Chapter 58: Chapter 58

Chapter 58: Rest of India [1]

"Hello lovely viewers. We are live from the Wankhede Stadium here in Mumbai, and I’m glad to say that I’m absolutely thrilled to be in charge of this commentary."

"My name is Harsha Bhogle, and I’m glad to be joined by the legendary Sunil Gavaskar."

"Thank you, Harsha. I’m excited to be here too. It’s not everyday that we get to see a contest of this caliber—the newly crowned Ranji Trophy Champions, Mumbai, taking on the might of the Rest of India in the prestigious Irani Cup."

"Absolutely, Sunny. We have a full house here at the Wankhede. The fans have turned up in numbers to support their local heroes, and of course, to see the stars of the Indian national team representing the Rest of India."

"Well, let’s not wait anymore and move onto the lineups, starting with the hosts, Mumbai."

"It seems Captain Wasim Jaffer is leading a side brimming with confidence. They are playing their standard combination that won them the title."

"The openers, Sahil Kukreja and Ajinkya Rahane, have been solid at the top."

"Following them is the young prodigy who has taken the domestic circuit by storm—Aryan Sharma. He is listed at number 4 today, cementing his place in the middle order."

"A huge responsibility for a 15-year-old, Harsha. Partnering him is the elegance of Rohit Sharma and the grit of Abhishek Nayar."

"And keeping wickets is Vinayak Samant. The bowling attack is spearheaded by the experienced Ajit Agarkar and Zaheer Khan, partnered with the spin of Ramesh Powar."

"You know, Sunny, I’m excited to see Aryan play live against this quality of opposition. There are whispers that IPL scouts are watching him very closely ahead of the inaugural auction."

"Me too, Harsha, me too. If he can perform against this attack, the sky’s the limit."

"Okay, moving on to the Rest of India lineup."

"Captain MS Dhoni leads the charge. He will be looking to test the Mumbai boys with his aggressive leadership."

"Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir are at the top—a frightening opening pair for any bowler."

"The middle order is packed with class: VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, and Mohammad Kaif."

"The bowling is equally lethal. Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble—who Aryan has faced before—are the spinners. While RP Singh and Sreesanth handle the pace duties."

"Okay folks, now that the pleasantries are out of the way, let’s get right into the match. The umpires are walking out. Wasim Jaffer and Sahil Kukreja are marking their guard. RP Singh has the new ball."

The sound of leather hitting willow echoed around the stadium to signify the start of the match.

Wasim Jaffer quickly defended the first ball and rotated the strike to Sahil Kukreja.

RP Singh, after receiving the ball back, made a quick adjustment to his line, trying to see if there were any gaps in the Mumbai opener’s technique that could allow them to make an early breakthrough.

That, however, proved fruitless as the Mumbai openers had set up a stalwart defense that seemed like it wouldn’t crumble. He opted to bowl a slightly wider line, which Kukreja left alone comfortably.

It seemed Rest of India had plans to settle into the game first before trying anything aggressive.

This worked too for Mumbai as they also settled nicely into the game. Five overs had passed since the first ball, and Mumbai hadn’t lost a wicket, though the scoring rate was low.

Rest of India were just bowling disciplined lines with no intention to give away free runs. This made a few Mumbai batsmen try to press the issue, but a shout from the dressing room—Coach Amre’s voice—warned them to stay patient.

It seems Rest of India’s plan had been seen through. They were waiting for Mumbai to take the bait so they could induce a loose shot, but they fell short.

Or rather, Jaffer had conducted his team well. The Mumbai openers began to rotate the strike more frequently, which proved effective as it forced a change in the field placements.

Wasim Jaffer, who held his bat with authority, quickly guided a ball to third man for a single.

Sahil Kukreja, after a quick look, defended the next ball back to the bowler.

Aryan, who had just been sitting in the dugout scanning the pitch and the bowlers’ actions, stood up and moved to the boundary line to shadow practice as the first wicket fell—Kukreja trapped LBW by Sreesanth.

Rohit Sharma walked in at number 3. He noticed Aryan stretching and gave him a nod.

Rohit tried to settle, but the Rest of India attack was relentless. Sreesanth was swinging the ball both ways. A peach of a delivery caught Rohit’s outside edge, and Dhoni made no mistake behind the stumps.

Aryan Sharma walked out to the middle. The crowd roared—a mixture of support and anticipation.

He looked around and saw the field. MS Dhoni had set a trap: slip, gully, and a short leg. He was testing the youngster.

"System," Aryan thought.

[System Active. Opponent: Rest of India. Difficulty: High.]

Aryan took his guard. He faced Sreesanth.

Sreesanth ran in, his eyes wide with aggression. He bowled a bouncer, trying to unsettle the kid.

Aryan didn’t flinch. He swayed back effortlessly, watching the ball sail to Dhoni.

"Good leave," Jaffer said from the non-striker’s end.

Aryan carefully looked back to make sure his foot placement was correct before preparing for the next ball.

With a jog—no, a rhythmic tap of the bat—Aryan nudged the next ball to mid-on before making a decisive call for a single.

Jaffer didn’t disappoint and carefully completed the run.

Aryan wasn’t a slogger, but he knew his strengths well as he wormed his way through the high-quality bowling with his exceptional timing and placement.

He looked up for gaps but saw none. The field was tight. He once again came face-to-face with an international quality bowler.

This time it was Harbhajan Singh, the Turbanator. "Shit," Aryan thought as Harbhajan flighted the ball, inviting a drive.

