Latest news with #HarperCollinsIndia
News18
a day ago
- Entertainment
- News18
The Chola Tigers by Amish to release on August 29
New Delhi, Jul 22 (PTI) Bestselling author Amish's upcoming book 'The Chola Tigers", the second installment in his Indic Chronicles, will hit the stands on August 29, announced publishing house Harper Collins India on Tuesday. The historical fiction, which builds on the world introduced in the author's 2020 bestseller 'Legend of Suheldev", is touted to be a 'thrilling historical saga of defiance, honour and redemption it celebrates the indomitable spirit of India". The book's cover was released by Tamil superstar Rajinikanth. ''The Chola Tigers' is an exhilarating story in which Emperor Rajendra Chola, the mightiest man of his era, orders a daring surgical strike on Ghazni in response to Sultan Mahmud's attack on the Somnath temple. 'This work of historical fiction is linked to my 2020 release 'Legend of Suheldev'. It is about a mission ordered by one of the greatest Tamilians ever, Emperor Rajendra Chola," Amish, author of 'Shiva Trilogy' and 'Ram Chandra Series', said in a statement. The plot unfolds around Mahmud of Ghazni's devastating attack on the revered Somnath temple, sparking response from the era's most powerful monarch, emperor Rajendra Chola as 'he summons a squad of defiant assassins to embark on a perilous quest and bring the fearsome enemy to his knees". According to the publisher, 'The Chola Tigers" explores the profound question: 'How far would you go to defend dharma and your country's honour?" 'The new novel is vintage Amish — a sweeping historical saga that is pacy, dramatic, simmering with political intrigue and personal vendetta, and heart-rending in its scenes of sacrifice and retribution. At its heart it masterfully explores the depths of human courage and resilience, and the indomitable spirit of a nation that refuses to be broken," said Poulomi Chatterjee, executive Publisher at HarperCollins India. Amish's previous books have sold more than 8 million copies and have been translated into 21 languages. PTI MG BK BK (This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - PTI) view comments First Published: July 22, 2025, 17:30 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Business Standard
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Business Standard
HarperCollins India is delighted to announce the forthcoming publication of The Chola Tigers: Avengers of Somnath
PRNewswire New Delhi [India], July 22: Scheduled for release on 29 August 2025, The Chola Tigers is the second book in Amish's Indic Chronicles, after the bestselling Legend of Suheldev. A thrilling historical saga of defiance, honour and redemption it celebrates the indomitable spirit of India. When the ruthless tyrant Mahmud of Ghazni destroys the sacred temple of Somnath, the greatest ruler of the time, Emperor Rajendra Chola, summons a squad of defiant assassins to embark on a perilous quest and bring the fearsome enemy to his knees. This historical fiction title builds on the world introduced in the 2020 bestseller Legend of Suheldev, which garnered widespread appreciation from readers and went on to become a bestseller. Pacy and action-packed, The Chola Tigers, explores the profound question: How far would you go to defend dharma and your country's honour? On the occasion of the book's announcement, Amish, author, says, "The Chola Tigers is an exhilarating story in which Emperor Rajendra Chola, the mightiest man of his era, orders a daring surgical strike on Ghazni in response to Sultan Mahmud's attack on the Somnath temple. This work of historical fiction is linked to my 2020 release Legend of Suheldev. It is about a mission ordered by one of the greatest Tamilians ever, Emperor Rajendra Chola. And it is a great honour that the cover of this book was released by one of the greatest Tamilians alive and an Indian treasure, Rajinikanth ji." Poulomi Chatterjee, Executive Publisher -- HarperCollins India, adds, "Amish has brilliantly reimagined our beloved legends and epics, and episodes from medieval Indian history, for millions of people across the country to enjoy afresh. The new novel is vintage Amish--a sweeping historical saga that is pacy, dramatic, simmering with political intrigue and personal vendetta, and heart-rending in its scenes of sacrifice and retribution. At its heart it masterfully explores the depths of human courage and resilience, and the indomitable spirit of a nation that refuses to be broken. It's going to keep readers spellbound until the final page, and we can't be happier to publish it!" ABOUT THE CHOLA TIGERS The place will be of their choosing. The time will be of their choosing. But the Indians will have their vengeance. 1025 CE, India. Mahmud of Ghazni believes he has crushed the spirit of Bharat--the Shiva Linga at the Somnath temple lies shattered and thousands are dead. But among the ashes of destruction, an oath is taken. Five people--a Tamil warrior, a Gujarati merchant, a devotee of Lord Ayyappa, a scholar-emperor from Malwa, and the most powerful man on Earth, Emperor Rajendra Chola--resolve to undertake a perilous quest and strike at the heart of the invader's kingdom. From the grandeur of the Chola Empire to the shadows of Ghazni's bloodstained court, The Chola Tigers is the scintillating story of a fierce retaliation. A story of unity forged through pain, of courage born from despair, and of vengeance that becomes Dharma. