Chapter 27: Garnering Interest
Time passed smoothly, and two weeks went by in a blur of travel, hotels, and cricket grounds.
Mumbai U19 had been spectacular, winning 4 out of the remaining 5 matches in the West Zone league..
The first of the 4 matches was against Baroda U19, a team known for producing all-rounders like the Pathan brothers.
The match ended in a comfortable 5-wicket win for Mumbai, with Aryan taking 2 wickets and scoring a quickfire 30 not out to finish the game.
In the next match against Maharashtra U19, played at the MCA Stadium in Pune, Coach Kulkarni decided to bench Aryan.
He stated that Aryan needed to rest after playing back-to-back high-intensity matches. Also playing the "you're yet to grow up completely" card, Coach Kulkarni strengthened his decision to protect his young asset from burnout.
Mumbai U19 didn't disappoint and won by 20 runs, defending a low total thanks to a late spell by the spinners.
The third match was against Saurashtra U19. The match was played away from home in Rajkot, denying Priya, Riya, and Ananya the chance to watch it as Priya had an important client meeting that day and couldn't drive the long distance.
Aryan played marvelously as usual. On a flat Rajkot deck, he scored a brilliant century (110 runs) and took 1 wicket, which brought his tally to 280 runs and 8 wickets in the zonal stage.
Aryan was getting near to the mission given by the System. He had to score 20 more runs and take 2 more wickets to complete the serial challenge.
Aryan was ecstatic for the 4th match against Gujarat U19 in Ahmedabad. His mood, however, changed when Coach Kulkarni told him to rest for the last group match against Bhopal U19 (representing MPCA).
Aryan was saddened by how the situation had turned out as he wasn't sure if he could get the required runs and wickets in just the Gujarat game if he failed.
He was planning to try and get the milestones today and treat the Bhopal match as a bonus, but now he had to perform against Gujarat or risk leaving it all for the knockouts—if the quest allowed it.
No matter how anxious Aryan was, he was happy when Mumbai U19 beat Gujarat U19 by 4 wickets, with Aryan contributing a solid 45 runs and taking 1 wicket. He was now agonizingly close: 295 runs and 9 wickets.
Mumbai U19 had topped the West Zone group ahead of the last game as they led Baroda U19 by 5 points, indicating that even if they lost the last game against Bhopal, they would still be on top of the group and qualify for the nationals.
Aryan, in the recent matches, had drawn quite a bit of attention as he always drew the interest of the local media in every city they played in.
It started in Mumbai against Rizvi where he appeared in a small column in the Mid-Day newspaper. It was the same when they played in Pune and Rajkot.
The Times of India sports section had a headline: "The 14-Year-Old Wonderkid of Mumbai."
A few scouts from other state associations like Railways and Services, who were always looking for young talent to recruit on sports quotas, had shown a bit of interest in acquiring Aryan.
There were even whispers that scouts from the newly formed Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises—which were buzzing in the news for the upcoming 2008 inaugural season—were keeping tabs on domestic youth talents.
However, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) had turned down any informal approaches, stating he wasn't of age yet and they had no intention of issuing a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for him to play elsewhere.
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Mumbai, Aryan's Bedroom
Aryan, who had just finished his 10th Standard board exam study session, was sitting on his bed in a dilemma.
He was contemplating whether he should distribute his accumulated stat points or wait a bit. He had accumulated quite a few of them during the two weeks that had passed thanks to his consistent performances.
Right now, he was staring at the personal information tab projected holographically in front of him.
[PLAYER INFO]
NAME: ARYAN SHARMA
AGE: 14 (4 months TO 15)
HEIGHT: 1.81m (6'0")
PROFESSION: CRICKETER
STATUS: YOUTH PROSPECT
TEAM: Mumbai U19
SYSTEM EVALUATION: Youth Prospect
PLAYER RATING: 66/100
POSITION: Fast-Bowling All-Rounder
POTENTIAL: 87
LEGEND POINTS: 10,500/67,000 to LV 5
STAT POINTS: 50
[STATS]
Speed: 70
Footwork: 65
Spatial Awareness: 65
Technique: 65
Batting: 66
Bowling: 64
Physical Strength: 64
Weak Zone Proficiency: 4 stars
Shot Creativity: 4 stars
[SKILLS POSSESSED]
Cover Drive: 85% Completion
Helicopter Shot: 50% Completion
Switch Hit: 70% Completion
Reverse Paddle: 50% Completion
[TRAITS]
Improviser: Equipped
Gap Piercer: Equipped
Blitz: Equipped
Aryan was really tempted to dump points into Bowling to bring it up to par with his Batting, however, he had already made up his mind to do it after the next match against Bhopal to ensure he hit the quest targets.