Aryan, not knowing if the ball would turn or drift, waited till the last second. His savior had come in the form of his [Technique: 86].

Aryan played the ball with soft hands, dropping it dead at his feet.

He didn’t waste any time. Aryan signaled Jaffer to wait. He had already set a target for the shot he was about to play.

Aryan, after taking control of the over, immediately played a defense-splitting drive that made the ball look like it had a mind of its own.

The shot found its way through the gap between cover and mid-off.

The ball raced to the boundary.

Gasps of admiration could be heard from both fans and the Rest of India players alike.

They had seen the replays, but seeing it live was different.

Harbhajan, after the ball had gone for four, quickly followed up and adjusted his length.

Aryan, after spotting the change, quickly stepped out. He met the pitch of the ball perfectly.

The ball moved sharply off the bat and once again the Rest of India were saved by their fielder at long-off, who tipped the ball back in just before the rope. Three runs.

Aryan went to the non-striker’s end and punched gloves with Jaffer. Aryan looked around the field once more before preparing to back up.

Jaffer, this time, rose to the challenge and flicked the ball through square leg. His placement, however, wasn’t that precise.

The ball hit the ground before bouncing perfectly in front of the fielder. Time seemed to stop at that moment as Jaffer called for a risky single.

It seemed that Aryan was made for the moment as he sprinted with his [Speed: 90].

He dove into the crease just as the throw demolished the stumps.

"Not Out," the umpire signaled after a review.

The stadium went silent, albeit for a moment, as the crowd suddenly exploded into life seeing the replay of Aryan’s dive.

The Mumbai fans erupted into cheers. Jaffer immediately walked towards Aryan.

"Careful, kid. Don’t run me out," Jaffer joked, patting his helmet.

Coach Amre on the sidelines was relieved as he unconsciously bumped his fist in the air after seeing Aryan survive.

Now his team was stabilizing, and although it wasn’t time to relax, his team could at least play without the immediate threat of a collapse.

Lalchand Rajput, the Rest of India coach, smiled wryly at the situation he had at hand. He was contemplating a bowling change but decided against it.

He wanted to watch for a while to see what the kid would do against spin.

The umpire, as soon as the players got into their positions, restarted the match.

Harbhajan bowled again as the Mumbai players began rotating the strike, trying to build a partnership, but the Rest of India’s fielding proved a tough nut to crack.

Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif were patrolling the covers and point, snuffing out threats before they even became one.

Mumbai was now seeing more of the ball as the players played optimally, getting rid of any risky shots.

Aryan, in the heat of the match, made cool and clean drives and at the same time would help out in calling the runs.

Rest of India finally got a breakthrough after a mistimed pull shot saw Wasim Jaffer get caught at deep square leg.

He immediately began walking back, angry with himself.

Rahane walked in (or rather, Abhishek Nayar, since Rahane opened). Nayar looked around and saw a free gap at mid-wicket.

Nayar quickly sent the ball to the gap for a couple.

But just as Mumbai looked to rebuild, disaster struck. Nayar, trying to be aggressive against Kumble, edged one to slip.

Aryan stood at the non-striker’s end, watching the collapse. He needed a partner.

Aditya Tare walked in.

Aryan looked at the scoreboard. They needed to post a competitive total.

Kumble came onto bowl to Aryan. The memory of the switch hit in Bangalore was fresh in everyone’s mind.

Kumble, deadly as always, bowled a flipper.

Aryan stood there and watched it closely. He didn’t switch hit this time. He respected the legend and blocked it. Check latest chapters at novelFɪre.net

The Rest of India players soon enough were chirping, trying to get into his head. "He’s scared now! No switch hits today?" Dhoni teased from behind the stumps.

The umpire restarted the match again after the drinks break.

Tare passed the strike to Aryan as the match continued. Both sides tried to pull ahead.

One of them was Aryan’s perfectly timed straight drive that was only thwarted by a well-timed dive from mid-on.

Rest of India also came close to getting another wicket as Aryan edged a ball that flew through the vacant second slip region.

The back and forth continued for a while until a turnover in momentum occurred. The beneficiary of this turnover was Mumbai as they had been able to weather the storm.

Aryan sent a pass—I mean, a drive—to deep cover for a double.

Tare, after getting the strike, sent the ball to fine leg for a single.

Immediately Tare got off strike, Aryan moved into space—I mean, shuffled in his crease.

Kumble, with his great vision, saw the shuffle and bowled wide.

Aryan took a touch—I mean, reached out—before lofting the ball over cover. The ball continued on a trajectory towards the boundary.

Unfortunately for Aryan, the outfield was slow. But they ran three.

Aryan, who saw the ball stopping, couldn’t help but smile.

His eyes started glimmering as if he had seen gold in front of him. The next over, a pacer, RP Singh, bowled a No-Ball.

Aryan walked up to the pitch and tapped it.

MS Dhoni was scrambling to set a field to block the boundaries. Aryan took an appreciable amount of backlift before looking ahead.

The umpire signaled the free hit.

Aryan began his trigger movement. Aryan chose accuracy and power as he smashed the ball over long-on.

The ball moved with a mad trajectory that made anyone who saw it think if it was possible. The ball rose a bit after he hit it.

The ball anti-climactically descended into the stands. The cauldron of emotions exploded into life once more as Aryan had just pulled his team back into the fight.

"Wow, I could really use a player like that," thought Vijay Mallya (RCB Owner), who was watching from the VIP box again, as the Rest of India bowlers fell on the backfoot.