Rainman talks Cricket

  Harsha Bhogle has a knack for putting things in a way everyone would wish they could. In the first part of the documentary ‘Two Nations, One Obsession’, Bhogle elucidates what makes the Indo-Australian rivalry in cricket different from the one that India has had with Pakistan over the years. The history of wars with the arch-rivals, according to Bhogle, means that cricket against them is never just cricket for Team India. With Australia, however, it’s different. The intensity of the competition remains the same minus the baggage of history and that produces some of the finest cricketing action. Bhogle is one of the several people trying to decode the obsession that both the countries have with the game and how that has clashed over the years in ‘Two Nations, One obsession’ which is now streaming on Discovery+ app. The task at the hand of the director Peter Dickson was not an easy one considering the rich history of this cricketing rivalry. However, by getting the duo of Harsha ...

  Two decades ago, Steve Waugh brought his all-conquering team to the Indian shores with the hopes of capturing the ‘Final Frontier’ as he called it. The mission proved unsuccessful and one of cricket’s most successful leaders had to end his career without winning a Test series in India. The Waugh that we encounter on our screens in 2021 has grey hair to go with a bit of a paunch, has a small team of three, and doesn’t look half as tough as the man under the Baggy Green looked when he came out to toss in Mumbai, the venue of the first Test match two decades ago. His ambition this time though was in no way smaller than his ambition from two decades ago.   In Capturing Cricket: Steve Waugh in India, the veteran of 168 Tests takes on the challenge of capturing the country’s unparalleled obsession with the game through the lens of his camera. He has the company and the guidance of photographer Trent Parke as well his friend Jason Brooks who provides the flavor of humor in the do...