The match started with chaos.
The 'Vizag Vipers' were batting first. It was a 15-over match, and they had come out swinging.
By the 4th over, the score was already 40 for 0.
Arjun stood at Deep Fine Leg, the most useless position on the field. The sun hammered down on his neck. The red dust swirled around his ankles.
He was invisible. The Captain ignored him. The bowler ignored him. He was just a warm body placed in the corner to fill the count.
"Oye! Stop bowling short!" the Captain screamed, throwing his hands up.
The bowler, a sweaty engineering student, looked helpless. "He's scooping everything! The wind is taking it!"
Arjun watched the batsman—a burly guy named Shiva. He was playing with the field. Every time the ball was on his legs, he didn't hit it hard. He just used the pace and the heavy sea breeze to scoop it behind the keeper.
The 5th over began.
Arjun felt the wind on his face. It was blowing hard towards the leg side boundary.
He saw Shiva shuffle across his stumps before the ball was even released. He was gripping the bat low. He was getting ready to lap it again.
The Captain had placed a fielder at Deep Fine Leg (Arjun) and a fielder at Deep Square Leg. Both were useless. The shot was going behind the wicket, but it wasn't carrying to the boundary because the wind was swirling.
Arjun didn't wave his hand. He didn't shout "Captain!"
He just walked. He left his spot at the boundary. He walked twenty yards inside the circle, moving to a weird, empty spot—Short 45. A position halfway between the Wicket Keeper and the Umpire.
The Captain turned around and saw him.
"Oy! Schoolboy!" The Captain pointed furiously at the boundary. "Go back! Who told you to move? Go back to the rope!"
Arjun hesitated. He heard the anger in the Captain's voice. A week ago, he would have run back, scared. But he looked at the batsman's grip again. The shot was coming.
Arjun stayed planted. He didn't argue. He just crouched, hands on knees, eyes locked on the bat.
"Fine!" The Captain screamed. "If it goes for four, you are out of the team!"
The bowler ran in. He bowled a full delivery on the legs.
Shiva grinned. He dipped his knees. He angled his bat to scoop it over the keeper.
Ping.
He didn't connect fully. The heavy tennis ball hit the toe of the bat. It didn't fly to the boundary. It looped gently, high in the air... straight to Short 45.
Arjun didn't have to run. He just cupped his hands.
The ball dropped into his palms with a soft thud.
The ground went silent. Shiva slammed his bat into the dust.
"OUT!" the umpire shouted.
The Captain walked up to Arjun. He looked at the spot where Arjun was standing. Then he looked at the boundary where Arjun should have been.
"How did you know?" the Captain asked, breathless. Arjun shrugged, tossing the ball back. "Wind."
The Captain shook his head, a grin breaking out. "Mental fellow. Good catch."
The catch changed the game. The Vipers collapsed after Shiva got out, bowled out for a manageable 72 runs.
Arjun's team chased aggressively. By the 6th over, the score was 48 for 2. The pressure was off.
"Arjun! Pad up," the Captain said. "We are winning easily. Go get some practice."
Arjun grabbed his bat—the heavy one he had practiced with.
"But listen," the Captain warned. "Don't play a Test match out there. If you get stuck, I'm calling you back. I don't want the run rate to drop."
"Understood."
Arjun walked to the crease. The Vipers' bowler saw him—a small kid with a big bat—and laughed. "Orey, are we running a daycare? Send a batsman, not a baby."
Ball 1: The bowler ran in casually. A full toss on the pads. Arjun didn't panic. He flicked it to square leg. "Run!" He sprinted. His legs felt heavy, but he made the single easily.
Ball 2: Arjun was back on strike. The bowler, still relaxed, bowled a half-volley outside off stump. Not too fast.
Arjun saw the line. Width. Swing.
For seven nights, he had swung a weighted bat in front of a mirror. He leaned into the shot. He didn't try to slog. He transferred his weight and presented the full face of the bat.
Thock.
Pure timing. The ball raced through the gap in the covers. It skimmed over the rough outfield and crossed the rope.
FOUR.
"Shot!" his teammates cheered from the pavilion.
The Vipers' wicketkeeper threw his gloves down in frustration. "Orey!" he screamed at the bowler. "Are you sleeping? A school kid is hitting you for cover drives? Shame on you! Bowl properly!"
Even the bowler's own teammates laughed. "He's hitting you like a pro, ra! Do you need a helmet?"
Ball 3: The bowler's ego woke up. His face turned red. He tightened his bandana. He wasn't looking at Arjun like a kid anymore; he was looking at him like a target.