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Amish is a 1974-born, IIM (Kolkata)-educated banker-turned-author. The success of his debut book, The Immortals of Meluha (Book 1 of the Shiva Trilogy), encouraged him to give up his career in financial services to focus on writing. Besides being an author, he is also a broadcaster, the founder of a video gaming company, a film producer and a former diplomat with the Indian government. Amish is passionate about history, spirituality and philosophy, finding beauty and meaning in all world religions. His books have sold more than 8 million copies and have been translated into 21 languages. His Shiva Trilogy is the fastest-selling and his Ram Chandra Series the second-fastest-selling book series in Indian publishing history. His books in The Indic Chronicles, which are based on medieval Indian history, are also blockbuster bestsellers. You can connect with Amish here: ABOUT HARPERCOLLINS INDIA HarperCollins India publishes some of the finest writers from the Indian subcontinent and around the world, publishing approximately 200 new books every year, with a print and digital catalogue of more than 2000 titles across 10 imprints. Its authors have won almost every major literary award including the Man Booker Prize, JCB Prize, DSC Prize, New India Foundation Award, Atta Galatta Prize, Shakti Bhatt Prize, Gourmand Cookbook Award, Publishing Next Award, Tata Literature Live!, Gaja Capital Business Book Prize, BICW Award, Sushila Devi Award, Sahitya Akademi Award and Crossword Book Award. HarperCollins India also represents some of the finest publishers in the world including Harvard University Press, Gallup Press, Oneworld, Bonnier Zaffre, Usborne, Dover and Lonely Planet. HarperCollins India is also the recipient of five Publisher of the Year Awards - in 2021 and 2015 at the Publishing Next Industry Awards, and in 2021, 2018 and 2016 at Tata Literature Live. HarperCollins India is a subsidiary of HarperCollins Publishers.
The Hindu
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Amitava Kumar on Books That Shaped Him—And Why Reading Should Hurt a Little
Published : Jul 06, 2025 10:16 IST - 8 MINS READ Amitava Kumar is the author of several works of nonfiction including Husband of a Fanatic, A Foreigner Carrying in the Crook of His Arm a Tiny Bomb, A Matter of Rats, and four novels, including Immigrant, Montana, whichwas on the best of the year lists at The New Yorker, The New York Times, and former US President Barack Obama's list of favourite books of 2018, and A Time Outside This Time. Kumar's latest, My Beloved Life (2024), was praised by James Wood as 'beautiful, truthful fiction'. Three volumes of his diaries and drawings were published by HarperCollins India. His work, often exploring migration, identity, and global issues, has appeared in Granta, The New Yorker, The New York Times, Harper's, Guernica, and The Nation. Kumar was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2016, a Cullman Center Fellowship at the New York Public Library (2023-24), and residencies from Yaddo, MacDowell, the Lannan Foundation, and the Hawthornden Foundation. He is professor of English at Vassar College, where he holds the Helen D. Lockwood Chair. Kumar has written with grace and style about the complexities of identity and migration in his novels, essays, and reportage. With keen observation and deep curiosity, his work across genres reflects a lifelong love of books that have shaped both his craft and life. In this new column for Frontline on books that have shaped different writers, public intellectuals, activists, etc., he spoke about the authors and books that left a lasting impression on him—from his school days in Patna to his college years in Delhi, and later when he moved to the US for further studies. He also shares his favourite books, the ones he gifts to family and friends, and books he often revisits for inspiration. How will you define your relationship with books and reading? How have your reading tastes evolved over the years as you got older? I wish I had more time to read. When my students at the college where I teach ask me if they should pursue higher education, I'm in two minds: on the one hand, there are fewer jobs for English PhDs, but, on the other hand, you read so much when you are a student. I only became a real reader when I was doing my PhD. I had asked my dissertation director how much should I read, and he had replied, 'You should read till your eyes bleed.' Tell us about your earliest reading memory from childhood that made an impression? Was it a book in English, or Hindi? I must have been 12 or 13. I had gone early to a cinema hall in Patna to buy tickets for my sisters and others. I got the tickets and then opened the book The Moon and Sixpence by Somerset Maugham. I had recently borrowed it from the British Library in Patna, which is now gone. I was surprised that I understood what I was reading and that it gave me pleasure. This was a late start but it was a real introduction to the pleasures of reading. Any particular book or story from your childhood years that holds a special place in your heart? You know, textbooks are often unimaginative, boring things. And they are anathema to any notion of delight that reading affords. And we have mastered this fatal art in India. Many bookshops, including in my hometown Patna, offer mostly textbooks for sale. It is a disease caused by commerce. But my own experience with textbooks was different in one crucial respect. When I came to Delhi from Bihar for my higher secondary, my English textbook had the writings of Maugham whom I have mentioned before, but also Khushwant