Steve and Akib were now batting. Steve was a guy known for his extremely cautious batting. He held his bat tightly, planning to only take singles and doubles so that Akib can start focusing on increasing the run rate.
[ Steve 0* (0) | Akib 42* (37) | 119/1 ]
Steve simply sent the next ball for a single and Akib did the same.
Chinnar Rai bowled the last ball of the over, which Steve tried to hit for another single, but the quickfire reaction of Suraj led to his run out.
[ Steve 1 (2) | Akib 43* (38) | 120/2 ]
After him was Prashanth. He was a tall guy, and the people from Excellence had given him the nickname of "Giraffe".
Suraj was to bowl the next over. Prashanth first pushed the next ball away to the boundary, and then took a single, giving Akib a chance to up the run rate.
Suraj bowled an off spinner this time, which Akib read and sent away for another four.
[ Prashanth 5* (2) | Akib 47* (39) | 129/2 ]
Suraj ruffled his hair. Akib was like a brick wall. Whatever he tried, Akib still wouldn't get out.
"Is he some kind of robot?" Thought Suraj.
Ali saw his desperation, and came over to him.
"Try to confuse him somehow." Adviced Ali.
Suraj suddenly got inspiration. He changed his plans. The third ball of the over was a leg spinner. Akib took a double here.
The next ball was an off spinner. It was a pattern. Akib hit that ball away for a six.
[ Prashanth 5* (2) | Akib 55* (41) | 137/2 ]
Suraj stayed calm. He bowled the next ball , which was an off spinner again. Akib assumed it would be an leg spinner, and he lofted the ball upwards. The ball flew away, but instead towards the safe hands of Dalal.
Akib was out. Ali rushed to Suraj, and high fived him.
"Good one." Said Ali. "That's how we do things here."
Suraj thanked him. However in the dugout, Millind rubbed his hands in delight.
"The guy finally got out. If I play a match winning knock, maybe the Gujarat team will finally take me away from here." Thought Millind.
Milind's father used to play for the Gujarat Ranji team. He had to go beyond his father's belief that he would also play for the Ranji team. No, he had to play for the national team.
But sadly, there was too much competition in the school teams in Mumbai. So he had to come to Karnataka, so that he could get a spot in a school team. The Excellence scouts noticed this, and hence brought him in.
But he hated the people in the college. Especially the girls of his class. He believed all of them were egotistical. He and Anzal used to fight regularly as well, but Akib usually stopped these fights.
Akib walked over to Millind.
"Remember the plan." Said Akib. "But don't forget to stay calm."
"Ah, ok, sure, got it…" Said Millind.
"You forgot the plan, didn't you?" Asked Akib. "No matter, the plan has been thrown out for a toss. Do what you want, man."
"As someone said, I will make this team great again." Said Millind.
"What?" Akib was confused.
"Nothing." Said Millind, before adjusting his pads.
Akib looked at him, while thinking, "I guess it's that meta thing he was talking about."
Anzal meanwhile, was talking to a teammate nearby.
"Bet he will score less than 30 runs." Speculated Anzal.
"What about you?" Asked Shreemaan. "You threw away your wicket."
"I literally scored 77 runs." Stated Anzal. "And I am our team's top scorer. So shut it."
"Whatever." Said Shreeman.
Millind went into an attacking stance. Suraj bowled a slower top spin ball. Millind defended against it.
"Not the right time." He thought to himself.
The last ball of Suraj's over was a googly, which Millind failed to read and hit for a single.
[ Prashanth 5* (2) | Millind 1* (2) | 139/3 ]
Millind then went on to make a partnership with Prashanth of 50 runs for the next 5 overs.
Then came the last over, which was to be bowled by Anirudh.
[ Prashanth 25* (14) | Millind 31* (20) | 189/3 ]
Anirudh bowled his first ball. It was a yorker. Or at least, it was supposed to be. Instead, it was a full toss that Millind hammered away for a six.
The next two balls held similar results. Millind whacked them all for sixes. Anirudh had been overconfident. For the last two weeks he hadn't trained properly. He was unraveling.
Millind looked at Anirudh who was desperate.
"Sorry, but someone's got to be the springboard to my success." He thought to himself.
The last three balls were a four, and two doubles.
[ Prashanth 25* (14) | Millind 51* (26) | 209/3 ]
Millind smirked. Another good knock. Maybe once he qualifies and wins the tournament for Excellence, he would finally be free from that stupid college.
Anirudh however, was completely distraught.
Suraj came over to him and told him, "I told you, didn't I?"
"Oh shut up." Countered Anirudh.
Anzal was also a bit annoyed, as Millind had ruined his bet.
"Less than 30, it seems." Laughed Shreeman. "Look what my best friend did."
"You didn't even bat." Countered Anzal. "Even if you did bat, you would just be an anchor so that your master could bat aggressively. At least Prashanth did something."
"Master?!" Repeated Shreeman, his eyebrows curled. "I'm just hyping my friend up."
"Enough." Shouted Mahit and Akib in unison.
Both of them went silent.
Meanwhile, at the Ashwandeep dugout, plans were being made.
"Has everyone prepared themselves to face spin?" Asked Shrivastav.
"Yes!" Came the cry from the other players.
"I'm so tired of spin, that I'm willing to do anything just to stop facing it.." Groaned Zayed.
"Don't worry, Millind, Mahit and Adarsh are waiting for you." Joked Ali. "12 overs of spin, just for you."
The Ashwandeep team joked and chatted, while planning for the second innings.
TO BE CONTINUED
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