Thanks to some commanding performances, India have firmly entrenched themselves as favourites to win the Champions Trophy. While the seam bowling has been a pleasant surprise, it’s India’s powerful batting line-up that has made them the envy of everyone.

Following some forgettable outings, fresh faces have given India a settled look. Rohit Bhaskar reports.

Forty summers ago, England opener Dennis Amiss declined a second run that his opening partner Geoff Boycott, often the cause of his partners being run out, called. Both batsmen were at the same end. Boycott was back in the pavilion for 1, Amiss went on hit a hundred that ensured an England victory.
On the occasion of Father’s Day, HT brings to you a from-the-heart account of a dad who moulded a world beater. Dr Vece Paes writes.
Phil Mickelson was holding onto his lead at the US Open on Friday even without playing a shot as the early second-round starters failed to make up ground on the American crowd favorite.

We’ve made life a little difficult for ourselves after that defeat to Kolkata and that means today’s clash against the Kings XI and our final game against Chennai Super Kings are must-win encounters.
Chris Gayle writes.

Like the king in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, BCCI chief N Srinivasan was solemn, earnest and clueless when the current spot-fixing scam first came to light.
Ayaz Memon writes.
As the story of spot fixing gets deeper and dirtier, I remind myself of the seemingly untouched early 1990s — the era when mobile phones hadn't yet become indispensable, and honey traps considered a bit too improper. Aakash Chopra writes.
Safety norms in motorsport is a large and complex subject. In saying so, one also needs to adopt a practical approach with a lot of common sense added to it. Accidents can happen due to driver error, faulty equipment or due to a slippery surface, writes Akbar Ebrahim.
Being out of the Olympic movement has been the biggest setback for Indian sports, but it gives us the opportunity to leap into the future, writes RVS Rathore.

In sport, there is a huge advantage of playing at home. Cricket also toes the home advantage line, though I am not sure whether it ought to be as massive a factor as it is turning out to be this season.
Javagal Srinath writes.
It’s hard to remain a ‘mystery’ in today’s times — with all the video footage available to scrutinise every movement in slow-motion, the action has shifted from the 22 yards to the editing table, writes Aakash Chopra.

We can take a lot of heart from our performance against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday. While it was disappointing to have lost the game, we did a great job in defending a low score to force a tie, reports
Chris Gayle.
It was only a few weeks back that I saw Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan put on a 100 runs playing for the Rest of India. So, it was really pleasing to see them put on 100-plus runs for India in a Test match this time.
Sanjay Manjrekar writes.

Beating Australia 4-0 is no mean feat. No matter what the conditions, beating a mainstream international team four times in four Test matches and often well under five days is a terrific achievement.
Sanjay Manjrekar writes.