Prince: 64 of 25_______ Pant: 2 of 1_______ India U19: 135/5______ 14.2 Overs Played
66 runs off 34 deliveries needed.
14.3: Shami attacked, the ball turned in his grip as he fell in and as the ball left his hand it swung on for Pant's pads, but the little round batsman, flicked it off his pads, behind Dhoni who dove for the ball, missing by just millimeters, Pant ran forward and the two batsmen took a run, Prince was now on strike.
14.4: Prince tapped his bat in anticipation of the ball. He watched carefully as Shami ran in, he sped up, and using the system, Prince spotted the extra rotation of the arm, bouncer. In his mind Prince activated it, the skill he had longed to try, ABD's adaptive response. As the ball came high, the system merged with his nervous system and his hands moved to a high stance with the bat, the back leg pulling him straight, dragging the bat from the ground to the tip of the arc of motion, smashing into the leather ball, sending it high over Dhoni's head, past Rohit at slip and past the boundary ropes for a humungous six.
59 runs of 32 balls.
14.5: Prince was determined to finish it. As Shami came in, Prince could read his intentions like an open book, a yorker after the bouncer to disorientate him. ABD's adaptive response once again took over his body, the front foot receding as the bat came up, at the same time Prince activated a long forgotten skill he had bought, Pant's one arm shot, his left arm let go of the bat and the right arm carried the momentum as it leathered the ball for a straight drive, over Shami's head and into the scoreboard for a six.
Pant looked up from the non striker's end in awe, "I've never ever seen anyone else do that bro!" Prince just smiled and silently thanked the system for being as OP as it was.
14.6: Shami came in fast again, or so Prince thought, and as the ball released from his hands Prince already knew the mistake he had made, he came out fast, off the crease, and drove with the bat, but the pace had dropped from previous deliveries being at 140 kph to this one being at 112 kph. Prince missed the ball completely, swinging upwards, he turned, diving backwards, Dhoni had already caught the ball, 50 cm away, 30 cm away, 10 cm away, the bales smashed, and Prince was caught off the crease before he could return. He hung his head as he tucked the bat under his arm and began to walk away, he didn't look at the senior team who he idolised, he couldn't bring himself too.
Prince was out, 76 of 27. A crazy innings, but not a captains he kept saying in his head, any other would have stayed out their and fought for every run until they had won he said, and he threw his bat onto the floor as he sat, Dravid looked at him empathetically, Sudarshan padded up and went out to the crease.
The next few overs were tense, dot ball after dot ball, Pant took runs where he could but Sudarshan was playing the last five overs of T20 game like it was the opening overs of a test match, by the seventeenth over, he was on 0 runs of 8 balls and Pant had reached 14 of 6. The under nineteens were at 162/6 at the start of the seventeenth over. 39 runs needed off 18 balls.
17.1: Bumrah to bowl the death overs, comes in fast, Pant is off his crease, BANG! The balls has smashed into the middle of the bat and Pant drives it away for a massive six into the sky and the ball cascades forwards past the rope and smashed into Prince's head, which thankfully was covered by his helmet. That did it, that was the wake up call, whether or not Pant meant it, he probably didn't, Prince found energy from nowhere, he stood up and shouted, "Even Higher Pant YOU CHEEKY BASTARD"
17.2: SIX
17.3: SIX
17.4: SIX
17.5: 15 runs needed off just 13 balls, and as Bumrah runs in, Pant goes for it, but it's hit the edge of the bat and into no man's zone, Pant runs for a single, Sudarshan on strike.
17.6: Sudarshan taps Bumrah away for a single.
The next over was played comfortably by Sudarshan and Pant, singles taken in every delivery, leaving it all down to the final over.
India Under-19's: 194/6____ Pant: 42 of 14____ Sudarshan: 4 of 11___ 7 runs needed of 6 Balls:
19.1: Bumrah, comes in fast, Bouncer, the ball twists inward and shoots past Pant's head for a dot ball, the pressure mounted in the training grounds, and Prince felt his hand raise to his mouth, and his teeth finding his nails, this was tense.
19.2: Bumrah varies, this time a yorker thunders into Pant's pads, huge appeal, Bumrah screams, "HOWZAT????" The umpire kept his hands by his sides and shook his head, but Virat Kohli said the dreaded words, "Let's have a look." Though this was a training match, it was simulated just a like a real one would be, pitching was in line according to the graph, the ultra edge confirmed that no bat was involved and there was a solid connection on the pads, Impact is in line, and the wickets were...
Missing. Pant Not Out. Prince pumped his fist silently, calmly, he knew that pant was the last batsman on the field that could see this out...
7 runs needed off 4 Balls.
19.3: Pant is ready to strike, Bumrah runs in, another bouncer, Pant goes for the high pull shot but swings and misses, ball comfortably lands in Dhoni's hands, another dot ball, the pressure was mounting and Pant was starting to show signs of it.
19.4: Jasprit Bumrah lined up his run, and thundered in, there was no two ways about it, a thunderous yorker, Pant manages to bring his bat down just in time to defend, and the ball rolled back harmlessly to Bumrah. He was trying to hold the u19's out, keep pant supressed.
19.5: Bumrah strikes again, massive yorker, but this time Pant smashes the bat down, scraping it across the ground for a hard fought single and all hope was seemingly lost, 6 runs needed off one ball, and Sudarshan was on strike.
19.6: Sudarshan removed his helmet, and his gloves. Hair thick with sweat he brushed back before getting gloved and ready again, the last ball, the one to end it in the favour of the past and the present. The proven kings and the underdog princes. Bumrah swung in, an in swinger, it smashed into the good length area, in towards Sudarshan's pads, the bat comes down, sweat dripping from his brows into his eyes, he smashes it blind. And somehow, it strikes true, it flies high in the air, Kohli runs from the infield all the way to the boundary, but it keeps rising over his head and past the boundary ropes, thudding to the falls, sweat and humidity spraying off it's leather surface. For a moment the entire ground stood still, time stood still, sound was not perceptible. Until it all exploded.
Prince ran onto the field alongside the rest of the team, Pant was already lifting Sudarshan off the ground when Prince cascaded into them and brought them to the ground, "You fucking did it, YOU DID IT!"
Coach Dravid and his analysts watched from the sidelines and the seniors stood in shock, they had put up a score they thought some u19's could never chase, but Prince and his lads did it with ease, did it with pride. If this wasn't behind closed doors, it would be the biggest shock of 2019.
Kohli clapped Prince on the back and Dhoni approached him too, chatting to Rohit about something before turning to him, "You have a bright future, Prince Martin."
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