Graeme Smith was one of the best captains, ever. He led South Africa to a record 53 victories in his 108 Tests in charge. Under his able leadership South Africa rose to become the top-ranked team in Test cricket. He is the only captain to win away series against Australia and England. Failure to win the World Cup, however, says Bikash Mohapatra, will be the biggest regret in an otherwise illustrious career.
The No. 2-ranked Test nation in the world was expected to have it easy against the Black Caps, ranked No. 8. Instead, they will return empty-handed from the trip. Here's a look at how the 11 Indian players -- there was no change in the team for the second Test -- fared in the just-concluded series.
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.
Bikash Mohapatra takes a look at the five best winter transfers in 2014.
'To make Kevin Pietersen the scapegoat is an easy way out for the ECB. It is about not accepting collective failure and brushing the reality under the carpet. It also is about taking your best player for granted. It is not that the ECB bosses do not recognise Pietersen's rare talent,' says Bikash Mohapatra. 'It is just that they cannot accept that such genius is accompanied by a temperament that needs to be dealt with delicately.'
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.
Four fashion designers of Indian origins took the New York Fashion Week by storm while American Donna Karan's India sojourn inspired her latest line.
Four fashion designers of Indian origins took the New York Fashion Week by storm while American Donna Karan's India sojourn inspired her latest line.
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.
The biggest names to snub the Premier League in the transfer window.
While winning the World Championships is a huge achievement in itself, the only thing that probably surpasses it is a gold medal at the Olympics. A day after the World Championships, we take a look at those few athletes who successfully managed to repeat their gold medal winning efforts at the London Olympics in Moscow.
Niranjan Shah, manager when India last toured New Zealand, tells Bikash Mohapatra M S Dhon's team has enough experience to emerge triumphant in both the Tests and ODIs again.
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
Despite talk about doing well overseas, the reality is it will take more time, and a concentrated effort -- and that includes making sporting wickets at home -- for Team India to perform consistently overseas, let alone win, says Bikash Mohapatra.
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.
While 2013 saw the sun set on one of the most successful cricket careers, it also threw up two new Indian stars in the galaxy, says 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.
Bikash Mohapatra ellaborates on a 'hat-trick' which Kieron Pollard would like to forget in a hurry.
The good, bad and ugly looks of the week.
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.
With the recovery of six more bodies, the toll in the boat mishap in Hirakud reservoir in Sambalpur district, Odisha, on Monday rose to 17.
Having covered many a Test match from the media box, Bikash Mohapatra watched Day 2 of the second Test between India and the West Indies from the Wankhede stands. At the end of it, he says never again!
Gareth Bale becomes the latest 'galactico' signing by the world's richest club and marks the latest instance when Real Madrid broke its own transfer record. We take a look at the last few instances when Madrid bettered itself in the summer transfer market.
Novak Djokovic's 6-3, 6-4 demolition of the top-ranked Spaniard in the ATP World Tour Finals made him only the seventh player to win the year-end championship at least three times. We take a look at the players who preceded the Serb to the feat.
While Martina Navratilova, Bjorn Bjorg, Steffi Graf, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer thrived at Wimbledon, the grass surface of the hallowed courts, says Bikash Mohapatra, also proved the graveyard of many other tennis greats.
Umpire Nigel Llong inadvertently had a role to play in two key moments of the legend's last Test appearance at the Eden Gardens. The second, says Bikash Mohapatra, will ensure he won't be a popular figure in India for some time to come.
Rohit Sharma's 127 is not just a debut Test hundred. It is a tribute to fortitude, perseverance and self-belief.
Former India all-rounder Laxmi Ratan Shukla tells Bikash Mohapatra there will not be any pressure on the batting legend in his farewell Tests as he handled it so well in all these years.
Bikash Mohapatra picks six individual performances that proved decisive in India beating Australia 4-0 in the just-concluded Test series.
Two forensic experts, who had provided scientific support and services in the probe into the December 16 gang rape-cum-murder case, were cross-examined by the defence counsel for four adult accused in a Delhi court.
Ram Sampath and Sona Mohapatra recently recorded an episode for the upcoming season of Coke Studio.
In an exclusive interview to Bikash Mohapatra, NBA legend Ron Harper goes back in time to talk about his career, Michael Jordan and why he wants to be like his illustrious coach.
Bikash Mohapatra takes a look the transfer market, wherein some clubs have made quality purchases without actually breaking the bank.
Check out the pictures of Sir Ian McKellen, Sonam Kapoor and others at the opening of the 7th Kashish Film Festival .
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 possibility of Republican candidate Mitt Romney winning more states, and the popular vote, and yet losing the election looms large. Rediff.com's Bikash Mohapatra reports from Ohio, one of the battleground states in America's presidential election
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