Sandip G

Sandip G, Delhi-based, writes primarily on cricket and football. He pens a weekly football column, Total Football. In 15 years of sports journalism, he has covered a vast spread of sports, including World Cups in three different sports (cricket, football and hockey).

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More From Sandip G

South Africa coach Chief coach Shukri Conrad, center, have discussions with Kesav Maharaj, right and another during the practice session ahead of the first test match between India and South Africa, in Kolkata, India, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025. (AP Photo)

One-time English teacher Shukri Conrad, South Africa’s coach, has transformed a multicultural group into a winning unit

November 26, 2025 15:47 IST

Shukri Conrad's first-class career lasted just nine games because the coaches thought he 'slogged too much' but as a member of South Africa's school team had the already set his mind on coaching the men's national team; The cricket board once banned Conrad for defecting and joining the white SA Cricket Union

Thu, Nov 27, 2025

Liverpool's Cody Gakpo, Alexis Mac Allister, Hugo Ekitike, Federico Chiesa react after Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White scored his side's third goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in Liverpool. (AP Photo)

Despite a record £446m spent in summer transfers, why Liverpool are struggling?

November 24, 2025 13:08 IST

From new signings to using different formations Arne Slot has tried everything to hide the cracks, but nothing seems to help a team where the tragic loss of Diogo Jota is still fresh in memory

Mon, Nov 24, 2025

India practice session Gautam Gambhir South Africa

Under Gautam Gambhir’s prowling eyes, Sai Sudharsan battles vulnerabilities ahead of possible Test recall

November 18, 2025 18:05 IST

Their teammates — Dhruv Jurel, Akash Deep, Ravindra Jadeja, and Devdutt Padikkal had also turned up for the optional practice session on the scheduled fifth day of the Test — had long retreated to the dressing room after nearly three hours of assorted drills.

Wed, Nov 19, 2025

South Africa off-spinner Simon Harmer in action in the Kolkata Test against India at Eden Gardens. (Express Photo by Partha Paul)

Simon Harmer kept it simple: In scripting South Africa’s famous win over India, and in rediscovering himself to make Test comeback

November 17, 2025 20:31 IST

After seven-year absence from SA’s Test side, offspinner went back to basics to return to fold, picking up 40 wickets in his last eight games.

Tue, Nov 18, 2025

In both innings at Eden Gardens, India's Ravindra Jadeja fell leg before the wicket to Harmer. Both times, he was guilty of playing with the bat behind the pad. (Express Photo by Partha Paul)

How Kolkata pitch exposed Indian batsmen’s weakness of skill and temperament

November 17, 2025 18:39 IST

Imprudent shot selection, flawed judgment, and clumsy execution of strokes, both attacking and defensive, co-conspired in the Eden batting murder mystery

Tue, Nov 18, 2025

Temba Bavuma is calm, even soporific, a square silhouette of perfection. (Express Photo by Partha Paul)

Temba Bavuma: South Africa’s Iron Man with a giant heart, undefeated and unbroken, leads from the front at Eden Gardens for famous win

November 16, 2025 19:58 IST

Pouching the match-winning catch and grafting the match-turning knock were straightforward chores for Temba Bavuma, a man who has worn heavier burdens.

Sun, Nov 16, 2025

South African spinner Simon Harmer in action. (EXPRESS PHOTO by Partha Paul)

Eden Gardens Test: India lose at home yet again, Simon Harmer leads South Africa’s famous win

November 16, 2025 15:03 IST

After Bavuma's unbeaten 55 helped South Africa set a target of 124, World champions rout hosts for 93 as they suffer Test defeat at home

Sun, Nov 16, 2025

Ravindra Jadeja picked four wickets in second innings against South Africa in Kolkata Test. (PHOTO: BCCI)

India vs South Africa, 1st Test: Ravindra Jadeja’s four-wicket burst gives hosts slight edge after chaotic day at Eden Gardens

November 15, 2025 20:37 IST

India, after eking out a 30-run lead, valuable in the context of the low-scoring affair, and then twisting the knife on South Africa, reeling on the mat at 93 for 7, would feel a sense of ascendancy.

Sat, Nov 15, 2025

A match that bubbled with excitement and possessed the ingredients to thrill was held hostage by an abominable pitch. (PHOTO: BCCI)

India vs South Africa: Poor pitch reduces Test to a farce in Kolkata

November 15, 2025 18:45 IST

No batsman, 29 strode in and out, managed to touch 40; 26 wickets fell in two days as the horror track stripped the game of its soul

Sat, Nov 15, 2025

India played three all-rounders - Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel & Washington Sundar - in the first Test vs South Africa in Kolkata. (PHOTO: BCCI)

India vs South Africa, 1st Test: How Shubman Gill’s side thrives with all-rounders, squad flexibility

November 14, 2025 22:27 IST

With three all-rounders who can play as specialists with both ball and bat, and two wicketkeepers, India’s 11 are worth 16.

