Sachin was asking for a coin from his mates and none of them carried any. The kids had altogether a different arrangement. Dhoni got hold of a broken title of which one side was plain white (“lissu”) and the other side was rugged (“kharbachdu”). Dhoni exclaimed, “Please make a call” and tossed that triangular piece of the tile. Sachin shouted “Lissu” with the voice echoing in the nearby surrounding. The piece took multiple rotations and revolutions and finally drop on the brick of the midway. Dhoni jubilantly asserted “Kharbachdu it is”. He added, “We won the toss and decide to bowl first”. Saket exaggerated “Can we have two tosses? Even the World Cup 2011 final had two.” and laughed.
The position of the stumps was reversed – bowler’s end becoming the batsman and vice versa. Dhoni announced the rules of the game. The boundary was the park boundary. There was no run on the offside since the ladies were sitting there on the far end – the way he tackled the problem which Rohit raised early on. The trees straight down the wicket were so tall that if you hit them on the full you will be rewarded by six runs. No LBW and no caught behind since the wicketkeeper was from the same team. No runs behind the wicket and on the offside and a team had 5 overs to survive. In a game of cricket, no one can keep “Sachin” out of the context and so was the case here. As expected, Sachin was opening the innings along with Hitesh. Dhoni settled the field and Bhuvi was the opening bowler. One player was positioned straight down the wicket, one was positioned at deep mid-wicket and the remaining player at deep square leg. Dhoni looked to be an experienced campaigner as far as field setting was concerned. Dhoni positioned himself straight down the wicket as anticipated. Bhuvi had the ball tossing it up again and again and Sachin had the bat pressing the pitch.
The environment was serene getting ready to witness the first ball of the match being bowled. Everything came to a standstill waiting eagerly to watch this exciting contest. Bhuvi then charged in, Sachin had his eyes completely focused on the bowler while the girls who came along with the ladies had their eyes on Hitesh. Bhuvi jumped to his feet, got into the bowling action and delivered a nice juicy full toss. Sachin’s eyes were filled with glitter and the ball made a nice clacking sound upon kissing the bat. The ball was dispatched out of the park. SIX runs. What a start! It appeared as if the Nintendos would be taken apart by the Dynamites. First ball and the Nintendo players had to rush out of the park to collect the ball. Fortunately for Sachin, there was no such rule claiming SIX-WITH-OUT, unlike other gully cricket rules. Bhuvi charged in for the second ball and whoa. A head high full-toss. Sachin didn’t do any mistake and the ball kept sailing outside the park this time on the terrace of the nearby building. Some hard work for Nintendos – climbed the wall, got hold of the staircase and picked the ball from the terrace. Had Dynamites gone to the terrace, “100” would have been dialed and a case of theft would have been registered; such was the scenario there. The ball was declared a no-ball and free-hit resulted. Three legitimate deliveries amounted to twenty-two runs for the “Dynamites” with the free-hit aiding them further. People once expected such kind of starts from the great “Sachin”. Although, it was his partner who was known to provide such kind of quick start. Rohit shouted, “one over, thirty-two”. The innings started rock-solid amassing thirty-two on the board in the first over itself. Dhoni was busy cheering his team yelling, “Don’t worry guys, we are doing well. Our time will come, will definitely come”. The environment had come alive with the birds bellowing at the peak of their voices acting as the cheering audience. It was noteworthy which team they were cheering.