Singh, George Orwell, Dom Moraes, S. Radhakrishnan, Nissim Ezekiel, Edward Thomas. Those textbooks have a special place in my heart. Also Read | Class differences are very important wherever or whenever you look: Abdulrazak Gurnah Any book or author(s) that profoundly influenced you as a young man while studying in a college in New Delhi? I was staying in the Hindu College hostel when pursuing my MA. I didn't have a room of my own and a friend very kindly let me sleep on his floor. On his desk he had among his books to help him with his civil services exams, a copy of V.S. Naipaul's Finding the Centre. My friend wasn't literary; I have no idea how he came to acquire that book. There are two narratives in it and the first one is about Naipaul's literary beginnings and his discovery of the vocation of writing. It was an education to read that account and I have always cherished it. Book or books that made you want to become a writer? Well, the book I just mentioned to you is certainly a part of that self-fashioning. So much of Naipaul's work is problematic in its judgments but because he is always dramatising the process of writing, he becomes very attractive to anyone who wants to pursue writing. Any particular books or authors you find yourself returning to often, and why? I have always been fascinated with the ways in which J.M. Coetzee examines the workings of power and shame in his books. I'm thinking of Waiting for the Barbarians and Disgrace. I like the intellectual probing that he does in his other books too. In recent years, I have been drawn to Annie Ernaux's books. I like her for her intelligence and clarity. Also, her books are short! A book that is your comfort read, on your bedside, that you often revisit for inspiration or pleasure? I think reading is good when it disturbs you—which is the opposite of comfort. I'm lucky to have several friends who are writers. When I pick up their books, I feel I'm once again in conversation with them. It is no different from when I'm sitting with them, sharing a meal or having drinks. For that purpose, over the past few months, I have re-read Teju Cole's Tremor and Open City, and Zadie Smith's Feel Free and Embassy of Cambodia. Any book or books that you often give away as a gift to family members or close friends? I don't give the same book to people—even though I was intrigued by a woman who once told me that she gave men she was intimate with Roland Barthes's A Lover's Discourse. In recent months, I have gifted my son books by Colson Whitehead and Ta-Nehisi Coates and my daughter, who is an English major, books by Sheila Heti, Sigrid Nunez, Claire Messud and Rachel Kushner. Are there some books or authors you discovered later in life that made a deep impression on you? As it happens, one of my editors at Granta, Thomas Meaney, has written about a fascist writer named Curzio Malaparte. I read the piece and was fired up by Meaney's vivid prose but I was also faced by the question—why had I never known about this writer? I really feel that so much of what I have read has come late in my life. And there is so much that I have not read. During COVID, thanks to Yiyun Li, I read War and Peace. And Moby Dick. In both these writers I loved the way in which fiction gave way to essays. What are you currently reading? Any recent book written by an Indian author—in fiction, non-fiction, or poetry—that you would highly recommend? Later this month, I have to teach a writing workshop at the New York Public Library for schoolteachers. For that, I'm reading Reality Hunger by David Shields and the novella So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell. I really enjoyed Sakina's Kiss by Vivek Shanbhag. Two books by younger Indian writers I liked were Neha Dixit's The Many Lives of Syeda X and Saharu Kannanari's Chronicle of an Hour and a Half. Your go-to Indian classic? One that you would recommend everyone should read? I have always liked Pankaj Mishra's Butter Chicken in Ludhiana. I saw him in London recently and he was kind enough to give a copy of that book to my son. In the hotel room that night, I re-read the opening pages. So funny, so sharp. Also Read | I was writing unwritten history: Easterine Kire Can you name a few lesser-known books by Indian authors in any genre you wish more people would discover and read? Had it not been for the wretched IPL [Indian Premier League], so many talented cricketers would not get their moment in the spotlight. I think the same applies to writing. A few are chosen and the rest toil in the shadows. If you look at the numbers, so much mindless verbiage dominates the market. Literary fiction in India still awaits discovery, especially in languages other than English. Name a few books that have changed or influenced your understanding of contemporary India and your place in it? Over the past few years, I have liked reading Snigdha Poonam's Dreamers, Mansi Choksi's The Newlyweds, and Arundhati Roy's My Seditious Heart. Any book(s) that best captures the spirit of your home city? The books by Siddharth Chowdhury, starting with Patna Roughcut, have moments that are deeply authentic and they pierce my heart. You are hosting a literary dinner party and you can invite only three Indian writers, authors, poets, both living or dead. Who would you like to invite, and why? Next week, I'm having dinner with two writer friends, Kiran Desai and Sabrina Dhawan. We are going to have fun. Who else could I invite to make it even more enjoyable? I have met Vikram Seth but not for any length of time. I think he would be smart and hilarious. Could you find out if he is free on Sunday at 7:30 pm? Majid Maqbool is an independent journalist and writer based in Kashmir. Bookmarks is a fortnightly column where writers reflect on the books that shaped their ideas, work, and ways of seeing the world.
