The dawn of a new era had begun under Sourav Ganguly's aggressive leadership. With Ganguly and Coach John Wright at the helm India had transitioned into a force to be reckoned with.

This period saw big stars of the likes of Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev fade into the sunset while it was witness to the birth of slew of young Indian cricketers that made their mark home and abroad.

Ricky Ponting advised star batters Virat Kohli and Steve Smith to stop trying hard to rediscover their best and pushing themselves too hard and just focus on watching the ball and scoring runs.

History has not seen a cricketing rivalry as fierce as this this century, every ball bowled every run taken, coming with no quarter given. Ahead of India's five Test tour of Australia, Norma Astrid Godinho/Rediff.com takes a walk down memory lane, recounting India's sojourns Down Under from 1947 to 2021, in a 4-part series.

Zeenat Aman had scored more hit songs than any of her contemporaries. This can be attributed partly to happenstance and partly to the fact that her forte for high glamour could be showcased most winningly in a crowd-pleasing number, observes Dinesh Raheja.

An average voter turnout of 20 per cent was recorded in the first four hours of voting in the bypolls to 15 assembly seats spread across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala and Uttarakhand on Wednesday amid an incident of stone pelting in a village in UP's Meerapur and allegations of police personnel deterring voters from casting their ballot.

Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the first Test against Australia in Perth?

Voters, it is said, get the government they deserve. We will soon see what voters in Maharashtra choose. Till then, a sense of helplessness and scepticism hangs in the air, notes Ramesh Menon.

A late penalty from Bryan Zaragoza secured Spain a 3-2 win over Switzerland in their final Nations League Group A4 game on Monday.

India Inc continued to grapple with muted revenue growth in the September 2024 quarter (Q2FY25) and witnessed a decline in margins and profits. The headwinds were especially severe for non-financial companies, while banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) firms significantly outpaced the rest of the corporate sector. The total profit of 1,353 listed companies that have released their Q2FY25 results thus far dropped by 0.6 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) - the first cumulative earnings decline in eight quarters.

Two more insolvency petitions were filed by Sabarmati Aviation and JetAir 17 against budget carrier Spicejet at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Monday. The NCLT issued a notice to the airline over the plea by operational creditor Sabarmati Aviation while asking another complainant, JetAir 17, to file additional documents in support of its claims of $27 million.

After a brutal selloff since October, foreign portfolio investor (FPI) flows for the year-to-date (YTD) in 2024 have turned negative. In early September, YTD FPI investments peaked at a record Rs 22,000 crore ($2.6 billion). This wave of selling has also pulled down benchmark indices, with the Nifty's YTD returns declining to 11 per cent from their high of 21 per cent in September.

Can the young trio of Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Akash Deep leave a mark in the Border Gavaskar Trophy series?

Israel debutant Yarden Shua scored an 86th-minute winner as they upset more fancied Belgium 1-0 in Budapest on Sunday.

The city's 24-hour Air Quality Index (AQI), recorded at 4 pm daily, stood at 417, making it the worst in the country. On Friday, the AQI level was 396.

France qualified for the quarter-finals of the Nations League despite a lacklustre goalless draw against Israel on Thursday.

'I would think a hundred times before I wrote a gay character or a mentally challenged character because it requires a lot of research and empathy. That's the reason I shy away entirely from stories that have rape. I just can't. It's just terrifying for me, as a woman, to handle subjects like that because it's so sensitive.'

The city's 24-hour Air Quality Index, recorded at 4 pm every day, stood at 418, up from 334 the previous day, and it may trigger stringent restrictions under the third stage of the graded response action plan to mitigate hazardous conditions.

'Price competition is fierce, with many companies selling at zero margin.' 'This pricing pressure is challenging smaller companies and will likely drive some out of the market over time.'

IMAGES from the second T20I in Gqeberha played between India and South Africa on Sunday

Hyderabad FC scripted a sensational comeback to sink Kerala Blasters 2-1 in a thrilling Indian Super League match.

The Biden administration's failure in stopping two major wars and several minor ones was seen as a major disaster by many Americans and the world at large, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.

'Whether I am optimistic or pessimistic is not the issue; I am just going by the evidence available.' 'The Indian economy and financial sector are now well-placed and very resilient in dealing with any kind of spillover coming from the external world.'

He steered the team away from trouble and kept grinding. His innings of 80 consisted of 6 fours and 2 maximums.

'A dynamic bond fund acts like a gilt fund in a rate cut scenario and like a conservative short-term bond fund when rates rise.'

'While criticising India's high tariffs, Mr Trump stated he would impose reciprocal taxes on Indian products if re-elected.' 'However, since India's tariffs follow WTO rules, Mr Trump's actions would violate these rules,' Ajay Srivastava points out.

'They need batters who can bat out a full session in Australia.' 'You have seniors like Pujara and Rahane, who are scoring runs in domestic cricket. They have experience of Australian conditions too.' 'They should be given a chance to make a comeback, no harm in trying especially when your batting line-up is not even lasting a full session.'

For India, the biggest disappointment was the poor showing of their senior most players Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin.

IMAGES from Day 3 of the third Test between India and New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday

New Zealand's bowlers exploited the favorable conditions at the Wankhede Stadium, decimating India's top order in the early overs.

Flamboyant keeper-batter Ishan Kishan walked into the middle and he looked in the mood as he played some impressive shots, including pulling O'Neill for a six.

A first information report (FIR) was registered in Mumbai on Friday against Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray MP Arvind Sawant for referring to Shaina N C, an assembly elections candidate of the rival Shiv Sena, as 'imported maal'.

We asked colleagues, present and past, to reflect on a man who has made such a difference to their lives and careers. Here it is then, a rich collection of memories that offer enchanting glimpses of the enigmatic Ajit Balakrishnan.

A six-wicket haul from pacer Mukesh Kumar helped India A stay in the hunt during their first unofficial Test against Australia A at Mackay, Australia on Friday.

Showing total disregard for the US constitution, Trump has said that this could be the last election to be held in the country. A Trump presidency could lead to mass deportation of undocumented migrants and harsh family separation, warns Aseem Chhabra.

Among major economies, India in FY23 recorded the steepest increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, climbing 6.1 per cent, with China trailing close behind at 5.2 per cent, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Emissions Gap Report 2024. In contrast, GHG emission decreased in both the European Union (EU) and the United States (US) by 7.5 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively. Despite India's rise, its 2023 GHG emission remains relatively low at 4,140 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCOe) against China's 16,000 and the US's 5,970.

'GenAI programmes may not be large in terms of value, but have triggered a lot of new opportunities among clients.'

Rohit has managed just one half-century in his last eight innings in which he has tallied 104 runs. Kohli's freefall in Test cricket continues. He has fallen to spin three times in the first two Tests. Ashwin, usually, dominant at home, managed just six wickets in the first two Tests at an average of 43.

Jarrod Bowen converted a last-gasp penalty to lift West Ham United to a 2-1 Premier League victory over Manchester United in a fluctuating clash between two struggling sides on Sunday.

It was a stunning defeat for India, who were dismantled by eight wickets in seamer-friendly conditions in the opening match at Bengaluru, as they suffered their first series loss on home soil since falling to England in 2012.