Shami to bowl the second over. Hitesh is on the strike. And guess what! He had got cheerleaders too whose voices mingled with the background with clear distinction. The girls started shouting “Hi..tesh, Hitesh.. clap clap clap”. Saket naughtily exclaimed, “Hitesh, whatever may be the result, you have already won the hearts of few girls there. Hope, you will be able to get one of them in our house today.” (guffaws) The ball came out of Shami’s hand like a bullet, ricocheted off the hard surface offering a chest-high bounce to which Hitesh, buoyed by the cheerleaders, pulled and pulled hard. The ball rocketed off the bat and kept on going high and high till it crossed the park boundaries. The ball landed out of the park and Hitesh registered his first maximum. Hitesh kept on punishing the bowler despite the demons in the “pitch”. Was there any twist in the tale? Or the bowlers were taken apart on a constant basis? The four mates were enjoying both the shows. Hitesh single-handedly amassed twenty runs in the second over of the innings. The girls were acting as vampires for Nintendos. Sachin decided to get retired out and give chance to his fellow mates. The scoreboard then read “Fifty-two for one in two overs”. How much do you expect the score to be? Hundred, hundred and twenty-five?
Yuvi took the third over of the match. Saket replaced Sachin and took strike. Yuvi, with his orthodox spin, shouted, “Right arm over”. The ball was nicely placed between his fingers with a firm grip to give good amount of revolutions to the ball. Ball one of third over. Yuvi walked few meters and jumped anticipating to deliver a perfect delivery. The ball landed almost on the full. Saket who swung hard was not to the pitch of the ball and missed it completely as the ball turned square. Fortunately, the ball spun in another direction otherwise he was bowled. Rohit made a nice collect there. Yuvi went to his spot and got ready for the next delivery. This time the ball landed on the off stump. Saket kneeled down and hit a gorgeous grounded cover drive. The ball touched the boundary but unfortunately for Saket he won’t get it – no runs on the offside. Saket had wonderful skills but that ground was too short to justify them. The evidence further strengthened when he hit the fourth delivery straight to the fielder behind the stumps on the bowler’s end. The last two balls again went for nothing and Yuvi completed a wonderful over of the innings – a maiden over. What a turnaround in the match! The scoreboard then read “Fifty-two for one in three overs”. What are your predictions now? Seventy, eighty? See how an over has changed your expectations. Such a wonderful game this; no matter who is playing.
Dhoni took the fourth over of the match. The in-form batsman, Hitesh took the strike. The form continued until the fourth ball of the innings denied it. Dhoni charged in with a rattling speed and delivered a short-pitch delivery. Hitesh couldn’t control it, top-edged it and landed a simple catch to Bhuvi who didn’t make any mistake – formed a cup-shaped structure with his hand and grabbed the ball at chest height. The heart of those girls dropped as Hitesh got out and so was the energy in the park. The last batsman Rohit was in to face two balls. Rohit dispatched the first ball he faced to the tall trees where the ball kissed each leaf while descending. The Dynamites amassed twenty-odd runs in the fourth over thanks to Hitesh’s blistering knock. Who will bowl the last over? Yuvi, it was. Rohit was the batsman to face him. First ball of the final over. He lured him with a nice flight with plenty of revolutions. Rohit shimmied down the track and took on the full; dispatched it to straight boundary for a humongous maximum. Yuvi then bowled a flatter delivery to which Rohit flicked it on the on-side for another maximum with great ease. Such great delicacy; a treat to watch! Yuvi came around the wicket for the third delivery. Rohit waited for the ball to arrive at him and pulls way out of the park. Yuvi continued to his tactics and the ball then ripped through the legs of Rohit and crashes into the middle of the two bricks. Bowled! See the joy on the faces of Nintendos. The fourth delivery seemed to be their breakthrough delivery. Saket was the only batsman left. It was not necessary to have a partner to bat, so Saket could bat without anyone! The last two delivery went for a boundary and a six respectively and Saket finished off in style; getting his strike rate above hundred at least! The Dynamites amassed hundred odd runs for the loss of three wickets in their allotted five overs. Was that a sufficient score for dynamites to win? Did Nintendos had enough courage to chase this down? What you expected to be the final score? Well just hang around for some time. Have a nice cup of tea and relax. There is plenty more to come on the other side. Come back to witness an exquisite end to this contest. Remember hundred and one is the target, not an easy one for the young guns against the tall folks.
