The epithets of colossus and regal were reserved for Sunil Gavaskar and Gundappa Viswanath but Dilip Vengsarkar has no regrets that he was not as feted as his two illustrious colleagues, saying he cherished an 'extremely fulfilling' career. Vengsarkar, who turned 64 on Monday, was India's batting mainstay during the 1980s when he outscored the iconic Gavaskar as his upright stance and ability to play swing and spin with aplomb was a delight for Test afficianados.

PK Banerjee was captain of the Indian team that last played the Olympics in Rome 1960. He retired as a player in 1967 after being laid low by recurring injuries. But then went on accumulate a staggering 54 trophies as a coach.

Explosives, weighing totally nearly 750 kgs, were used in a controlled manner to bring down the lakeside structures in Maradu, eight months after the apex court ordered their demolition for violation of the Coastal Regulation Zone norms.

'Since the rise of the Modi-Shah paradigm, the BJP has followed a simple formula.' 'Sweep the Hindi heartland and the two big Western states, and you can rule India with a majority by just adding some little bits on the platter from here and there,' points out Shekhar Gupta.

Many former players believe that storming out of games is a powerful tool to counter racism, a move that will force administrators to take the problem more seriously, and act in a way that compels clubs to obliterate such a culture and evict those responsible, says Dhruv Munjal.

Does Abhijit Banerjee's Nobel Prize help India reduce extreme poverty, asks Rajeev Srinivasan.

Liverpool a dramatic 2-1 victory over Leicester City at Anfield, thus maintaining the league leaders' 100 per cent start

Mithali Raj decided to quit T20 Internationals after a career spanning 89 matches

J P Nadda is a man to watch in the BJP.

Birla was the chairman of Century Textiles and Industries and had been active in business since the age of 15. He was instrumental in a slew of business initiatives, starting with his stint as the chairman of Kesoram Industries.

A cricketing rivalry that transcends beyond the realms of 22-yards will be reignited when India and Pakistan square off in a World Cup encounter that could have fascinating sub-plots with rain gods threatening an anti-climactic twist.

'Extravagant new promises can buy him time, but far from solving the problem, they compound the risk.' 'His main alternative is to stress not aspirations, but resentments.' 'He has already de-emphasised aspirational appeals: Nothing has been heard for over two years of the coming of achhe din,' points out James Manor.

Ambassador T P Sreenivasan remembers Daniel Babu Paul, a most unusual civil servant who passed into the ages on Friday.

With regard to his investment in Ola, Bansal said that on the one hand, the ride-hailing major had emerged as a global force in the mobility space and on the other it continued to build deeper for various needs of a billion Indians through its platform. This is the largest funding by an individual in the app cab.

'George was a politician with a difference. He had the ability to stand alone, take a position, however extreme, and sustain that position,' remembers Arun Jaitley.

'India's economic fundamentals are much too strong to be affected by his resignation,' says B S Raghavan.

'He was the first creative person to recognise and fully realise the power of film in an era when press ads were the only competence of Indian creatives.'

West Indies, on the other hand, would be desperate to return home with some positivity at the end of a two-month long series in which they lost both the Test and ODI series.

Mary Kom is just a couple of months shy of turning 36 but said she isn't going to slow down either at home or inside the ring.

Dinesh Raheja salutes the legend's versatility in her heyday.

'He always had a choice to resign and walk toward the sunset in protest.' 'Instead, he chose to be a mute witness to one of the most sordid chapters of India's parliamentary history when MPs were bought up like cattle to steer the nuclear deal through,' says M K Bhadrakumar.

Prime Minister Modi described the DMK chief as a prolific thinker and a deep-rooted mass leader who stood for regional aspiration and national progress.

'Chaotic prison breaks, mission misadventure gone horribly wrong, eye-popping surprises, zingers and zany action keeps viewers joyously glued to their chairs,' says Sukanya Verma.

Yeddyurappa lacks the Karnataka BJP's unqualified support and Shah knows that.

'The silky touch, the swerving runs, the parabola pass perfection, the goals -- Salah on a football pitch these days is a sporting experience so celestial you feel inebriated just witnessing it.' 'It is football of the gods: Pure, eye-popping and incomprehensible,' applauds Dhruv Munjal.

He was blessed with celestial ability, a once-in-a-generation player destined to pull India out of its hockey inertia and lay down for it a new, exciting, path of greatness. Then he was shot and unsure if he would walk, let alone play hockey again. Dhruv Munjal hopes Soorma, the biopic on Sandeep Singh's life, will bring him back where he belongs -- in the spotlight.

Virat Kohli batted continuously for over a day in Delhi and showed no signs of fatigue caused by the pollution, marvels Dhruv Munjal.

Baazigar O Baazigar!

'For more than two decades, Pirlo, with the velvety touch, penetrative eye, and parabola-pass perfection, roamed the middle of the park like a creative colossus.'

Mo Farah brought down the curtain on his peerless track career in Britain by winning his farewell race on home soil on an emotional afternoon at the Birmingham Grand Prix Diamond League meeting on Sunday.

'This is not a moral but a political question yet its importance is likely to grow with every passing day,' says Karan Thapar.

Naresh Chandra -- distinguished civil servant and diplomat -- passed into the ages on Sunday, July 9. Ambassador T P Sreenivasan salutes a patriot like none other.<

One thing Beijing must understand is that India is not obsessed with being a threat to China but only wants a rightful place for itself in the world, says Sanjeev Nayyar.

The astronomical fee paid for Ben Stokes at the IPL auction is a confirmation of his status as the modern game's finest all-rounder.

President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Union ministers, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and various other top leaders have condoled Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's demise and paid glowing tributes to her.

'She dwarfs every known politician of recent times with her imperious aura, iron will, tremendous drive, dauntless pursuit of goals she set before herself, ability to capture the people's imagination and unshakeable grip over her party and government,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.

What makes Ravichandran Ashwin the world's premier Test spinner?

Usain Bolt has enthralled hundreds of thousands in stadiums in Beijing, London and Rio as well as billions around the world.

For all the positives that England can take from their performance against Russia in their opening Euro 2016 game there remains the worrying issue that their sophisticated modern defenders remain vulnerable to the most basic of attacking ploys -- a long punt into the box.

All the BJP's present leaders from UP put together cannot win the state for the party. So how about an out-of-the-box leader like Subramanian Swamy, asks Nazarwala, the man who called right the 2007 and 2012 UP elections.