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Numbers Don't Lie 61 Hidden Cricket Stories
"Impact Index is the closest anyone has come to producing crickets Moneyball moment. The frank, pithy insights from Test batsman Aakash Chopra add an extra dimension to a superb idea. Lawrence Booth, Editor, Wisden Alamanack. What I like about Impact Index is that it brings context to the performance of players through the generations.- Greg Chappell. Impact Index is a revolutionary new way of examining performances in cricket: within the context of the game, the conditions that the cricketer played in, the series or tournament, and his age. Created by Jaaideep Varma and led by him with Soham Sarkhel and Nikhil Narain, it constructs a hitherto unexplored macro view of each performance, resulting in the unearthing of truly surprising sometimes shocking stories. Within these pages are tales of cricketers who did not get their due, of rightful comparisons through eras and a completely unexpected look at players you thought you knew. The result is a lively retelling of cricket history. Former Test cricketer and writer commentator Aakash Chopra examines each of the sixty-one Impact stories, drawing on his trademark thoughtfulness, knowledge and experience. This book is an attempt to challenge and enrich conventional readings and ultimately to redefine them by looking at the big picture. You may never see the sport quite the same way again.",
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The Insider
What constitutes pressure? How does a batsman maintain concentration while batting? How does one define being in-form and out-of-form? How do cricketers prepare for different formats of the game? And how is it that certain teams revel under pressure while others choke? In the first-ever book on the craft, both psychological and physical of cricket, former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra lays bare every thought inside a cricketers head and brings alive what he thinks, how hes likely to react to certain situations in the game, and above all, why he reacts the way he does.From reading the bowler to reading the batsman, from playing the bouncer to fielding at short-leg, from technical aspects of the game to the mental, from the tangible to the abstract,The Insider is an important book that shuts out the noise and hysteria and lets every fan of the game understand what matters most: The game itself.
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Beyond The Blues
When Aakash Chopra started to write his diary in September 2007, he had no idea that it was going to be an extraordinary year, both for him personally, and for the game of cricket. It began with a great run in the Ranji, culminating in Delhi's victory. Delhi also went on to become North Zone champions, the North Zone won the Duleep Trophy, and in almost every game, Aakash was among the runs. He ended the season with 1339 runs from fifteen games, with five centuries that included three double centuries. Then came the IPL, with its glamorous tie-in with Bollywood. And Aakash found himself on the most talked about side of them all: the Kolkata Knight Riders.A view from within of all that made 2007 such an exciting year for cricketers and cricket lovers, this fast-paced and often tongue-in-cheek account takes us behind the scenes with an honesty and forthrightness uncommon to Indian sport.