Chapter 19: SVS v/s SLS [1]
Match day.
The bus ride to the St. Louis ground was suffocatingly silent. Even Vikram, the usually boisterous captain, was pale, nervously tapping his pads.
The St. Louis ground was another world. It was a proper cricket ground, with a small pavilion, green grass, and a manicured pitch.
The SLS team, already warming up, looked less like a school team and more like a junior state squad. They were bigger, more athletic, and wore expensive, matching kits.
Their captain, Ajay Varma, had the confident swagger of someone who had never lost. And then there was Thomas.
He was at least six feet tall, with the broad shoulders of a man. He was bowling in the practice nets, and the sound of the ball hitting the keeper's gloves was a series of sharp, painful cracks that echoed across the field.
Gourav, Raghav's own team's fast bowler, swallowed nervously. "He... he's even faster in person."
Coach Sarma gathered his team. "Look at them," he said, his voice low and intense. "They're already celebrating....they don't respect you. They don't think you deserve to be on the same field. Good. Let them be arrogant. We will be disciplined. We will fight for every single run. We will make them earn this."
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Vikram walked out for the toss with Ajay. Coach Sarma stood with the umpires.
"Heads," Ajay called, spinning the coin himself without waiting.
The coin landed. Heads.
"We'll bowl," Ajay said with a smirk, looking at Vikram. "Let's finish this quickly. I have homework to do."
Vikram returned to the huddle, his face red with anger. "He's disrespecting us, Coach."
"Good," Sarma said. "Use it. Vikram. Rohan. You're up. See off Thomas. Your only job is to survive the first six overs."
Vikram and Rohan, the team's two best batsmen, walked out to the pitch.
The SLS team, led by Thomas, jogged onto the field. Their captain, Ajay, set a ferociously aggressive field. He had two Slips, a Gully, and a Short Leg. He was hunting.
Raghav, padded up as the #5, watched from the boundary. His heart was a cold, hard knot in his chest.
The umpire called "Play." Vikram took his stance. Thomas had the new ball.
Over 1 (Bowler: Thomas. Batsman: Vikram)
[Ball 1.1] Thomas began his long, powerful run-up. His action was smooth, powerful, and utterly menacing.
He unleashed his first ball. It was a vicious Bouncer, aimed right at Vikram's helmet. It was faster than anything Vikram had ever seen.
He barely managed to duck, the ball screaming past his face. It rocketed into the keeper's gloves, who was standing almost at the 30-yard circle.
Vikram was visibly terrified.
[Ball 1.2 ] Thomas, seeing the fear, followed up with the classic 1-2 punch. He pitched this one up, a full, in-swinging Yorker at 40 km/h. Vikram, his feet frozen and his mind still on the bouncer, was hopelessly late.
His bat was still in the air when the ball smashed into his stumps.
WICKET!
The Middle Stump was ripped out of the ground, cartwheeling towards the wicketkeeper.
[Run: 0/1.]
A dead silence fell over Raghav's team. The SLS players roared. Vikram walked off, his face ashen, not even looking at his teammates.
Suraj, the #3 batsman, looked like he was walking to his execution.
"Come on, Suraj! You can do this!" Rohan yelled from the non-striker's end, but his voice was trembling.
[Ball 1.3 ](Batsman: Suraj)
Thomas didn't let up. He delivered a fast Good Length ball, just outside the off-stump, that seamed away. Suraj, his feet frozen in place, poked at it nervously with a half-hearted Defensive Shot. It was a fatal mistake.
WICKET!
A thick outside edge and the ball flew fast and low to the Second Slip fielder, who took a sharp, easy catch.
[Score: 0/2.]
Raghav felt sick. Two wickets in three balls. A "King Pair" for Suraj (out first ball).
Rakesh, the #4, walked out, his knees visibly knocking.
[Ball 1.4 ](Batsman: Rakesh)
Thomas delivered a fast, Short Length ball that jagged back and hit Rakesh high on the thigh pad. A painful, stinging blow that made Rakesh cry out.
[Ball 1.5 ] Another brutal Bouncer. Rakesh didn't even try to duck; he just fell onto his backside, shielding his face.
The SLS team laughed out loud.
[ Ball 1.6 ]A Full Length ball. Rakesh, desperate, just jammed his bat down, blocking it.
End of Over.
[Score: 0/2. ]
A double-wicket maiden. It was a catastrophe.
Rohan and Rakesh tried to survive.
The other SLS bowler, a tidy off-spinner, kept the pressure on. Rakesh, knowing he couldn't survive
Thomas's next over, tried to hit the spinner. He charged down the pitch for a wild Slog Sweep.
WICKET!
He missed the ball completely. The wicketkeeper, sharp as a razor, whipped off the bails. Stumped.
Score: 12/3. It was the 4th over.
[Run 12/3]
"Roi! You're in!" Coach Sarma yelled.
Raghav picked up his bat. His hands were clammy. He walked past Rakesh, who wouldn't meet his eyes. The entire SLS team closed in.
"Look, it's the baby," Thomas said from his position at Mid-Off.
"This one's going to cry."
