The start to the 13 Tests long season could not have been better for India. A convincing win in their 500th Test over New Zealand with spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja weaving their magic on a turning track to hand India a 1-0 lead in the three-match Test series. Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq receiving the Test mace for their meteoric rise to No.1 ranking in cricket's traditional format. Also, football took precedence once again, a struggling Manchester United ran riot at Old Trafford as they beat Premier League champions Leicester 4-1. An outstanding first-half performance by Arsenal helping them beat London rivals Chelsea. Other top teams like Manchester City and Liverpool also taking full points.
Mumbai City FC bounced back from three consecutive defeats with a spirited 2-1 victory against Atletico de Kolkata 2-1 in their 13th round Indian Super League match, in Mumbai, on Sunday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Iain Hume struck his second hat-trick of the season as defending champions Atletico de Kolkata today became the first team to seal a semifinal berth following their 4-1 rout of FC Pune City in the Indian Super League football tournament at the Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Friday.
Carlos Tevez has been included in the squad for the first time in three years for next month's friendlies in England against Croatia and Portugal.
A Real Madrid vice president has admitted unspecified problems have delayed the signing of Tottenham Hotspur's Gareth Bale although he predicted the deal would be agreed before the transfer window closes next week.
Included in Barcelona squad to face Dortmund
Enjoy our fascinating series where film folk reveal what their movies taught them...
Here is Rediff.com's selection of some stories from Thursday that you may not have read in the morning newspaper.
Wes Morgan's 90th-minute header earned 10-man Leicester City a 2-1 victory over relegation-threatened Burnley at Turf Moor in the Premier League on Saturday.
Watch stars dazzle at the red carpet.
The top posts on social media from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick to help a second-string Argentina record an easy 4-0 away win over Guatemala in a friendly and overtake Diego Maradona's international goals tally.
The top posts on social media from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
Atletico de Kolkata, reduced to ten men from the 43d minute, reached the final of the Indian Super League on goal aggregate after playing out a hard-tackling, goalless draw with Mumbai City FC in the second leg semi-final.
The top posts on social media from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
15 photographs that prove we live in an odd, odd world!
Mario Balotelli enjoyed a rare moment of ecstasy in a Liverpool shirt by inspiring a 2-1 win over Swansea City in the League Cup on Tuesday while Chelsea had to call for reinforcements to see off Shrewsbury Town.
After watching his first football match at an Indian stadium, Bollywood star Ranbir Kapoor said the atmosphere during the lung opener of the ISL in Kolkata matched any top international games.
This year on Teacher's Day, we take a tongue-in-cheek look at the 10 invaluable lessons Bollywood has imparted.
A look at the top tweets from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane made up for the absence of Sergio Ramos by scoring one goal and making another to help his side to a hard-fought 3-0 win at Getafe. La Liga leaders Barcelona were held to a 2-2 draw at struggling Espanyol on Saturday as China striker Wu Lei came off the bench to grab a late equaliser in a pulsating city derby.
'God gave me a second chance to live and I had to make the most of it.'
Trade analyst Vinod Mirani gives us the weekly box office verdict.
This week's collection of unbelievably unusual images from across the world
Spain, who have several players from their country's top two football academies - the La Masia and Real Madrid academies -- were beaten 1-2 by South American champions and hot favourites Brazil in their first Group D match.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Barcelona's fourth defeat of the season left them seventh in the standings on 14 points after 10 games, 12 points behind leaders Atletico.
The Delhi girl will represent India at the Miss World contest
Lionel Messi announced on Friday that he wants to return to play for the national team, reversing his decision to retire earlier this year. Messi said in June that he would not play for Argentina again after the team lost to Chile in the final of the Copa America.
The hits and misses of the week.
'The way the daredevil feats are set up, they don't have the maniacal feeling of actual gun battles, or good jazz, or a whacked-out dance performance -- they just don't provide you that giddy tingle you go looking for in such films,' feels Sreehari Nair.
Atletico Madrid crashed out of the Copa del Rey to Girona on Wednesday following a highly entertaining 3-3 draw at home to the Catalan side, who sneaked through to the quarter-finals on away goals after the tie finished 4-4 on aggregate.
The top posts on social media from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
There's no head or tails to anything that happens in Saaho, says Sukanya Verma.