Scroll.in
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scroll.in
‘Silences reveal as much as noise': Malaysian writer Tash Aw on his new coming-of-age novel
Malaysian writer Tash Aw is no new name to the literary circles in his country, where he grew up before moving to London. Longlisted twice for the Booker Prize (then the Man Booker Prize), first for his debut, The Harmony Silk Factory in 2005, and then again in 2013 for Five Star Billionaire, his books often portray subtle but powerful character development of individuals navigating complex socio-political landscapes, especially in the context of Southeast Asia. His latest book from Fourth Estate (Harper Collins India in the Indian subcontinent), and the first in what is going to be a quartet, The South is an unmissable coming-of-age tale that explores the of resonant themes of class, culture, identity, sexual desire, familial tensions, and the weight of inheritance – both physical and personal. Set in late 90s in rural Malaysia when the country is caught in the cusp of significant economic and social transformation, Aw is masterfully able to craft a lyrical narrative that often alternates between the first and the third person offering glimpses into the lives of its main character, Jay who has recently moved with his family to their decaying farm post his grandfather's death. Amidst the oppressive heat and constant squabbles from his father to take charge, Jay develops complicated feelings for his half-brother, Chuan, and what unfurls next is as much a familial drama as is a careful observation on generational divides and how far we have come (or not!) as a society concerning class and privilege, homophobia, bullying, and familial expectations in Asian cultures. In a conversation with Scroll, Aw reflects on his portrayal of in-between spaces in his writing and unpacks how his characters wrestle familial tensions in The South. He also shares his thoughts on perspective shifts, the emotional weight of memory and belonging and the art of capturing the truth in literature. One of the most striking things about reading The South was its sheer ability to explore the complexity of sexuality, desire, and secrecy within the framework of an Asian (Malaysian) family. How did you approach writing these intimate moments while balancing the weight of cultural expectations, especially in the case of certain topics that continue to remain unwelcome in many parts of Asia, including your own hometown? The role of novelists is to write truthfully about life as they see it, and to resist as far as possible the expectations placed upon them – expectations that might be cultural, familial, from friends, even supportive ones, and I would go so far as to say oneself – in order to produce literature that reflects true life. In that way, I'm just following in the tradition of novelists throughout time, who attempt to capture their societies at a particular moment in time. I don't see things in terms of isolated topics – I see a portrait of a group of people, all their flaws and the beauty. I try and render these without judgment. My work is a mirror of society, in which people can see themselves. It's a very universal and timeless – and in some senses, simple – way of writing. The writer blocks out the noise and focuses on the truth. That said, this is hardly a controversial novel, unless someone is going out of their way to interpret it as such. Another theme that resonated strongly across the novel is that of belonging, both within one's family and in a broader societal context. In Asian cultures, there is often a strong emphasis on family, tradition, and duty. Your characters in the book are seen navigating these tensions in deeply personal ways. Were there any specific real-life experiences, either of your own or those around you, that have shaped how you built these conflicts? The tensions and pressures faced by the characters are merely those faced by countless ordinary people around the world. As you point out, many of these tensions hold greater resonance in Asian societies, but they are true to some extent in most countries. The greatest challenge for the individual is how to define themselves within society, and the most basic unit of society is the family, which replicates in miniature form all the wider pressures of society and magnifies them – which is why the examination of the family is such a useful way of looking at how society at large works. Who hasn't known the tensions between duty to the family and individual freedom? And, by extension, aren't we all thinking about a way to be free, in a personal sense, in our daily lives? We want to feel free in our work, our relationships with partners, parents, children – but we also have to navigate the duties towards them. A lot of these obligations are created by society – women face greater pressures to conform than men, for example, and these are pressures created by social custom over time, as a means of control. How, then, do the mothers and daughters in the novel find a way to live freely? For years I observed my own mother and sisters struggling with these questions – the conflicts in the book are all too real, and common. The house to which the family returns to isn't just a physical space – it holds history, memory, and unresolved