Uttar Pradesh clinched their maiden Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy with a thumping 38-run win over two-time champions Baroda in the final under flood-lights at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday.
India's carefully devised plan to triumph in England seems to be coming undone with injuries to their key bowlers.
'T20 is so fast-paced that a coach can do very little from the sidelines, you need a very good captain, who can take decisions there and then.'
'For me, Dhoni is the main guy in the middle order and people will revolve around him.'
'The confidence and the kind of cricket India has played in the recent past will be a big factor.'
126 of Ashwin's 176 Test wickets, points out Bikash Mohapatra, have come on home turf. Half of the remaining 50 have come on similar surfaces in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
'These girls keep complaining to their godmother or godfather.'' 'The people at the top listen to whatever the players say, but they don't know what is happening in the team.'
Will Ravi Shastri be retained or will the BCCI opt for a new face?
'I am feeling so nervous. I will be among so many big politicians.' 'It is a big responsibility and I hope I learn every day and do something for the people in whatever way I can.'
'I have not fought in a 10-round fight before, but my training will help me give my best till the end.' 'If I get the opportunity to knock him out early I will go for it.'
The big stars who failed to live up to expectations and ended up disappointing not only their IPL franchises but also their fans.
'I look to make a comeback in the Indian team,' Shanthakumaran Sreesanth tells Rediff.com's Harish Kotian.
'The players all appreciate -- we all appreciate -- the fact that despite the pandemic and the restrictions, because of all of this protocol that has been put in place, the IPL season is still happening.'
'It is performing for my country which motivates me every day.' 'That is why till the day I can give my best I will continue to be in boxing.'
'No 3 batsmen are very crucial in the way the team sets up a total.'
Despite taking a career-best six for four in an ODI against Bangladesh in Dhaka in June, Stuart Binny is, however, yet to win the confidence of captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and the team management. He was benched throughout the ODI series in England before being dropped for the recent controversy-ridden ODI series against the West Indies.
The Master recalls it was his match-winning century on his 25th birthday.
Ahead of the selectors' meeting in Mumbai on Wednesday, May 20, Harish Kotian picks the team he considers best to take on Bangladesh in the one-off Test in Fatullah from June 10 to 14.
'After his back injury, he needs to look after himself.' 'He needs to keep working on his bowling.'
'This is the only country where success seems to be viewed as a bad thing.' 'Other governments and countries go out of their way to protect a successful organisation. Here we find ways of destroying it.'
'If we focus on doing the basics well and give our best in whatever we do, then we have a good chance of going through the semis.' 'After that, we need just two good days to win the World Cup.'
The South African batting great revealed how he would pen love letters for girls in his school but never actually find the courage to hand it over to them.
'Once you know your car well, then you know to drive the car in the race.'
'The way he has been interacting with everybody, be it the masseur or the assistant manager or the driver of the bus, or the new players who have not been part of the IPL before, he is making an effort to reach out to them and give them confidence.' 'That speaks a lot about the man that he is.'
The legend picked Pujara, Umesh for their feats.
Four openers. Two middle order batsmen. Two leg-spinners. Three fast bowlers. Harish Kotian picks his IPL XI from the league stages.
'I believe Bumrah, Ishant, Shami, Umesh, all four can play in the playing XI.'
'I felt Test cricket is just beyond my reach.' 'And slowly, slowly, I started doing well.' 'In the second Test against Pakistan, I scored a fifty and when we went to Sialkot I played a series-saving innings, which was a game changer for me.' 'At that stage that was the most important innings of my life.'
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who claimed five for 32 in South Africa's paltry first innings of 79, says the home side needs to be patient on Day 3 as things will be different in the second innings. Harish Kotian reports from Nagpur.
'Batting against spin bowling you need to have your own individual plan. You can't go into a match saying, "Oh, this wicket is going to spin this much".'
'Without a team nothing can happen, it takes team work or team effort to win matches.' 'Individuals can perform significantly in helping the team win, but if the rest of the guys don't chip in, there is not much an individual can do.'
'I don't think we have ever had so many top players either in singles or doubles,' says badminton legend Prakash Padukone.
A former official tells Rediff.com's Harish Kotian why Shaw deserved a lighter sentence, and why BCCI's anti-doping programme is the best in the country.
Surya Kumar Yadav scored his first century in two years, while Vinit Indulkar hit a half-century in his comeback match, to rally Mumbai after a shaky start against Maharashtra, in the Ranji Trophy quarter-final in Mumbai, on Wednesday. Yadav played a sparkling innings of 120, which included 18 fours in 139 deliveries, while Indulkar's was a patient 82, as Mumbai finished the opening day on 306 for 7 in 84 overs.
Amiya Kumar Mallick, 21, will undergo a four-month training stint in Kingston, Jamaica, under the watchful eyes of Glenn Mills at the Racers Track Club. Mills is the club's head coach and has worked with the two fastest men in the world currently -- Bolt and Yohan Blake.
'He will be missed by all of us in Saurashtra.'
'Everyone has to recalibrate their plans, preparations, peaking, meaning the tournaments they will play in in the lead-up to the Olympics.'
'By God's grace, everything is okay and we are back as friends.'
'Our boxers are mature and strong enough to withstand these kinds of shocks.'
Harish Kotian/Rediff.com highlights what Virat Kohli needs to ponder about, after the Galle defeat
