It was Rishabh Pant's brief, unconvincing stint at the crease that starkly epitomised his season-long struggle
'As the global economy undergoes significant transformations in 2025, India's ability to navigate the complexities of trade wars, financial realignments, and emerging blocs will be pivotal,' explain Harsh V Pant and Soumya Bhowmik.
'Trump's aggressive stance towards China and preference for military posturing could shift the Quad's balance towards overt militarisation.'
Reports (not denied by India) that the USA had 'for the first time provided real-time details to their Indian counterparts on the Chinese positions and force strength in advance of a PLA incursion' into Tawang at the LAC in December 2022, helping India thwart China's expansionist designs, show how operationally effective the USA-India friendship has become on the ground. A engaging excerpt from Sreeram Chaulia's must-read new book, Friends: India's Closest Strategic Partners.
'He said he wanted to apologise because he could never see me being upset.'
Wriddhiman Saha's superior glovework may be given preference over Rishabh Pant's blazing blade in India's opening day-night Test against Australia, starting at the Adelaide Oval from Thursday.
For the captain, Pant is one for the future with the kind of talent he possesses.
'I already won. The fact that I was spotted and my name was heard and my face was all over India! I know how big Bigg Boss is.'
Although the special relationship might compel Bhutan to be considerate of Indian interests, new challenges will likely arise. An emerging new phase of relations will also call for fresh redlines between India and Bhutan, observe Harsh V Pant and Aditya Gowdara Shivamurthy.
The biggest positives with the bat in Perth were Virat Kohli regaining his rhythm and Jaiswal's coming of age hundred in his debut Test in Australia. Both will look to build on those significant gains in Adelaide.
'The future of BRICS is under stress as Chinese attempts to expand the platform are being resisted by India and Brazil.' 'Beijing is focused on a quick expansion with the aim of giving the platform a distinctly anti-Western orientation, which New Delhi and Brasilia seem to have no interest in,' notes Harsh V Pant.
As India's stock rises, the resolution of the border row may become even more difficult, warn Harsh V Pant and Kalpit Mankikar.
Rishabh Pant's flamboyant batting exploits have impressed Farokh Engineer so much that he wondered how the Indian selectors can afford to leave him out in favour of the seasoned Mahendra Singh Dhoni for this year's World Cup in England.
If the decade gone by was one that redefined the contours of global politics in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, it was also a decade that witnessed Indian foreign policy coming into its own, writes Harsh V Pant
'The dominance of her party also meant that the institutions became lopsided -- whether it was the bureaucracy or the courts or the military.' 'She centralised power to the extent that you would see her representatives or her party office bearers having overly represented in these institutions.' 'That perhaps would have been the biggest blunder that she committed.'
'Religion and extremism is going to be a big force, a very important force, in Bangladesh's politics.'
While there seemed to be no takers for Kartik Aryan's Freddy, film folk trooped in to watch Ayushmann Khurrana's Friday release, An Action Hero.
'From April 25, 2021, Modi disappeared. He made no public appearance for 20 days.' 'The prime minister of India fled the field when his people needed the government most,' points out Aakar Patel.
Winless in two matches, both India and Afghanistan are out of the tournament and Thursday's match between the two sides in Dubai has been rendered inconsequential.
'India can't be wasting its precious diplomatic capital on a project that despite its repeated attempts just refuses to gain traction.'
Ravi Shastri said that it was a touching moment for him to get bestowed with the Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award.
At this time, sixty years ago, Brigadier John Parshuram Dalvi and a majority of his men were captured as prisoners of war by the Chinese during the 1962 war. His son Michael Dalvi, 77, has preserved his father's memory and the story of the gallant men of the 7th Infantry Brigade with honour.
If India wants to satisfy the aspirations of its youth, it will have to revamp the higher education system without ifs and buts
'China is constantly probing India's weaknesses.' 'The challenge is to implement a strategy that will allow India to buy time, gather its strength, and eventually counter China,' recommends Harsh V Pant and Vinay Kaura.
'It won't diminish the IPL, it will only grow them as a brand.'
A close examination of the Indian-Iranian relationship reveals an underdeveloped relationship despite all the spin attached to it. India would like to increase its presence in the Iranian energy sector because of its rapidly rising energy needs, and is rightfully feeling restless about its own marginalisation in Iran, says Harsh V Pant.
Australian captain Tim Paine said a 'proud' cricketing nation like India is not going to roll over in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne like they did in the series opener in Adelaide and singled out KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant as potential threats.
The Australian government's decision to sell uranium to India is one of the many changes in the evolving India-Australia relationship, says Harsh V Pant.
'New Delhi still continues to believe that the US cannot afford to fail in Afghanistan and will not leave unless the problem of Af-Pak is fundamentally resolved.'
India's highly problematic move in backing an anti-Lankan resolution at the UNHCR will now make India even more marginal in the island nation with some grave long-term damage to its vital interests, says Harsh V Pant.
At stumps on Day 3, India were 125/3 in their second innings to extend their lead to 257 runs with Cheteshwar Pujara (50 not out) hitting a gutsy half-century.
This is the time to show the international community that contra Pakistan, it is India that remains a major partner of Afghanistan and therefore, India's concerns should not be ignored, says Harsh V Pant.
'The terrorists who have done this know well that the ever-forgiving Indian government knows only one way to respond -- with high-sounding, but meaningless words.'
India's head coach Rahul Dravid is not at all 'hurt' that veteran wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha has revealed a very classified conversation that he had on his future.
The strategic reality that confronts New Delhi in West Asia today is that India has far more significant interests to preserve in the Arab Gulf, and as tensions rise between the Sunni Arab regimes and Iran, India's larger stakes in the Arab world will continue to inhibit Indian-Iranian ties, says Harsh V Pant.
India's ties with China are gradually becoming competitive, with a sentiment gaining ground among Indian policy elites that China is not sensitive to India's core security interests and does not acknowledge its status as a global player, says Harsh V Pant.
India is witnessing rising turmoil all around its borders and, therefore, a stable, moderate Bangladesh is in its long-term interests. Constructive Indo-Bangladesh ties can be a major stabilising factor for the south Asian region as a whole. It can't afford to ignore Dhaka.
Major defence purchases should be a means of helping a nation achieve its strategic objectives. It's not readily evident what strategic objectives of India are being served by choosing Rafale over Typhoon, says Harsh V Pant.
'The emerging security environment in the Asia-Pacific is likely to revolve around China and the US with India viewed as a critical balancer in the region. New Delhi will now have to demonstrate that it is capable of thinking strategically.'
If either Barack Obama or Mitt Romney wins, there is unlikely to be any significant change in America's India policy post 2013. Given the scale of economic problems facing the US, India is not going to be a very high priority for some time but there is little likelihood of a downgrade in India's importance, says Harsh V Pant.