tensions, almost like a character in its own right. Would you agree? If yes, how did it help in the emotional and narrative arc of the story, according to you? The house and land hold immense symbolic value, being tied to the idea of ownership and belonging that you've mentioned earlier. Some of the characters feel duty-bound to hang on to it even though it's no longer viable to do so, simply because of the symbolic value – the property gives them the status of being middle-class landowners, and they don't want to lose that. But others, particularly the younger ones, don't care so much about this; they want to achieve personal enrichment, which is more to do with self-definition and freedom, rather than being tied down to possessions. For them, belonging is an emotional quality, not a material one. It's linked to intimacy, love, inclusiveness, freedom – not to a house. But for the older generation, it's the reverse. That's where a lot of the novel's tension comes from. Your writing transitions quickly and seamlessly between time and perspective in every other chapter. At the same time, you have often been praised for your fluidity and restraint in your prose, where silence and omission carry as much weight as words, which is also true for this book in question. Could you share more about what these shifts reveal regarding your characters, as well as more about your writing style, which carefully chooses to reveal certain aspects but also holds back on others? What literary influences have shaped your approach? Silences reveal as much as noise, more so I believe; it's true in real life as it is on the page. But some characters are noisy, others are more reserved – it really just depends on the particular character. I never decide in advance, I allow the characters a certain freedom on the page, without manipulating them too much. I don't deliberately set out to be silent on some matters and explicit about others – the characters dictate how much is said or unsaid. The question of fluidity and perspective is also dictated by the concerns of the novel. In this case, I originally wanted the story to be told only from Jay's point of view, but very quickly I realised the novel was about the family as a whole, so I needed to offer other characters a chance to come into focus. The novel is also about the impossibility of communication within a family – with the people closest to you – so the gaps between the various perspectives mimic the gaps of understanding that exist within a family. In this respect I suppose my work draws inspiration from the novelistic flair of Faulkner or certain works of Virginia Woolf, but also from Proust, in the sense of the writerly perspective moving through time. Your characters, whether it's the central protagonist Jay, his adoration, Chuan, or Jay's family and everyone else in the book, are seen to be caught between different worlds – whether geographically, emotionally, socially or economically. Would you like to tell us what draws you to these in-between spaces, and do you see them as a defining trait of your storytelling style? That's a very good observation. I guess it's true that I'm drawn to in-between spaces, and, especially, the people who inhabit these spaces, which are mostly emotional ones rather than physical ones (though of course, the physical spaces are important too). As a child I used to feel that I was the only inhabitant of this liminal space – an outsider who was also, in some way, an insider. But as I grew older I realised that these insider-outsiders were everywhere. So many people feel as if they don't fully belong to their countries, their societies, their families – the very places that were meant to harbour them and provide them total security. Those spaces, with the tensions created by duty and conformity which you mentioned earlier, make a lot of people feel as though they don't belong. A lot of people don't even feel comfortable in their own bodies, particularly those who struggled with gender or sexuality. Once I became aware of this, it was easy to capture this feeling in my novels. Perhaps it is a bit unfair to ask an author to pick their favourite bit from something that they have written, so instead of that, how about if you can share a particular moment, scene, or even a single line that felt like the heart of the story for you? Something that, once written, made you feel that everything else will eventually fall into place, and it did? I actually can't do that! It's impossible for me to isolate one line or one passage of the novel as a turning point, particularly since the novel is about very gentle shifts. To conclude, if you had to leave your readers with just one lingering thought or question after finishing this book, the first of what is supposed to be a quartet, what would it be? And what can your readers expect next from the books to come in this series? I think I'd like readers to reflect on how we move through life – how we experience the passing of time, how we experience everyday occurrences and relationships; and also, how we hang onto them as we grow older. The subsequent novels continue asking the same questions as The South does: how do we fight, even in silent, invisible ways, to carve out a life for ourselves that is truthful and free, amid the pressures of duty and belonging? In the novels that follow the characters will be much older, and some will enjoy more of the spotlight than others. The aim is for readers to journey through time with the characters and perhaps find resonance in this journey with their own lives.
