Free Web NovelChapter 36: Chapter 36:
The Friday morning sun felt hot on the back of my neck by 9:30 AM. Team B walked out to resume their first innings at 132 for 2, needing just 33 runs to pass our total of 164.
I took my spot at extra-cover again, digging the side of my boot into the grass to get some grip. My hamstrings were tight from yesterday’s long batting turn, but I kept hopping on the balls of my feet to keep the blood moving.
They only have an eighteen-run deficit to clear. They are going to look for quick boundaries to put us under pressure early. Devendra needs to keep the ball full on the off-stump.
Devendra took the old ball from the pavilion end. He looked angry, his mouth set in a tight line as he completed his warm-up leap.
He ran in and delivered a fast, full ball that jagged back slightly. Their set number three batsman tried to loft it over mid-on to clear the infield quickly. He was rushing his arms. The leather caught the bottom edge of his bat, cutting straight into the base of his middle stump.
Clack.
The bails flew ten yards behind the keeper.
"Yes! Bowl like that, re!" Sanjay screamed from behind, punching his gloves together.
Score: 135 for 3.
That single wicket changed the mood on the field completely. Nitin pulled the mid-off and mid-on fielders right into the twenty-yard ring, crowding their new batsman.
Vinay came on from the opposite end, landing his off-spin right on a deep crack. The ball spat upward off the dry soil, catching the shoulder of the number five batsman’s bat. It looped straight to Kamlesh at short-leg, who took it easily at chest height.
Team B’s lower order completely panicked under the selectors’ eyes. They wanted to build a massive lead, but they were playing crooked shots against the spinning ball. Devendra came back for a three-over burst, cleaning up their tail-enders with fast yorkers aimed right at their shoes.
By 11:00 AM, Team B was bundled out for 182 All Out [M]. They had lost their final eight wickets for just fifty runs, leaving them with a small first-innings lead of 18.
Inside our tent, Nitin didn’t even take his shirt off. He stood near the equipment box, checking the clock.
"We have exactly two sessions left in this match," Nitin said, his breathing heavy as he looked at the eleven of us. "If we just block for a draw, Vasu sir won’t be impressed. We need to clear this eighteen-run lead fast, set them a target, and bowl them out before four-thirty."
"I’ll push the score early," I said, pulling my thigh guard over my trousers. "The fast bowlers are tired from the morning. If we look for singles and hit the loose balls, we can declare by tea."
Sunil grunted, grabbing his gloves. "I’ll keep the strike moving from the other end. Let’s go."
At 11:15 AM, Sunil and I walked back out to open the second innings.
The IES New English quicks looked exhausted, their bowling marks shortened because their shoulders were stiff from the morning heat. Kulkarni ran in, but his pace was down to a gentle medium-fast.
He’s bowling short to save his energy. Stay back and use the wrist-flick.
Kulkarni delivered a back-of-a-length ball on middle stump. I stayed steady on my rear foot, rolling my wrists over the bounce to send it past the short-leg fielder for a boundary along the grass.
Smack.
Two balls later, he dropped it full and wide outside off-stump. I extended my arms, executing a clean back-foot punch through the cover gap for another four. The runs came quickly because their inner field was spread out to save boundaries.
Sunil and I put on a quick forty runs before he got unluckily caught at mid-on for 12. Nitin walked out at number three and kept the same aggressive momentum going. I managed to score a quick 35 runs off 40 balls, hitting four ground boundaries, before I tried to slice a wider ball from Chavan and gave a simple catch to the point fielder.
I walked back to the tent, my job finished. Nitin went on to smash a fast 52, and our middle order played quick cameos to push the score rapidly.
Right at the 2:10 PM tea bell, Nitin declared our second innings at 168 Runs / 5 Wickets in 30 overs.
The math was perfectly set: Team A had a total lead of 150 runs. Team B needed exactly 151 runs to win in the final session of twenty-five overs, requiring a steep scoring rate of six runs per over.
We sat in the changing room during tea, our faces covered in red clay dust. Vasu Paranjape was standing near the umpire’s room, talking quietly to Coach Kadam while looking at his clipboard.
"Twenty-five overs is a one-day match for them," Nitin said, slathering zinc cream onto his nose. "They will try to swing at every ball. Kabir, you stay inside the ring at cover. Every dot ball will make them panic."
"I’ll watch the non-striker’s shoe," I said, tying my handkerchief around my right wrist. "If they try to steal a run, the direct hit is open."
At 2:30 PM, we took the field for the final session of the trial match.
Team B’s openers walked out with heavy bats, their intentions clear from the first ball. Their stocky opener, Patil, cleared his front leg against Devendra’s pace, looking to loft him over mid-wicket. He missed the first two balls completely, the leather whistling past his visor into Sanjay’s gloves.
The required rate is already climbing. They are going to run on anything now.
On the fourth over, Patil pushed a full ball straight toward my left side at extra-cover. It was a soft, checked push. He didn’t look at my position; he just screamed "Run!" and started sprinting down the track. His partner at the non-striker’s end hesitated for a microsecond before running.
I didn’t wait for the ball to stop. I sprinted two steps to my left, picked up the moving leather with my bare right hand, and threw it flat at the bowler’s end while still airborne.
Thud.
The ball struck the base of the middle stump cleanly, sending the bails flying into the air. The non-striker was a full yard outside his line, his bat still stuck in the air as he tried to slide.
"Howzatt!" the whole team roared together.
The leg-umpire didn’t even wait. His finger went straight up into the afternoon sky. The opening partnership was broken without a single run off the bat.
Score: 12 for 1.
"Brilliant throw, Kabir!" Nitin yelled from mid-off, running over to give my cap a hard slap. "That completely froze them!"
The rest of the session turned into an absolute rout of pure panic. Faced with a climbing target of six runs per over on a cracked, dry pitch, Team B’s middle order completely threw away their discipline. Their number three batsman tried to sweep Vinay’s off-spin against the turn, top-edging the ball straight to short-fine-leg for 8.
Score: 34 for 2.
By 3:45 PM, the sun was dropping behind the grandstands, casting long, slatted shadows across the white clay. Team B’s captain, Joshi, tried to anchor the chase, scratching out a quick twenty runs, but the lower order was completely folding around him.
Our senior spinner, Manish, bowled a flat, straight line, hitting the stumps three times in two overs as their tail-enders swung blindly across the line.
Right at 4:10 PM, with just three overs remaining on the clock, Devendra fired a fast, skidding yorker that went straight through the number eleven’s defensive push, knocking the leg-stump out of the ground.
"All out!" the main umpire shouted, pulling the wooden bails from the turf.
Team B was bundled out for exactly 122 Runs in 22 Overs. Team A had turned the match around completely on the second day, winning the final selection trial match by 28 runs.
We walked back toward the pavilion stairs in a tight line, our shirts brown from the maidan dust, our throats dry. Chief Selector Vasu Paranjape stood near the boundary gate, his notebook closed under his arm pit. He didn’t smile, but as I dragged my heavy kit bag past his stool, he gave me a short, single nod through his spectacles. The match was won, the trials were finished, and the final list was going up on the board tomorrow morning.
