Having control over both digital media and NGOs, it was easy for the US to topple the government and destabilise Nepal -- to undercut Chinese influence and pressure India, argues Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
Here are the crunch moments that were series-defining and the contributions of the players who came of age during the English summer.
Sudharsan made the most of the 'life' and went on to score a patient 50, his maiden Test half-century.
Spin great Anil Kumble praised Nitish Kumar Reddy's showing with the ball on Day 1 of the Lord's Test on Thursday.
Former England captain Nasser Hussain was full of praise for Akash Deep
Jamie Overton returns to the Test line-up for the first time since earning his sole cap against New Zealand at Headingley in June 2022.
England captain Ben Stokes underwent surgery in November for his long-standing left-knee problem.
Gill's magnificence. Siraj and Akash's brilliance. Jadeja's class. Jaiswal and Rahul's success. Stokes' toss blunder. Root's failures.
With the series nicely poised at 1-1 going into the third Test, the narrative built around both the teams has changed significantly following India's 336-run routing of England at Edgbaston.
The ground brought sanity to the wild, soaring numbers for the batters in the series. The wicket had grass, and it made the batters struggle.
India's assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate on Thursday said the team is "leaning towards" playing lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah in the fourth Test in Manchester as the visitors look to pull themselves back on level terms in the five-match series against England.
After hundreds upon hundreds of runs on flat tracks in the ongoing series so far, it took the green top at The Oval to finally produce the best day of the Indian summer, on the fifth and last Friday of the Test series.
Head coach Brendon McCullum and spin bowling coach Jeetan Patel were seen having a long conversation with Ali.
'...he's not shown any obvious signs of dismissal and he's played stylishly.'
Wearing special headbands in memory of Graham Thorpe, they honoured not just a legend of the game, but a man whose courage and struggles have sparked an urgent conversation around mental health in sport.
Award-winning Tamil lyricist Vairamuthu's recent remarks on Lord Ram have sparked controversy, drawing condemnation from the BJP and VHP.
Shubman Gill played a masterful captain's knock with his second century of the series on the opening day of the second Test
England captain Ben Stokes has changed the game of cricket in a "lot of respects", says batter Ollie Pope, as the maverick all-rounder gears up for his 100th Test appearance in a couple of days' time.
Nitish Kumar Reddy made a promise to himself post the Australia tour that he would improve his bowling.
England replace Shoaib Bashir with Liam Dawson in playing XI for 4th Test against India
England bowling coach Tim Southee praised the depth and quality of the Indian Test side after a commanding performance by the visitors on Day 1
In a moment of poor judgment, Pant tapped the ball towards Ben Stokes at cover and set off for a non-existent single-only to be run out, leaving India at 248 for 5.
Root reached the milestone during his 69th WTC appearance - a single pushed to deep backward square leg brought up yet another half-century and sealed his place in the record books.
He may not be on the field forever, but MS Dhoni's heart will always beat in yellow
India skipper Shubman Gill on Wednesday said that levelling the five-match Test series in England would be a "great achievement" and he would return from his first assignment as captain a lot wiser.
Stuart Broad said the defending champions will miss his aura but have enough resources to replace him as a player.
Tim Paine lashed out at England Test captain Ben Stokes for coming out of ODI retirement to play in the World Cup.
He successfully took a stunner to dismiss Karun Nair to complete his 211th catch, surpassing Dravid's tally of 210. Former Sri Lanka star Mahela Jayawardene slipped to the third spot with 205 catches.
Led by Shubman Gill, a defiant India put on a mentally strong and technically disciplined response to keep the series alive with England 2-1 up. While there were plenty of positives to take forward, a few concerns continue to linger as the series heads to a decider at The Oval.
Stokes, who is still recovering from a knee surgery, hasn't bowled since the second Ashes Test in June last year.
'Whenever India bowls, Reiffel feels it's not out. Whenever India bats, he feels it's out.'
Pant equals Sehwag's six-hitting record, surpasses Rohit Sharma in WTC Test runs
Siraj, Krishna, Akash Shine as India's Pace Future Takes Shape
'There are times when you have scoreboard pressure and a lot of runs to chase down, and that's when our approach and how we want to go about things really comes out.'
Archer, who has taken 42 wickets in 13 Tests, made his first appearance in a first-class match in four years on Sunday in the County Championship with Sussex.
Rahul failed to convert his resilient start into a three-digit score across both innings but was pivotal in India's fight to draw the Test and keep India alive in the series.
Archer has not picked up a red cricket ball since May 2021 for Sussex after a series of injuries kept delaying his return.
K L Rahul drove his way to a sublime 47 after England negated India's advantage by totalling 465 in their first innings as the visitors had another ordinary day in the field on Day 3 of the first Test in Leeds on Sunday.
'We obviously want to wheel him in, but we also want to respect where his body's at, and on the basis of that, we just felt that it wasn't worth including him in the squad.'
Ben Stokes rated the 28-run victory over India in the first Test in Hyderabad on Sunday as the finest moment yet in his time as the England captain.