He ran in hard. Whoosh. He bowled fast. A length ball, skidding off the hard surface.
Arjun saw the line. He tried to drive again. But this time, the pace was real. His wrists were too weak to hold the heavy bat steady against the impact. The bat twisted in his hand at the last second. The ball hit the inner half of the bat and trickled to mid-on. Dot ball.
Ball 4: The bowler grunted and fired a yorker. Fast. Arjun jammed his bat down. The impact jarred his shoulder, sending a shockwave up his thin arms. He dug it out, but he had no power to push it into the gap. Dot ball.
For the next over, it was a battle of survival. The bowler kept banging it in short or firing fast full deliveries. Arjun knew where the gaps were. His brain screamed Cut! or Pull!, but his body couldn't execute.
Whenever he tried to hit hard, his soft wrists collapsed under the heavy bat, absorbing the power instead of transferring it. The ball would just die on the pitch.
He managed to nudge and steer a few singles using the bowler's pace, but he couldn't clear the infield.
After 12 balls, Arjun looked at the scoreboard. 8 Runs (1 Four, 4 Singles).
He was safe, but he was stuck. The gaps were there, but he didn't have the horsepower to reach them.
"Oyy! Arjun! Retire!" The Captain shouted from the boundary, waving his hand frantically. "Come back!"
Arjun nodded. He didn't argue. He knew the math. He walked off the field, dragging his bat.
As he crossed the rope, the Captain patted his back. "That cover drive was classy, ra. But go eat more eggs. Your wrists are like noodles against pace. The ball is hitting the bat, but the bat is sleeping."
Arjun sat down, sipping cool water. He had survived the technique test. He had failed the strength test.
Arjun's team won the match in the 11th over. The money exchanged hands. The tension dissolved into friendly banter as both teams drank Thums Up.
Arjun stood to the side, holding the ball.
He wasn't satisfied. The catch was tactical. The batting was decent. But he needed to test the one thing he had truly worked on.
He walked up to Shiva, the Viper's team star batsman.
"Anna," Arjun said.
Shiva looked down, wiping sweat with a towel. "What, hero? Good catch. Lucky, but good."
"Can I bowl one over? Just for fun?"
Shiva laughed. He looked at his friends. "Orey, the kid wants to bowl to me. Shall I show him the moon?"
"Go easy on him, Shiva!" his friends yelled, laughing. "Don't break his nose."
Shiva picked up his bat. "Come on then. Three balls. Don't cry if you lose the ball."
Arjun marked a short run-up. The crowd gathered around, grinning, expecting a comedy show.
Ball 1:
Arjun ran in. He focused on his back. Straight.
He bowled a simple, good-length delivery.
Shiva defended it lazily. "Not bad. Straight. But no pace."
Ball 2:
Shiva tapped his bat. "Okay, now watch."
Arjun bowled. Slightly short.
Shiva stepped back and smashed it.
BOOM.
The ball flew over the pavilion roof. A massive six.
The crowd roared with laughter.
"Orey Shiva! Why are you bullying the kid?"
"Poor guy, look at his face!"
Arjun didn't flinch. He watched the ball disappear. He got a spare ball from a fielder.
Ball 3.
Arjun gripped the ball.
He didn't hold it on the seam. He ran his index finger across the seam.
The Off-Cutter.
He ran in. Same speed. Same action.
Shiva grinned. He wound up for another massive slog over mid-wicket to finish the show.
Arjun released.
The ball pitched on off-stump. Shiva swung his bat hard.
But the ball didn't come on. It gripped the dust. It cut sharply into the batsman.
Shiva's bat swiped through empty air.
Click.
The ball kissed the off-stump bail. The bail fell silently to the ground.
Shiva stood there, his bat still in the air, looking back at the stumps.
The crowd cheered, clapping.
"Ayooo! Shiva out to a kid!"
"Good ball, ra! Shiva gave you his wicket out of pity!"
One of Shiva's teammates walked up and ruffled Arjun's hair. "Good job, Chotu. You actually rattled Shiva's stumps "
Arjun smiled politely. "Thanks, Anna."
He picked up his bag and started walking away.
Shiva was still standing at the crease, staring at the pitch. His friend walked up to him.
"Come on, let's go. Nice gesture, letting him bowl you."
Shiva looked at his friend. His face was dead serious. There was no smile.
"I didn't let him," Shiva whispered, his voice low. "I aimed for the six."
"What?"
Shiva looked at Arjun's retreating back, his eyes narrowing.
"I didn't miss it. It cut. That kid... he just spun a tennis ball at pace."