The Buzz

Delhi boys Rana and Rathi in ugly face off in DPL game
What's a Delhi Premier League match without a bit of needle?
Nitish Rana is a star in Delhi cricket. Digvesh Rathi, in the little we have seen of him, has shown that he has no problem getting under the skin of opponents, as well as getting on the wrong side of match officials, again and again.
So when the two went head-to-head in a match between West Delhi Lions (Rana's team) and South Delhi Superstarz (Rathi's team), sparks flew. Rathi was the bowler. He went through his action but didn't release the ball, Rana mock-swept it, Rathi walked back, smile on his face. As one would expect, when Rathi went again, Rana backed out. At that point, though a few words were exchanged between the two, the commentators seemed to be enjoying the needle in the middle.
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Seventeen years later, Bhajji-Sreesanth slapgate footage in public domain

This week, a never-before-seen video clip of the incident resurfaced, courtesy Lalit Modi

Few off-field dramas have lived rent-free in the collective memory of Indian cricket fans quite like "slapgate" from IPL 2008. Harbhajan Singh's altercation with Sreesanth has been whispered about, memed endlessly, and retold in a dozen versions - but until now, never actually seen.
That changed this week when a video clip surfaced online, courtesy Michael Clarke's podcast with Lalit Modi, showing the infamous moment in all its raw awkwardness. Grainy but unmistakable, the footage captures Harbhajan's flash of temper, Sreesanth's stunned reaction, and teammates trying to calm things down.
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Issy Wong explains why pizzas come in square boxes
Issy Wong can get you wickets and talk about the kind of random things that come up when you're doing nothing on a random Tuesday afternoon, whether it's discussing the existence of aliens or explaining why pizzas need to be delivered in square boxes.
In this rapid-fire interview, Wong, with every answer, proves what a cool friend she would be.
She starts off by picking her favourite cheese, Babybels, which might seem basic, but hey, she's not being a try-hard. Then on the matter of whether there are aliens, she answers, quite sensibly, with a definite yes. "The universe is infinitely big. It's going to keep on until infinity till they find a solar system where there's aliens."
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When Wasim Akram got bricked
Hazing the newbie is a cherished tradition across sports, and Wasim Akram wasn't spared either. During his early county cricket stint in England, Akram recalled being the victim of a long-running prank by Lancashire teammate Michael Watkinson. At the time Akram was only 21, alone in a foreign country and still adjusting to life away from Pakistan. "Remember those days when we used to have those cricket bags? We used to call them coffins without wheels. Now you can carry it or you have people carry it for you. In county cricket we used to carry our kit bags ourselves. And I was very young, and didn't know I have to wash my old clothes - we're a bit spoiled in Pakistan, our moms do everything!"
The first month, Akram found himself lugging around an increasingly heavy kit bag. He assumed it was the burden of his equipment and perhaps the weight of unwashed clothes piling up in it. Only when he finally ran out of clean clothes and decided to clear his bag did he find out what he'd been lugging around all this while - the gift of a hefty brick to prank the newcomer.
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Who is the best keeper in India? Ruturaj Gaikwad has an intriguing answer
Chennai Super Kings captain Ruturaj Gaikwad must be used to being quizzed by journalists, but how does he cope with the kind of questions kids ask?
While interacting with students at the CSK Academy, Gaikwad jokes his way through the Q&A session. First, he asks how many support teams other than CSK and then teases them about not being picked by their academy coaches. Then he's asked a tough question himself: do you play for CSK? Gaikwad's response leaves the kid scratching his head.
Then Gaikwad, who was 27 when he took over the franchise captaincy from CSK legend MS Dhoni, was asked what it was like to lead a side with players older than him. "Very good, I enjoyed a lot. I scolded all seniors," Gaikwad said.
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Who does Risbhabh Pant's roly-poly shot better - David Warner or Alastair Cook?
Rishabh Pant is known for his innovative batting and out-there shots, so can a batter as orthodox as Alastair Cook imitate them?
To be fair to the 40-year-old Cook, who attempted the "roly-poly ramp shot", it's not easy in civvies with a mike in hand.
"What he was doing was playing the paddle sweep," Cook said while demonstrating Pant's shot. "But what he wanted is more pace on the ball to really get in the lines.
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