Akib called Mahit over. He was the bowler who Akib had asked for. His best bowler. A upgrade over Adarsh. It was Mahit's third over. He looked at Ali.
"So, a change in batsmen? I'm not as easy as Millind or Adarsh to face." Said Mahit.
Ali chuckled.
"I'm not as easy to face either." Countered Ali.
"Your laugh sounds like a tractor, Ali." Stated Mahit. "We will be hearing more laughs soon however, after your wicket."
"If you say so." Said Ali, before he looked at Samuel.
Mahit bowled the first ball. It was a carrom ball, designed to ensnare whoever lofted it. But Samuel had seen the slight skid in the ball, and pushed the ball into the boundary.
Four. No matter the bowler, Samuel would play aggressively.
[ Samuel 58* (36) | Ali 10* (2) | 107/1 ]
The next ball was swiped for a single. Ali was now on strike.
Mahit bowled a googly, which Ali took a double from.
Ali defended the next two balls for dots. Mahit decided to finish this with the last ball of the over.
He bowled a drifter ball. Ali, however planted his foot forward, before reverse sweeping the ball into the boundary. Six.
[ Samuel 59* (37) | Ali 18* (5) | 116/1 ]
"Wow, I didn't expect that." Mahit was surprised. How had Ali hit his best bowling technique?
After that, for the next five overs, Ali and Samuel struck a good partnership.
[ Samuel 89* (49) | Ali 40* (23) | 168/1 ]
They still needed 42 runs off 18 balls. A run rate of 12 runs per over. It was going to be difficult. But they had to do it, or else they would not be able to get the 1st place in the qualifying table.
Manish watched on, while thinking, "Are they actually going to win?"
The Ashwandeep crowd were cheering louder than before. Akib sent Kamlesh to bowl the 17th, his spin experiment long over.
For the first three balls, Ali and Samuel simply took single after single.
The Ashwandeep crowd was screaming, "Send the ball up in the air!"
Kamlesh then bowled a inswinger, which Samuel defended, but the ball deflected into the hands of Shreeman, who pushed the ball up once before catching it.
Samuel walked away from the pitch, his dangerous innings all but over. However, the small Ashwandeep crowd of 120 people clapped loudly.
Shrivastav was up next, and he simply walked over to the pitch.
"Come on, man." Said Kamlesh. "I will show you skill, okay?"
"Skill?" Asked Shrivastav. "Sure."
Shrivastav took a single on Kamlesh's fifth ball of the over, and Ali was now on strike. Kamlesh bowled a yorker, which Ali advanced onto and hit a six off of.
"Where skill, bro?" Mocked Shrivastav.
Kamlesh looked at him annoyed, but couldn't say anything.
[ Shrivastav 1* (1) | Ali 46* (24) | 175/2 ]
35 runs in 12 balls. Ali and Shrivastav went over to talk to each other.
"We have to finish this off quickly." Said Shrivastav.
"The next over is important, we need to hit as much runs as possible there." Stated Ali. "Well then. I will risk my wicket this over. Anchor for Dalal when he comes up next."
"Alright." Said Shrivastav.
Ishan was to bowl the penultimate over. He had the most important job of all the bowlers, and that was to make it as easy as possible for Kamlesh to defend the target.
Shrivastav pushed the first ball away for a single, Ali was once again on strike.
Ishan bowled the second ball, a bouncer. Ali moved his bat backwards, guiding the ball into the boundary behind the wicket. Six.
28 runs in 10 balls.
The third ball was a outswinger that ripped away from Ali. But Ali punched the ball into the boundary. Another six.
22 runs in 9 balls.
Ishan then bowled a yorker. Ali this time played a perfect cover drive, exactly like Virat Kohli. The ball ran between Ishan's legs before reaching the boundary.
18 runs in 8 balls.
Ishan missed his line and length in the last two balls, both of which went for fours. In order for Ashwandeep to win, they needed ten runs of the last over.
[ Shrivastav 2* (2) | Ali 70* (29) | 200/2 ]
Kamlesh was bowling the last over. This was Akib's last chance to save the game. He motioned the fielders into specific areas, kept Anzal and Millind away from each other, and motivated Kamlesh as much as he could.
"Do it." Said Akib. "Do anything. As long as it saves this match."
Kamlesh ran up to the crease, bowling a fast yorker.
Shrivastav hit the ball to the side, and took two runs.
Kamlesh then bowled a seam ball. In response, Shrivastav hit it again and ran once, taking a single.
"This Ishan guy, man." Thought Kamlesh. "Causing full issues for me and all."
He gritted his teeth. He couldn't let Ashwandeep win. Even if they did, he would make it as hard as he could.
Ali was now on the crease. He knew what he had to do.
Kamlesh bowled another yorker. However, in his anger of Ishan ruining his over, he misfired, leading to a full toss. Ali saw this, and played a back footed pull shot, which went for a six.
One run in three balls. The win was almost Ashwandeep's.
Kamlesh bowled a fast straight ball. Ali tried to block it, but his bat missed. The ball careened into the wicket.
"Howwzattt!" Screamed the small Excellence crowd. Kamlesh jumped in joy, hugging Akib.
Dalal was the next batsman after Ali. He put his bat in front and prepared to face Kamlesh. Kamlesh bowled a slower ball, which Dalal pushed to the side. Dalal then signaled Shrivastav.
"Run!" Screamed Dalal.
Shrivastav obliged, and began running. It was however, quickly caught by Millind, who threw the ball to the wicket.
But…
Shrivastav dived at the last moment, leading to him reaching the crease with the tip of his bat before the ball hit the wicket.
Ashwandeep had won.
TO BE CONTINUED
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