They may be facing tremendous pressure to deliver at home, but India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni believes his team is not weighed down by the tag of 'favourites' for the upcoming World Cup.
The lack of tension fuelled the '#WorstIPLFinal' trend on social media.
'In women's singles now, there are a lot of long rallies and long matches, being consistent. I am confident in that now.'
For India, the biggest disappointment was the poor showing of their senior most players Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin.
'When I heard about it, I was very excited to do it. And I thought that if I didn't know about this, then others would not know either.'
Images from the US Open men's singles semi-finals at Flushing Meadows, New York, on Friday.
The Wimbledon men's singles semi-finals take centre stage at the All England Club on Friday.
Lakshya Sen mounted a remarkable comeback to become the first male Indian shuttler to qualify for the singles semi-finals at the Olympic Games.
'Modi was in as sweet a spot as is possible for an Indian prime minister in mid-term.' 'Why, then, did he plunge into this massive disruption?' 'The answer,' argues Ashok Malik, 'lies in a single word: Belief.'
Undergoing a transition phase, defending champions Sri Lanka may not be in their elements in the build-up to the ICC World T20 but skipper Angelo Mathews today said it is good to carry the underdogs tag as it does not put the team under pressure. "The fact that we are coming as underdogs releases the pressure. Yes, we didn't do well in the Asia Cup but we're getting better day by day. I'm confident of my team's progress," Mathews said on the eve of their Super 10 opener against Afghanistan. Mathews said that his team needed just one win to get the momentum back. "We're not looking too far ahead at the moment and we will take one game at a time. We need one good game to get our momentum back," said the skipper. Afghanistan almost pulled off an upset during the 2015 World Cup in Australia when they threatened to chase down 237 before being bowled out for 232 in 49.4 overs and Mathews said Afghans were no more the minnows.
'If I feel ready, I'm going to try to be there and fight for the things I have been fighting for the last 15 years, (even) if now seems impossible.'
Six medals from a 117-strong contingent is not ideal but India had its moments of joy, hope, frustration, and heartache.
'I would say you have to give six months to a year to give the athletes to kind of even register that person is going (to the Olympics). People are struggling to find their kit. So, things could have been better.'
'I had told Fadnavisji that I will be with the party till the Lok Sabha election and I will give my 100 per cent to campaign for the BJP. But ultimately I will have to take this decision (to quit the BJP).' 'When I requested him to see this from the point of view of an elder brother, he could not say anything more after that.'
'I don't think he (Karthik) will be under pressure. First and foremost thing will be to give guidance to this group. He has got a lot of experienced players around him, particularly in overseas group, and there's the likes of Piyush Chawala, Vinay Kumar and Robin Uthappa.'
A depleted Rajasthan Royals will have an onerous task of stopping the mighty CSK
Germany are banking on a mix of hugely talented young players, including Jamal Musiala and newly-crowned Bundesliga champion Florian Wirtz, and experienced veterans such as 2014 World Cup winners Manuel Neuer, Thomas Mueller and Toni Kroos.
A list of 10 rising outsiders from whom wonders can be expected in the years to come.
Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik feels the underdogs tag would help them do well in the ICC World T20, like it did when they ended up winning the 1992 World Cup and 2009 World T20. "It's good that we're underdogs and that gives you a lot of confidence at the same time. We are here to do well," Malik said at the open media session in Kolkata on Sunday. Drawing parallel with Imran Khan-led team's World Cup winning moment in Australia, the senior Pakistani cricketer said: "Let's talk about 1992 World Cup first. "People were not expecting us to do well and win it but we won that. Same thing happened in 2007 World T20 when we did well before losing to India in the final. In 2009, we were not that big as a team but still we won. The same is the case going into this edition."
US Vice President Kamala Harris, who is of Indian and African heritage, has formally secured the Democratic presidential nomination becoming the first Indian-American to win the nomination from a major political party, and chose Minnesota Gov Tim Walz as her running mate on Tuesday.
It was a stunning turnaround for an Australia team which had lost five T20 series on the trot heading into the World Cup.
Premier leg-spinner Rashid Khan was on Saturday picked in a 19-member Afghanistan squad, to be led by young Ibrahim Zadran, for the three T20 Internationals against India starting on January 11 in Mohali.
In days of smart, networked technology and no shame over collateral damage, what will blow up next -- cars, mobile phones, TV sets, refrigerators? And where?, asks Shyam G Menon.
Patna Shuklla's dull drama struggles to leave any impact, sighs Sukanya Verma.
Here is a quick guide to the eight games which get underway on Saturday.
Rajasthan Royals will face a stern test of character as they look to arrest a shocking slide in a do-or-die IPL Eliminator against an in-form RCB.
Chandu Champion is Kartik Aaryan's most ambitious work so far and the actor's muscular gusto is undeniable. There's visible fire in the man's belly but not enough soul, observes Sukanya Verma.
South African pacer Nandre Burger said on Tuesday that the experience of playing against India in the recently-concluded all-format home series was incredible and he learnt a lot during the course of it.
IMAGES from the T20 World Cup match played between South Africa and Nepal in Kingstown, St. Vincent, on Saturday.
Elena Rybakina set up a showdown with 2021 French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova for a place in Saturday's final.
'Here are 25 stories special to me for one reason too many,' says Sukanya Verma who scored 25 years writing about the movies last week.
After Australia's spinners took 17 wickets to out-bowl their Indian counterparts in Pune, the hosts will now be less confident of having a major advantage should they decide to produce turning tracks for the remainder of the series.
'His focus is like that only, he will give his 100 per cent in whatever he takes up, be it studying or be it playing cricket.'
Will India bring in Sanju Samson for the struggling Shivam Dube?
Fine knocks by Brandon McMullen and George Munsey powered Scotland to formidable total in their T20 World Cup Group B match against and Australia in St. Lucia on Sunday.
Rajkummar Rao does the best with what he is given and he ably elevates the generic story-telling. Too bad that his performance remains the only takeaway from such an inspiring real-life story, notes Mayur Sanap.
Now, every state election -- first up, Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand later this year, then Delhi in January and Bihar in September next year -- will be seen by his followers for evidence of his recovery, and by rivals of sharpening decline, points out Shekhar Gupta.
The plucky underdogs were brought down to earth as Manchester City, Everton and Stoke City reached the League Cup semi-finals on Tuesday, ending the hopes of second-tier sides who felled fancied opponents in the last round.
He may have entered the semifinal as the underdog, but Jannik Sinner's stunning victory over overwhelming favourite Novak Djokovic left the Melbourne crowd shocked.
Dhanush, Mahesh Babu, Sushmita Sen, Bhumi Pednekar, it's a star studded show on OTT this week.