Aryan closed the tab before sending an SMS to Ananya on his Nokia phone. The two had gotten closer in the past 2 weeks and had been texting each other like this for a while, mostly discussing exams and cricket.
Aryan stood up to go and complete his daily task as he had slept in after the harsh training they went through yesterday upon returning to Mumbai.
He grabbed his bat and went to the local maidan. Aryan, while doing the System's running tasks, saw a group of players on the pitch nearby.
Aryan was near completion of his task and decided to speed up and finish it.
After he finished, he walked towards the pitch and sat on one of the concrete benches on the boundary.
He sat there watching the group of players on the pitch. They were playing with a hard tennis ball—a staple of Mumbai cricket culture. He saw that they were about to play a match and decided to sit and watch it before heading home.
"Guys, Amit said he won't be able to come, his tuition ran late," one of the players who had just been on the phone said.
"How can we play then, Jayesh? We're one man short for the fielding restrictions," another player said to the one who had just been on the phone.
"What about him?" one of the guys on the pitch said, pointing to Aryan.
The players turned to look at Aryan who was looking at the other team warming up.
Aryan, feeling the gazes, turned his head to see them staring at him. He smiled and waved politely.
"His face doesn't look like someone who plays rough cricket. He looks more like those Bollywood child actors," one commented.
"Well, it's better than playing handicapped," said Jayesh, who was walking towards Aryan.
"Hey, we're playing a match but we're one man short, can you join us?" Jayesh said as he got to Aryan. Aryan, who saw that he had nothing better to do on a rest day, agreed.
"Sure. Aryan, by the way," he said while positioning his hand for a shake.
"Jayesh," he said while taking Aryan's hand.
"Oh yeah, I didn't bring my gear though," Aryan said while pointing to his jogging shoes and lack of whites.
"No worries, it's tennis ball cricket. Just need a bat, and we have plenty," Jayesh said.
"Do you have a position that you would like to play?" Jayesh asked.
Aryan thought about it for a while. In professional matches, he had to play responsibly. Here, he could experiment.
"Can I open the batting and bowl a bit?" Aryan said. Jayesh sighed in relief as he didn't have to force anyone to bowl the tough overs.
"Oh yeah, sure. The guy you're filling in for plays on that spot."
"Hey guys, this is Aryan," Jayesh said as they neared the group.
Aryan waved as he received nods and smiles from the players.
"Okay, well now that we're okay, let's get this match underway. Give the extra bat to Aryan," Jayesh said while staring at a green-eyed boy with freckles named Chintu.
"Okay." Aryan geared up, taking the heavy tennis-ball bat.
Aryan got into position at the non-striker's end before the umpire (a random uncle from the neighborhood) yelled "Play."
Aryan's team was fielding first. They were chasing the ball all over the dusty maidan the moment the other team started hitting.
Aryan decided to walk around and supervise the game from mid-off, trying to gauge the ability of his team and the opponent team.
After a while, Aryan saw that the opponents were the better team as they were playing like they played together every weekend.
His team, on the other hand, were just running around trying to retrieve the ball like headless chickens.
Aryan, seeing the need for a change of tactics, approached Jayesh after the over.
"Hey Jayesh, how about we bowl wider outside off stump? They are slogging everything on the leg side. If we force them to reach, they might mishit to the covers," Aryan suggested.
Jayesh looking around saw that what Aryan had said was true; the leg-side boundary was short and they were exploiting it.
He called back the bowler and told him the plan.
The plan worked.
The run rate slowed down. Aryan came onto bowl.
He bowled tight lines, his 70 Speed stat making the tennis ball skid dangerously fast off the concrete pitch.
He took 3 wickets in 2 overs.
Now, it was time to chase. Aryan's team needed 80 runs in 8 overs.
Aryan's teammates retreated to the boundary line, watching nervously.
The chance came a while later when Aryan took the strike in the first over.
Aryan, sensing that the game was too dull, decided to spice things up.
He faced the first ball. It was a length ball.
Aryan sped up his bat swing.
The bowler tried to cramp him for room, but Aryan just stepped back and made room.
A bit of laughs were drawn from the onlookers who had gathered around the pitch after seeing Aryan toy with the bowler.
(To be Continued)