From pain to pleasure: Novak Djokovic's rocky road to magnificent seven

• Djokovic is now just two behind Nadal's total of 17 Grand Slams and five shy of Roger Federer's record of 20
• Djokovic's ability to thrive among the greats has never been in doubt, but the size of his heart often led to questions

The golden era of results in Test cricket is here

The oldest and longest format of cricket is now alive and kicking. One reason for this is that its tendency to generate a result is at an all-time high

IPL: BCCI announces schedule for 2 weeks, CSK to play RCB in opener

• The opening game has been scheduled for 23 March in Chennai, the BCCI announced in its schedule comprising 17 games

• A total of 17 matches will be played during this two-week phase across the 8 home venues of the respective franchises

Four narratives around Champions League 2019

• The knockout stages of this year’s Champions League kicked off this week
• Here is a look at four storylines that could end up defining the title race

Return of the car manufacturers to Formula 1

• With Italian carmaker Alfa Romeo increasing its involvement, Formula 1 will have four carmakers leading a team each for the first time since 2009
• To win in F1 today, one has to throw money. And mostly, only car manufacturers can do that

The rise of kabaddi and the demise of hockey

• Since the launch of the Pro Kabaddi League, interest in kabaddi has risen and it now competes with football as India’s most popular sport after cricket
• Kabaddi’s resurgence is also confirmed by another measure: Google Trends

Where does centre’s ₹1,575 crore sports budget go?

Over the last ten years, the share of the national sports federations in the central government’s overall sports budget has tripled

From medicine to tennis: Astra Sharma's fascinating journey 

• At the end of 2016, she was ranked 974 in WTA singles rankings
• In just over two years, she has broken into the top 250 women tennis players in the world

The changing geography of Ranji Trophy winners

• Growing commercialization and changes in formats and rules are broadening the scope of contenders in the premier domestic cricket competition
• Since 2008-09, as many as 26 teams have made it to the quarter-finals, 18 to the semis, 11 to the finals and there have been five winners

BCCI lifts bans on Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul

• Batsman Rahul and all-rounder Pandya were sent home from India's tour of Australia two weeks ago

• The two cricketers had been in limbo since their suspension on 11 Jan due to a split in the two-member CoA over next course of action

Cristiano Ronaldo avoids jail but hit by hefty fine for tax fraud in Spain

• The court sentenced him to a two-year jail sentence that it immediately reduced to a fine of 365,000 euros
• Ronaldo, who last year joined Italian champions Juventus, returned to Madrid for a brief court appearance which lasted around 40 minutes

How Roger Federer’s tilt at 100 singles titles stands out

Federer's 99 singles titlesthe second-most everare a cut above the men in his vicinity in three ways: quality, longevity and versatility on the turf.

India crash out of AFC Asian Cup with 0-1 defeat to Bahrain

India finished outside the top two after the the group's other game between UAE and Thailand ended in a 1-1 draw

Shuttler Kidambi Srikanth signs 4-year deal with Li-Ning

The deal, which is valued at 35 crore for a period of four years, will comprise sponsorship and equipment supply

The contrasting game plan of  Liverpool, Manchester City

The top-ranked sides in the English Premier League are separated by just four points, and by their approach to movement and workload on the field

Netmeds is title sponsor for upcoming India-New Zealand ODI, T20 series

Netmeds is the title sponsor for the One Day International (ODI) and T20 series scheduled to be held in New Zealand from 23 January to 10 February 2019

IPL 2019 to be held entirely in India from 23 March

The decision has put to rest concerns that BCCI would be forced to host IPL 2019 outside India as the dates might have clashed with Lok Sabha elections due by May

From lambs abroad to lions, India tame Australia

Virat Kohli has shown he is fair to his players, leads from the front as the No. 1 batsman in the world and has brought in a culture of fitness

Australia series win my biggest achievement: Virat Kohli

It was at Sydney that Virat Kohli was annointed with permanent Test captaincy and it is at the very ground that he created an epic chapter in Indian cricket history