Raghav didn't look at him. He walked to the crease, his IQ: 27 assessing the field. The captain, Ajay, brought in a Silly Point and kept his two Slips and Gully. It was a field designed for intimidation.
Rohan, the last recognized batsman, met him in the middle of the pitch.
"Raghav... he's... he's too fast. I'm not kidding. Don't even try to hit him. Just... just try to survive. Please."
Raghav nodded, his mouth dry. He took his stance. He was on strike. Thomas had the ball.
Over 5 (Bowler: Thomas. Batsman: Raghav)
[Ball 5.1 ]Thomas let out a roar as he ran in. He unleashed a blistering Bouncer, aimed straight at Raghav's grille. Raghav read the length instantly but he didn't panic. He just Ducked.
The ball thudded into the keeper's gloves, a sound like a gunshot. "One for your head, baby!" Thomas snarled..
[Ball 5.2 ]The follow-up. An out-swinging Yorker, trying to catch him deep in his crease.
Raghav, with his Batting skill and techniques he just managed to get his bat down. The ball took the outside edge... but Raghav's Batting Technique meant he played with "soft hands."
The ball didn't fly. It died instantly, dropping into the grass, landing just inches short of the diving Gully fielder. A gasp from the SLS team. Raghav's heart was pounding.
[Ball 5.3 ]Thomas was furious. He delivered a fast, Good Length ball, angling into Raghav's ribs. Raghav's body moved, presenting a straight bat. A perfect Defensive Shot.
THWACK!
The impact was brutal. Pain shot up Raghav's arms, vibrating the bat handle so hard it numbed his fingers.
His strength was barely enough to hold on but he held on. The ball dropped dead.
[Ball 5.4] Thomas glared, breathing heavily. Another Bouncer, even faster this time. Raghav, expecting it, calmly swayed back, letting it pass over his left shoulder. He didn't flinch.
[Ball 5.5 ] "Hit the stumps, you idiot!" the SLS captain yelled.
Thomas, blinded by rage, went for a Full Length ball, straight and fast, trying to blast him out.
Raghav was ready. He met it with another perfect, straight-bat Defensive Shot. The middle of his bat. The ball stopped.
[Ball 5.6]. Thomas let out a scream of pure frustration. He charged in and bowled his fastest delivery yet, a Short Length ball that didn't bounce as high as he expected.
Raghav rocked onto his back foot and, with his strength punched the ball firmly into the ground.
Maiden Over.
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
Raghav had survived. The SLS team's taunts died in their throats.
Thomas walked back to his fielding position, glaring daggers at the small 12-year-old who had defied him.
"Good batting, Raghav!" Rohan yelled, his voice full of new-found hope.
Raghav just nodded, his hands stinging so badly he had to secretly shake them.
The innings became a painful crawl. Raghav was the wall, Rohan the occasional scorer and they pushed the score to 35.
But Rohan, trying to farm the strike, pushed for a risky single.
WICKET!
A direct hit from the Point fielder. Rohan was out for 9.
Score: 35/4.
The rest of the batting order collapsed. It was a procession. The tail-enders were terrified of Thomas and incompetent against the spinner.
40/5... 42/6... 51/7.
Raghav, meanwhile, was in his own world. He blocked Thomas. He blocked the spinner. He took the rare single when it was offered. He was a barnacle, refusing to be removed.
Finally, in the 19th over, with the score at a pathetic 89/9, Raghav was on strike. He knew this was the last over. He had to score.
The bowler was the off-spinner.
[Ball 19.1 ] A flighted ball. Raghav charged down the pitch and hit a clean On-Drive over the Mid-On fielder's head. One bounce, Four.
[Score: 93/9. Raghav: 26.*]
[Ball 19.2 ] The spinner, nervous, dropped it Short. Raghav rocked back and played a Cut Shot for two.
[Score: 95/9. Raghav: 28.* ]
[Ball 19.3 ] He took a single.
Score: 96/9. Raghav: 29.*
The #11 batsman, terrified, somehow survived the remaining three balls.
End of Innings. Score: 96/9.
Raghav was left 29 Not Out. He was the only batsman to reach double figures.
As he walked off, the SLS team gave him a scattered, reluctant applause.
Thomas just glared. Raghav's own team was silent. 96 runs. They had to defend 97.
"We're going to lose," a senior muttered.
Coach Sarma met them at the boundary.
"96. It's not a big score but it's a score and we are still in the game. Thomas and their captain are arrogant. They'll be overconfident."
He looked at his team, his eyes burning.
"This means we have one chance. No misfields. No dropped catches. You give them nothing. Gourav, I want you to bowl faster than you have ever bowled in your life. Attack."
He then looked at Raghav, who was nursing his throbbing hands.
"Roi. You're fielding in the long off side. That's where the edges from Thomas's friends shots will go. I want you to be ready."
Raghav nodded but his fielding stats felt tiny, but his quest progress was fresh in his mind. He was more prepared than he was a week ago..
The Juggernaut's openers, Ajay (the captain) and another confident-looking boy, walked out, laughing and joking.
They needed 97 and they expected to get it in 10 overs. The fight for survival was about to begin.
(To be Continued)