Even as the 2011 World Cup nears the business end -- beginning with the opening quarter-final between Pakistan and West Indies in Mirpur on Wednesday, it is time to look back and recall a few performances that defined the opening stage.
Bikash Mohapatra presents the six Indian batsmen who attained the three-figure-mark in previous editions of the T20 extravaganza.
Ahead of the fifth edition of the IPL, Bikash Mohapatra takes a look at the oldest players to grace the tournament this year.
Bikash Mohapatra believes that South Africa's Dale Steyn's secret of success lies in him bowling in short spells.
The lucrative six-week extravaganza left the Indian team tired, and with the World T20 staring just five days later, there was hardly any time to recuperate.
Despite picking 14 wickets in the World Cup thus far, Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi is modesty personified by crediting bowling conditions for his success, writes Bikash Mohapatra.
For batting ace Rahul Dravid, says Bikash Mohapatra, it was not just about playing the game. It was about playing it with dignity.
Bangladesh captain Shakib Al-Hasan discusses his team's chances in the World Cup with Bikash Mohapatra.
There was nothing surprising in the selection of India's final 15 for the upcoming World Cup. It was, says Bikash Mohapatra, done keeping the subcontinent wickets in mind.
Bikash Mohapatra chats up with Australian athletics legend Cathy Freeman, event ambassador for the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon.
As the Indian Express join forces after nine long years on the ATP circuit, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi will be hoping this reunion would help them prepare well and win Australian Open, the only Grand Slam trophy missing from their cupboard, says our correspondent Bikash Mohapatra
Bikash Mohapatra salutes boxing legend Muhammad Ali on his 70th birthday.
For tennis aficionados it is something to look forward to. Going strictly on face value, it seems a perfect combination.
It was certainly not about form. Rahul Dravid has had just one poor series in recent times. It was India's tour of South Africa, at the start of the year, when he aggregated just 120 runs from six innings (@ 20.00).
If men's tennis in 2011 was about a one-man domination, the women's equivalent was anything but that.
If the Big Four continued to dominate, there were a few who managed to make an impact as well.
In a year when the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, Sergio Aguero and Diego Forlan made big ticket moves, there were some footballers who surprised us with their decisions.
Bikash Mohapatra speaks with Aussie pacer Shaun Tait, who was in Mumbai to consult India physio John Gloster.
With the Wankhede stadium, Mumbai's original home ground for Ranji Trophy matches being the upgraded for the upcoming World Cup and the alternative vene at the CCI (Brabourne Stadium) being overlooked owing to administrative differences between the parties concerned, the defending champions have no option but to play their home games at the MCA facility at the Bandra-Kurla Complex. To make matters worse, the wicket at the said facility is a flat one.
Bikash Mohapatra salutes Argentine football leagend Diego Maradona, who turns 50 today.
The comparison first started when Australia last toured India in 2008. The question was simple: Has an India-Australia Test series become bigger than the Ashes?
VVS Laxman has done it again! After guiding India to a thrilling victory in the 1st Test over Australia on Tuesday, Laxman has only bolstered his reputation further, writes Bikash Mohapatra.
Few are aware of the fact that Leander Paes completed two decades in tennis this year, two decades in which he represented the country in Davis Cup while achieving a lot of success on the professional tour as well.
India take on Brazil in the World Group play-off starting in Chennai on Friday and on form, India look the likely favourites to clinch this tie, writes Bikash Mohapatra.
Following Chennai Super Kings' exit from the Champions League T20, Mahendra Singh Dhoni now has three successive failures in the last three months. Bikash Mohapatra writes that Dhoni's aversion to taking risks has resulted in the slump.
Spaniard Pau Gasol, the NBA star, talks on a wide range of issues including Indian participation in basketball's flagship event.
With exactly six months to go for the 2011 World Cup Bikash Mohapatra does a check on Team India readiness for the event.
There's no American man in the top 10 in the ATP rankings issued on Monday - the first such instance since the rankings were introduced in 1973.
Chinese billionaire Kenny Huang's interest in Liverpool is a pointer to the fact that the ownership of the EPL clubs is more likely to change hands frequently now than ever before.
For any Indian, who understands the game and cares for the team, it will take a long time getting over the team's debacle in England, says Bikash Mohapatra.
Rahul Dravid batted through with a heroic unbeaten 146 but India failed to avoid follow on and were left with a daunting task of batting out the entire fifth day to save the final Test against England at the Oval on Sunday.
The end result of the high-profile series, says Kevin Pietersen, might surprise many, but, for England, it was the fruit of all the effort put in over the years.
India pacer S Sreesanth says 'India is getting a taste of its own medicine' in the ongoing series with England.
An insipid Indian bowling line-up had yet another torrid time as England reached 75 for no loss on the opening day of the fourth and final Test before persistent rain brought a premature end to the proceedings at the Oval on Thursday.
India's captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni says putting runs on the board is the only way to put pressure on the English batsmen in the fourth Test.
Alastair Cook scored a hundred on debut against India in 2006; five years later, life has come a full circle for the England opener who scored a match-winning 294. Bikash Mohapatra traces his career and says it was worth the wait.
Ajit Wadekar, who led India to its first win on English soil, tells Bikash Mohapatra that it was team effort that gave them that historic win at The Oval in 1971.
'We have had some exceptional cricket in the last 18 to 24 months and it would be a shame to ruin it. So we look to make it a good five days,' said England spin ace Graeme Swann, ahead of the final Test against India.
Where did India go wrong in the third Test? How did England win in four days? Bikash Mohapatra, who was at Edgbaston, identifies the turning points in the match.
India leg spinner Amit Mishra bowled a whopping eight no-balls on the second day of the third Test, eventually ending up with nine from England's first innings.
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