NDTV
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- NDTV
"Want to Make You A Bollywood Hero": Shikhar Dhawan Recalls First Meeting With MS Dhoni, Reveals His Reaction
Swashbuckling former opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan has come out with his memoir in which he bares it all - from his relationships to friendships, to all the controversies surrounding him, be it off or on the field. "Cricket gave me purpose, but it was the journey with the highs, the falls and the quiet moments, that truly shaped me as a man I am today. This is me sharing that journey from the heart - raw, honest and unfiltered," Dhawan said about his book "The One: Cricket, My Life and More". "Written with candour and sincerity, 'The One' offers an unprecedented glimpse into Shikhar Dhawan's inner monologue and all the vulnerabilities that have shaped him into the champion cricketer and sensitive human being he is today," publishers HarperCollins India said. According to Sachin Sharma, publisher at HarperCollins India, "Shikhar Dhawan has lived an incredible life both on and off the field. In this unputdownable memoir, Shikhar has opened up about his life, cricket, relationships, and every curveball that he faced and emerged stronger." Growing up in the intensely competitive cricketing scene of Delhi, Dhawan started out as a wicketkeeper but later transitioned to an opening batsman. He played 34 Tests for India scoring 2315 runs, 167 ODIs (6793 runs) and 68 T20 matches (1759 runs). "When I was trying to break into the Indian side, social media was still nascent and cricketers were under a lot less scrutiny. But other media platforms - print and broadcast - were thriving," he writes in the book. "Team selections and individual cricket performances were discussed threadbare and had gained sufficient audience in the country. However, unlike the current times in which social media can transform cricketers from 'hero' to 'zero' almost overnight, narratives took a lot longer to change back in those days," he says. Talking about his entry into the Indian dressing room, he said when Australia came to India for a short tour in October 2010, "that's when I received my long-awaited call to join the big boys". Dhawan also writes that when he first saw Mahendra Singh Dhoni, "I wanted to cast him in a Bollywood movie; he looked like a film star with that long hair and easy smile". He added: "We were having a chat about my motivation when I suddenly blurted out, 'I want to play for India and I want to make you a Bollywood hero!' He threw back his head and laughed." Though he was chosen for the three ODIs, the first and third matches in Kochi and Margao were washed out. "Before the first match in Kochi, there was so much nervous energy bubbling inside me that I could not sleep the whole night... But when I got up in the morning, it was raining heavily, and all my hopes turned to nought. No action was possible that day," Dhawan writes. "Then, just ahead of the second ODI at Vizag, I took a sleeping pill to soothe my nerves. I thought it was important to sleep well, and I was worried that my performance would suffer if I went through another round of insomnia as I had done on the eve of the first match," he recalls. India won the toss and invited Australia to field. Dhawan's debut game had begun. The Aussies batted first and scored 289. Dhawan opened the batting with Murali Vijay. But in the very first over, he was bowled for a duck off the second ball by Clint McKay. "I walked off from the crease with a smile pasted on my face, but inside, I was kicking myself hard. I had visualized myself playing dazzling shots and piling up a huge amount of runs for India for so long that I found it difficult to wrap the reality around my head," he writes.
