Rediff.com's Bikash Mohapatra, who is covering the US presidential elections, reports on how the Republicans are trying hard to secure Florida.
After a slow start to the campaign, US President Barack Obama has bounced back with a masterstroke, reports Rediff.com's Bikash Mohapatra, who is covering the American presidential elections.
Following the dismal showing on the recent tours of South Africa and New Zealand, the calls to strip Mahendra Singh Dhoni of the Test team's captaincy are growing. Bikash Mohapatra looks back on how the predecessors of India's most successful captain were relieved of the mantle.
Brazil (Selecao) might be the most loved -- and most successful -- football team across the globe, but the Germans (Die Mannshaft), says Bikash Mohapatra, are easily the most consistent in the history of football.
The quartet of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray has kept the Grand Slams tournaments mostly to themselves. Bikash Mohapatra showcases the few others who have broken that trend in the last decade.
The Australian Open provided Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker and Ivan Lendl the opportunity to renew rivalries as coaches. At the end of it, Bikash Mohapatra believes it was the Swede who went away with the bragging rights.
For the fifth straight year Melbourne brought agony for Nadal. Bikash Mohapatra summarises the Spaniard's no show Down Under.
Siddharth Trivedi, a significant member of Rajasthan Royals, spells out the difference in Shane Warne, who led the team to success in the inaugural IPL season, and current skipper Rahul Dravid.
Erapalli Prasanna and Bishan Singh Bedi, arguably the greatest off-spinner and left-arm spinner in cricket history, tell Rediff.com's Bikash Mohapatra why R Ashwin does not do well away from home.
Legends Bapu Nadkarni, Chandu Borde E A S Prasanna look back on India's first Test win overseas.
Bikash Mohapatra strolls through the deserted streets of Birmingham, as it very slowly comes into terms with violent riots and lootings that rocked the city earlier this week.
"Our poor first innings scores have let us down," Michael Clarke said after the Hyderabad defeat. Bikash Mohapatra feels the Aussie batsmen need to set the agenda, the way Alistair Cook and his team did against the Indians last winter.
"We have three days, but I am not 100 per cent sure whether he will play or not," skipper M S Dhoni said, adding, "It is a long series and we don't want to risk any individual."
The last time Cheteshwar Pujara batted at the Rajiv Gandhi stadium in Uppal, Hyderabad, he scored 159, his maiden hundred. Seven months later, he returned to the venue and outdid the effort with a double ton. Bikash Mohapatra reports.
Sure, Australia were outplayed in the Chennai Test, but not all was lost for the visitors, says Bikash Mohapatra.
For once the Indian win was not crafted by just a couple of players. Barring a couple of failures, virtually the entire team contributed to the Chennai triumph. Bikash Mohapatra identifies the three heroes who led the Indian charge to victory.
India's Under-19 World Cup-winning captain tells Bikash Mohapatra that the habit of maintaining a diary made him an author even before he became an international cricketer.
'When you are doing well you need to keep addressing the weaknesses. This is something that the Indian team has never done,' former Test spinner Maninder Singh tells Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com
The selectors' idea of trying out the bench strength in the ODI series against the West Indies failed big time, says Bikash Mohapatra.
Rediff.com takes a look at a few high profile transfers in Europe in the winter even as window closed on Thursday.
Mumbai's Ranji Trophy triumph, says Bikash Mohapatra, was about consistent individual performances, particularly that of wicketkeeper-batsman Aditya Tare, who impressed in his first full season.
Jessica Korda's maiden LPGA Tour title at the Australian Open on Sunday completed a two-sport, father-daughter double. Bikash Mohapatra presents instances of children following in their parents' footsteps, with varying degrees of success in different disciplines.
Jonathan Trott is not the first instance of a cricketer suffering from stress-related issues. Many of his compatriots, as some of the game's big names, says Bikash Mohapatra, were laid low by depression.
Technical flaws go unnoticed when the team plays at home. On tour, the players become susceptible. The just-concluded England Test series, says Bikash Mohapatra, points to the fact that this Indian side doesn't have a player who can adapt and alter his game accordingly.
Having made his Test debut on November 15, 1989, the batting icon, discovers Bikash Mohapatra, joins an elite club of only four players who have played international cricket for 25 years or more.
The hoopla surrounding Sachin Tendulkar's farewell, says Bikash Mohapatra, has completely camouflaged what could be a mismatch series, as the West Indies team neither has the pedigree nor players to get past M S Dhon's side.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic struck four times as PSG thrashed Belgian side Anderlecht 5-0 on Wednesday night and joined a select band of strikers to score four goals in a single Champions League match. Bikash Mohapatra presents nine other players who preceded the Swede in performing the feat.
In our series to celebrate Sachin Tendulkar's landmark 200th Test, ex-India pacer Manoj Prabhakar shares his thoughts on his former teammate with Bikash Mohapatra
Though it retained its home advantage in recent years, the Indian cricket team, says Bikash Mohapatra, is no longer the indomitable force it used to be.
The year, which started offering dual hope for Indian tennis fans, ended up serving double disappointment instead.
Going by current form and placement, Bikash Mohapatra says it won't come as a surprise if the Swiss maestro fails to qualify for the season-ending ATP World Tour finals.
Replacing a coach like Gary Kirsten, who was a massive success with Team India, was never going to be easy for Duncan Fletcher. Rediff.com's Bikash Mohapatra points out that Fletcher doesn't have a report card that makes for great reading but he still enjoys the backing of captain MS Dhoni.
England's recent performances in the subcontinent were far from impressive. In fact, they were even beaten at home against the formidable Proteas. Those woeful results made them the under dogs for their tour to India. But they have turned the tables and their fortune, and how! Ironing out technical glitches and batting with patience has been the key to England's superiority in this series, writes Rediff.com's Bikash Mohapatra.
As dramatic as his career was, Sachin Tendulkar's farewell happened to be a prolonged affair. Rediff.com's Bikash Mohapatra summarises The Master Blaster's gradual retirement from the sport in four acts.
As player and captain, Ricky Ponting, says Bikash Mohapatra, was someone who refused to go by the book, didn't shy away from controversy and, yet, more often than not, got the desired results.
Two-and-a-half years after making his ODI debut, Virender Sehwag played his first Test. Eleven years and 99 Tests later, the 32-year-old has done incredibly well for himself, says Bikash Mohapatra.
Spanish giants Real Madrid is guilty of prematurely selling its star acquisitions. Bikash Mohapatra points out that the same players have immediately gone on to make significant impressions elsewhere.
Rediff.com's Bikash Mohapatra, who witnessed the historic re-election of Barack Obama as president, talks to former Indian Ambassador to the US Meera Shankar about the future of the ties between the two democracies
The MA Chidambaram stadium has traditionally been a happy hunting ground for Team India but that not the case for Australia, who have struggled at this ground, writes Bikash Mohapatra.
Even as Marat Safin prepares to take the plunge come December, rediff.com takes a look at a few other tennis stars who have entered the political arena.
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