As we head to the head to the business end of the tournament, that involves three former champions, a look at the players who flattered to deceive, faltering under the weight of expectations, hurting their respective teams.
Raja Sen analyses the contenders for the Best Director category at the Oscars.
In Shujaat Bukhari, Kashmir has lost a journalist, an activist, ambassador, a formidable voice and, above all, a great human being, mourns Athar Parvaiz.
Victoria Azarenka cannot wait to renew her rivalry with close friend Serena Williams in what could shape up to become a future battle of the tennis mums.
'When Sushma Swaraj was campaigning like a one-man army against Pakistan for the treatment meted out to Chetna Jadhav and her mother-in-law, India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval was secretly huddled with his Pakistani counterpart in Bangkok.' 'It is becoming impossible to make rational judgments about our government's Pakistan policies,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'I hope against hope that Indian film-makers don't take their future cue from the creator of this insufferable franchise,' says J Jagannath.
'It is rare that a Hindi language film delivers so much promise in the first half. And so it is extremely disappointing when the director and his script lead us on the journey that starts to meander and eventually fizzles out, collapses and dies in front of our eyes.'
In photos: Remembering the longest-serving James Bond.
'Both Modi and Shah know the importance attached by Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita to self-introspection (swadhyay) as one of the virtues of wise leaders.' 'From the way both leaders are painting the BJP's performance in the Karnataka election, one can only conclude that they have flunked Lord Krishna's test,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
'Modi's recent decisions to improve India-China relations, adjust India's neighbourhood policies and to rebalance India's ties with the major powers are linked to his political agenda.' 'Of course, the good part is that this agenda is also in the national interest,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Bombay Velvet is an obviously shallow film, an all-out retro masala-movie with homage on the rocks and cocktail-shakers brimming with cliche.
Stupidity knows no boundaries just like smartness, oxygen, and maybe football, says Maharaj Damodardas.
Jab Harry Met Sejal has the stars, the songs, the scenery and everything you'd imagine in a love story. But in the absence of soul, none of it really matters, feels Sukanya Verma.
Amitabh Bachchan is excellent, no question. Only his mystery involved an elusive bottle of Isabgol, says Raja Sen.
Abhishek has been posting fond memories and interesting anecdotes on Instagram, recapping his #RoadTo20.
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Laxmi Negi/Rediff.com lists the five talking points from the Indian Super League match between Mumbai City FC and Chennaiyin FC at the DY Patil stadium
Aggarwal also hit out at the media, saying why it was only talking about Jadhav when hundreds of Indians were lodged in Pakistani jails.
How India's players fared in Australia.
'By crudely dragging the topic into the bazaar to flog it for momentary pleasure, we turned it into a dead carcass by the time Modi even got back from Xiamen,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
No one on that glittery occasion could possibly have imagined that the Chinese were conspiring to invade India, nor could anyone have predicted that the seemingly benign Dalai Lama was plotting to flee Tibet and seek asylum in India. A fascinating excerpt from Sukanya Rahman's must-read Dancing In The Family: The Extraordinary Story Of The First Family Of Indian Classical Dance.
Ajit Balakrishnan on how Indian society and the polity need to be carried along.
'What Trump and Kim have demonstrated is that leaders need not remain prisoners of the status quo and they can, by showing the necessary will and courage, break out of the hang-ups and constrictions of the past and carve out a new pathway for themselves,' says B S Raghavan.
Smashing Warner. Amazing Stokes. Super Smith. Pure Amla...
When Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje Scindia decided to convert her government's capital outpost into a hub of culture, she transformed Bikaner House into Delhi's premier cultural space, notes Kishore Singh.
The other day I did a small gig on what a real estate agent says and how you should interpret it... today it is the turn of the insurance agent. :-)
Sukanya Verma's pick of this year's 10 most unpleasant is a mix of ghastly gone gaga, bilge that makes one reconsider their profession and faith-shattering misfires from the masters
Pakistan on Monday made it clear that there was no case against designated terrorist Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, and he is free to roam in the country.
'Saaho is one of the biggest films I have worked in.' 'Recently, we shot one of the biggest action sequences you will see in Indian cinema.'
This is mostly a bloated, highly undistinguished bit of mythmaking, stuffed to the gills with cliched characters and motivations, says Raja Sen.
When South Africa lost to India on Sunday, they cemented their reputation for 'choking' in ICC tournaments. Rajneesh Gupta tells us why South Africa's record for freezing in important ICC contests is, alas, well deserved.
Ageing leadership, reckless family-oriented politics, absence of inner-party democracy, lack of debate on core issues within the party are all taking a very heavy toll on the original Dravidian party, says R Ramasubramanian.
It can if your debit card belongs to a PSU bank
T Thomas, former chairman of Hindustan Unilever, passed away March 2.
More than the revenue component, the movies gain hugely in terms of visibility and reach, reports T E Narasimhan.
It ends poorly, sure, and has some clumsy moments on the way, but as a children's film, A Flying Jatt goes a helluva lot further than those Krrish things, feels Raja Sen.
The film is a meaningless romantic comedy that makes a pathetic attempt to portray the emotional upheavals you go through in life before finding your true love.
'I know all good things have to end someday. But memories, especially film memories are special,' says Aseem Chhabra.
Zubaan emerges, sadly, like one of those ads where you can half-hum the song but you forget what it was for, feels Raja Sen.
'LinkedIn is supposed to be this super-connected social media network for professionals that I reluctantly joined at the persistence of a former colleague appalled at my lack of self-promotion.' 'Well, I'm out there and I don't know who knows me, but I do know that LinkedIn's algorithm definitely doesn't,' says Kanika Datta.
