Chapter 33: The Semi-final Day Match [6]
The ten-minute innings break felt charged with a strange, reversed energy.
On the Spring Dale side, there was a casual, relaxed air.
Their players lounged on the grass, laughing and sharing jokes.
Their two openers, Captain Rohan Sharma and his partner Sameer, padded up with the unhurried ease of men heading for a routine net session. The chase was a formality.
On the Shanti Vidya Mandir School side, there was a tense, coiled silence.
The players sat in a tight semi-circle on the ground, gulping water, their knuckles white on their bottles.
They were showing their exhaustion and their nerves. Coach Sarma didn't sit. He paced in front of them, his shadow falling over each player like a judge.
Raghav, his arm throbbing in its plaster cast, stood beside him.
His Intelligence Boost had long since faded, leaving him with the cold, analytical 25 points of his base Cricket IQ. He was scanning the relaxed SDI batsmen, his mind racing.