Fri, Nov 14, 2025

The deviations and bounce on the Eden Gardens pitch on the first day of the Kolkata Test were so wicked that Jasprit Bumrah took time to grasp the nature of the wicket. (Express Photo by Partha Paul)

Wicked, whimsy bounce at Eden Gardens keeps both sets of batsmen on toes, as SA skittled for 159; India lose Jaiswal

November 14, 2025 20:08 IST

Proteas batting coach Ashwell Prince reckons it's tough for batsmen to settle in at Kolkata, and 150 might be challenging target in 4th innings

Fri, Nov 14, 2025

India's Kuldeep Yadav congratulates Jasprit Bumrah after the pacer took a South African wicket on Day 1 of the Kolkata Test at Eden Gardens. (Express Photo by Partha Paul)

Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav deliver a deadly post-lunch dessert onto South Africa

November 14, 2025 18:11 IST

South Africa’s batsmen would have felt that they had been transported into a dark arts realm in second session, facing superhuman bowlers and not two simple smiling assassins from Ahmedabad and Kanpur

Fri, Nov 14, 2025

Who is Senuran Muthusamy? South Africa’s spin-bowling allrounder who has ancestral roots in Tamil Nadu’s Nagapattinam

November 13, 2025 20:07 IST

His school coach and mother saw a disciplined kid who loved books, quotes of Shakespeare, and utterly devoted to cricket.

Sun, Nov 23, 2025

Kuldeep Yadav (right) is just one of India’s weapons of mass destruction to worry about for South Africa. If he is defused, strides in Ravindra Jadeja, or Washington Sundar, or Axar Patel (centre), a variegated chalice of slow poisoners. (Express Photo by Partha Paul)

India vs South Africa 2025 1st Test Preview: Temba Bavuma’s men eye historic win amid spin challenge

November 13, 2025 18:03 IST

The caprices of the pitch and the fervour of the stands; the riffs of its spin orchestra and the tunes of their seam act, the masterfulness of their batsmen and the shifting climes and landscapes, the subcontinent could daunt the touring sides from half a world apart

Fri, Nov 14, 2025

Team India's Washington Sundar at the nets on Wednesday ahead of the first Test against South Africa at Kolkata's Eden Gardens. (Express Photo by Partha Paul)

India vs South Africa, 1st Test: Why Washington Sundar will be key on Eden Gardens pitch

November 12, 2025 21:53 IST

How the Kolkata strip behaves and how India fare on it would set the pitch narrative in coach Gambhir’s reign with Washington as his trusted lieutenant.

Thu, Nov 13, 2025

Temba Bavuma's troops are not as dynastic or celebrated as some of the previous iterations. (AP Photo)

India vs South Africa: Temba Bavuma’s WTC champs get set for their hardest challenge

November 11, 2025 18:08 IST

A tour of India is the stiffest test for any overseas side, and the most rigorous baptism yet for the World Test champions. If uneasy disclaimers still lurk around their triumph, a series win in India would cleanse half the doubting minds.

Wed, Nov 12, 2025

When Luis Diaz shot, his left shoulder and half his body was well behind the upright at the near post. (AP/X)

Bayern Munich’s Luis Diaz’s improbable goal shows not all skills are taught in football schoolsSubscriber Only

November 10, 2025 08:37 IST

With a strike from a near-impossible angle, Diaz shows what Liverpool are missing as he proves instinct sometimes trumps conventional football thinking

Mon, Nov 10, 2025

Gill and Sharma — their camaraderie blossoming from junior cricketing days in Punjab, a tale of shared teenage and early adulthood — have struck an irresistible bond, their association yielding 486 runs at an average of 37.4 at a strike rate of 163. (BCCI Photo)

India’s T20 dream team takes shape as cup of talent overflows

November 08, 2025 20:29 IST

There is a sense of routine, almost a bloodless coup, about how India nails bilateral series and tournaments.

Sun, Nov 09, 2025

Shivam Dube: Hopping out of Hardik Pandya’s shadow, one skill at a time

November 07, 2025 19:40 IST

The Mumbai all-rounder is bowling without fear, and batting with impact, commanding a spot of his own, even when Hardik Pandya returns

Sat, Nov 08, 2025

India beat Australia by 48 runs in the 4th T20I to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series. (BCCI)

India vs Australia 4th T20I: Axar Patel, Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar power Suryakumar’s quest to conquer Australia

November 06, 2025 19:59 IST

There was no single protagonist who stole the show single-handedly, but a win underpinned by the collectivism of a thrillingly modern team

Fri, Nov 07, 2025

Indian women's team coach Amol Muzumdar after winning the ICC Women's World Cup 2025. (PHOTO: AP)

As India win Women’s World Cup, Amol Muzumdar gets love back from the sport he loved for all those years as nearest among nearly men

November 03, 2025 20:29 IST

One by one, the pieces of destiny fell in place, and India orchestrated a "watershed moment", as described by head coach Amol Muzumdar. It was special for him too. Wasim Jaffer remembers the player he was, turning up on the domestic circuit year after year.

Tue, Nov 04, 2025

Watching Erling Haaland in the kitchen is more theatre than watching him belting goals in the middle. (AP/Instagram)

Erling Haaland and the twin-arts of scoring an exquisite steak crust and a perfectly elastic goalSubscriber Only

November 03, 2025 13:54 IST

Erling Haaland, Pep Guardiola's premier project at Manchester City lives the complete life circle of food and football.

Mon, Nov 03, 2025

India vs Australia, 3rd T20: Washington Sundar stakes claim in India’s future plans with match-winning 49 as visitors level series with 5-wicket win

November 02, 2025 19:52 IST

The all-rounder may have played 54 T20Is in the past eight years, but the innings in Hobart is the first in which he has definitively stamped his authority in the shortest format for India.

Sun, Nov 02, 2025