Boxing Day - Here We Come

The 2024 BGT series is tantalizing poised at 1-1 with 2 to play and the teams are making their way to the MCG for the Boxing Day Test. Reports are that the tickets for the first couple of days have been sold out - so we might see a raucous 100,000+ people throng the G to watch the teams resume their series. Team India will surely be happy with the current state of affairs with the series tied at 1 apiece with somewhat friendlier venues to negotiate.

The curator has promised a green top that will settle down a bit and allow the spinners to come into play. More importantly has joined the Aussies media in trying to get under the skin of the Indian team and media personnel.

1. Will Team India get inspired by their past record at the G ?
2. How will the draw at Brisbane play a role in the strategies of both the team ?
3. Is there a possibility that some tactical decisions be impacted by the WTC ?
4. Has Australia made an inspired change by blooding a teenager - the last one they coopted is now the captain of the national team.

In this episode while we talk about the prospects of the upcoming Boxing Day test, we will be walking you through the last 50 years of India v Australia test matches at the MCG. From the inimitable B.S.Chandrasekhar's twin 6/52 to Ajinkya Rahane's sublime 100 and a lot of action in the middle. This includes Kapil Dev da Jawab nahin, the wicket that changed the trajectory of the series, that Katich full-toss, the anointing of the great Jasprit Bumrah and not to forget the pitch tampering during the game by the MCG curators.

Take a listen and let us know what you think.

#INDvsAUS #BGTSeries #CricketTalk #WTC25 #AllOutForNoLoss #BCCI #Bumrah #TravisHead #PatCummins #MCG #Virat #KapilDev #Rahane #BSChandrasekhar

Participants:

• Vasant Kumar
• Vijaykumar Balasubramanian
• Ramakrishnan G Iyer
• Anand Kumar Sankaran

India's star spin bowler R.Ashwin retired from international cricket on Dec 19 at the conclusion of the 3rd Test in Brisbane.

In this episode the full crew of ‘All Out 4 No Loss’ get together and discuss the life and times of R Ashwin as an Indian cricketer. Ashwin is a statistician’s delight and this helps us dig into some of the numbers such as his overseas performances, specific scores and the impact on a game, and inevitable comparisons to peers and yesteryear gates. This didn’t restrict us from getting sentimental over some of his knocks and spells as only die hard fans can.

Ashwin had an illustrious career spanning over 14 years starting with appearances in the white ball format before making his debut in tests in 2011.

Had a magnificent career particularly in tests finishing as the second highest wicket taker for India and the 7th highest overall at the time of his retirement. To boot was a very capable batter finishing with 6 test centuries to his name. The only one among the top 10 test wicket takers in the game to have more than one test hundred. Was the ICC International Cricketer of the Year in 2016.

Also was a critical part of the national white ball teams for a long time, was part of the 2011 World Cup winning team, the 2013 Champions Trophy winning team and was a big part of the team's run to the final of the 2014 T20 World Cup.

A career littered with many special moments like to name a few:

• Bowling the last over in the Champions Trophy
• That leave and then the shot in the titanic T20 WC game against Pakistan
• That carrom ball that spun across the wicket to bowl Amla in the 2014 T20 WC semi-final
• The batting heroics in Sydney, Mirpur, and Chennai

and many more from all over the world.

Bowling

• Tests- played:106 wickets:537 average:24.00 5-fers:37 10wpm:8 StrikeRate:50.7
• ODIs- played:116 wickets:156 average:33.20 EconRate:4.93 StrikeRate:40.4
• T20Is- played:65 wickets:72 average:23.22 EconRate:6.90 StrikeRate:20.1

Batting

• Tests- played:106 runs:3503 average:25.75 100s:6 50s:14
• ODIs- played:116 runs:707 average:16.44 StrikeRate:86.96
• T20Is- played:65 runs:184 average:26.28 StrikeRate:114.99

• Vasant Kumar
• Ramakrishnan G Iyer
• Anand Kumar Sankaran
• Vijaykumar Balasubramanian

The halfway point of BGT 2024-2025 has been crossed and the two teams are still locked at one game apiece with 2 matches to go. This was thanks to a damp quib of a test wherein the weather impacted every single day of play leading to a draw. So, it is still is all to play for - the Border Gavaskar Trophy and a place in the finals of the World Test Championships.

• Has the Australian batting found their bearings or is the brilliance of Head papering over some serious batting issues ?
• Have we found a worthy third seamer in the form of Akash Deep ?
• Will that glorious last wicket stand to stave off the follow-on spark Team India to greater deeds ?

The series is at a knife's edge with both the remaining tests now being live in terms of the series stakes. And now on to two of the most iconic stadiums in the world.

This episode of "All Out for No Loss" is out! What happened in the Gabba and who came out smelling like roses and who struggled ?

#INDvsAUS #BGTSeries #CricketTalk #WTC25 #AllOutForNoLoss #BCCI #Bumrah #TravisHead #PatCummins #SteveSmith #Gabba

Hosts:

Vasant Kumar

Ramakrishnan G Iyer

Anand Kumar Sankaran

Vijaykumar Balasubramanian