India played a terrific combination against England and the master stroke was playing Piyush Chawla. Harbhajan and Piyush will hopefully be persisted with, and the addition of R Ashwin will make it a formidable trio, especially on the Premadasa pitch.
Sourav Ganguly writes
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You can't argue about the weather, and now India and New Zealand will be hoping for a game on Tuesday. Plan all you like but leading into a big tournament, nothing can replicate hard match practice.
John Wright writes.
The T20 World Cup actually gets underway on Monday itself, and I am confident there will be no bigger match than the India-Pakistan tie in the preliminary phase.
Inzamam-ul Haq writes.
Competing in tournament play is very different from your usual, often humdrum nation-vs-nation limited-over series. Tournaments usually consist of two stages. The first job is to drag yourself out of the group stage.
John Wright says.
After a few one-sided matches for the big guns, the nerve-tickling matches start off now. Hosts Sri Lanka take on South Africa in Hambantota and Australia will cross swords with one of the most sort after sides, the West Indies, at Colombo. Sourav Ganguly writes.
It's the first big match for India in the preliminary group phase and the contest against England should be a good one. Both the teams have played and won against Afghanistan in their opening tie and one shouldn't try to draw any conclusion by looking at the margin of victory of both sides.
Sourav Ganguly writes.
After their victory against India in the warm-up game, Pakistan should have the mental edge over any team. They should feel confident after that victory because it tested Pakistan in every possible manner and the boys finally came out on top.
Inzamam-ul Haq writes.
New Zealand vs Pakistan
The first week of the ICC World T20 tournament has resembled a couple of young lovers on a getting-to-know-you date; a lot of foreplay but not much action.
Ian Chappell writes.
No knockout punch
The oldest track on Formula One calendar should feature on the wishlist of every motorsport fan.
Joe Saward writes.
The idea was to promote sport in India. Somewhere down the line, appeasing the Union sports minister, who is also the head of the governing body of the Sports Authority of India (SAI), too became a priority, Navneet Singh reports.
Amid the clamour to celebrate India’s best-ever Olympic show, a visit to the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Bawana near New Delhi serves as a reality check. Here tomorrow’s stars live and train in conditions that at best is, well, depressing, Navneet Singh reports.
Romain Grosjean has been banned from racing at the Italian Grand Prix, his punishment for causing the first corner accident at Spa. The Frenchman is young and is a man under pressure.
Joe Saward writes.
With the Olympics just over the athletes, especially the medal winners, fit into three categories: the ones who were lucky to have won, the ones who won but were then caught for doping and the ones who defied all odds and human capabilities and really wowed the world. Manisha Malhotra writes.
Should Unmukt Chand, by virtue of being the hero of India's under-19 World Cup victory, be given certain concessions which go against the college and university norms, and be allowed to sit for his exams? Asks
Pradeep Magazine.
It has been a very quiet summer for the Formula 1 world, without too many wild stories kicking about. This is probably because the people who are really involved in the sport have all been on holiday, and so there has been nothing for the rumour-mongers to get their teeth into.
Joe Saward writes.