giants who are coached by another legend of the 2000 Australia team Justin Langer seem to have regressed a little bit in terms of their personnel and might just be too dependent on their overseas professionals. The balance seems a little questionable and their backup suite is a little weak.The Gujarat Titans did sign Buttler, but was that a really good move given that their top three while being very proper batters need some time to get going and that just might not be the ideal recipe if the pitches are similar to what we saw in the last IPL.#IPL #IPL2025 #BCCI #ChennaiSuperKings #DelhiCapitals #GujaratTitans #KolkataKnightRiders #LucknowSuperGiants #MumbaiIndians #PunjabKings #RajasthanRoyals #RoyalChallengersBengaluru #SunrisersHyderabad Participants:Vasant KumarAnand Kumar SankaranAlso available on Apple Podcast and Spotify.https://all-out-for-no-loss.captivate.fm/episode/ipl2025-previews-pk-lsg-gt

The Champions Trophy: The Finals PreviewChampions Trophy 2025 has arrived and the pre-tournament favorites have made the final. Between them they have a combined record of 13-1 in the past month (the one loss was when India beat New Zealand last Sunday)In this conversation we will take a look at the two teams and the lead-upDuring the chat we touch upon the following questions - Will New Zealand reprise Nairobi 2000 or Manchester 2019 ?Will India continue their dominant run in the ODI game ? Who do we think is the favorite ? What should Rohit do if we win the toss ?What are the likely and par scores ?And for whom will this be the final dance ? #ICC #BCCI #newzealandcricket #indiacricket #australiacricket Participants:Vasant KumarRamakrishnan G IyerAnand Kumar SankaranVijaykumar BalasubramanianAlso available on Apple Podcast and Spotify.https://all-out-for-no-loss.captivate.fm/episode/champions-trophy-2025-finals-preview

The Champions Trophy: And then there were five left PreviewWe are one week and halfway into the Champions Trophy and seen three teams being eliminated after two rounds of matches.The official hosts Pakistan just were unable to overcome the pressure of a home tournament. They crumbled rather meekly against a very efficient and impressive New Zealand and then just were not able to challenge India.Bangladesh predictably capitulated by ceding significant ground in the first quarter of both games, and even though they tried hard there were simply unable to match either India or New Zealand.Clearly India and New Zealand have laid down markers as the teams to beat in this tournament. Then again their first challenge is when they play each other over the coming weekend.England was part of the two best games in the tournament so far, but just slip their advantage again and again and ended up being the third team to be eliminated. In 2025, the English cricket teams (men and women) have a combined record of 1-16 ! Australia, South Africa and Afghanistan will be battling for the two semi-final slots from group B. In this conversation we will take a look at the 8 games that have been played and discuss what we liked and did not from each time. During the chat we touch upon the following questions - Does England require a major overhaul of their white ball setup ? What happened to Pakistan ? How good can New Zealand be ? Can India ward off New Zealand ?Does Australia have it in them ?#TeamIndia #Australia #England #SouthAfrica #Pakistan #NewZealand #ChampionsTrophy #2025CT #ICC #BCCIParticipants:Vasant KumarRamakrishnan G IyerAnand Kumar SankaranVijaykumar BalasubramanianAlso available on Apple Podcast and Spotify.https://all-out-for-no-loss.captivate.fm/episode/champions-trophy-2025-the-halfway-point

India routs England In this conversation we will be reviewing the India v England ODI series. The Indian team handily routed the English white ball teams in the 8 game series spanning both T20Is and ODIs with the final score line being 7-1. One of the biggest indicators was that England's No.11 batter got to bat in every single game ! While England was able to put up some resistance in three of the five T20Is, the ODI series was absolutely one-sided. India handily won the first two games in 37 and 42 overs and that was even though they clearly started taking things easy in the final stretch. And then in the final game the margin was 142 runs with England barely batting 35 overs.This English team clearly looked completely out of depth with just a few flickers of resistance which for most part came from their openers. Their bowlers looked pedestrian other than Adil Rashid and to a lesser extend Mark Wood. To boot they seem to have a lot a few first XI players to injury. These performances do not augur well for their chances in the Champions Trophy. That said they always seem to play better in Pakistan than in India.Team India looked imperious even without Bumrah. Rohit seems to have regained his mojo, Gill is looking like a million bucks, Virat scored a very good 50, Iyer is looking ready to reprise his heroics from the 2023 WC. The bowling unit looked in great shape with even Shami slowly showing signs of getting back into his groove.During the chat we touch upon :Are India's two white ball teams ready to be the dominant white-ball force in the next few years ?Has the elusive balance finally been achieved for Team India? Is Team India primed to make a strong statement in Champions Trophy ? What ails England ? Why are they not playing to potential ?Will England recover from this shellacking in time for the Champions Trophy ?#RohitSharma #ViratKohli #TeamIndia #ShreyasIyer #Buttler #Salt #ODI Participants:Vasant KumarRamakrishnan G IyerAlso available on Apple Podcast and Spotify.https://all-out-for-no-loss.captivate.fm/episode/india-clobbers-england-in-the-white-ball-series