He had been just hit for
two consecutive sixes....the ball seemed to betray him...he looked at it with a
expectant face...as a friend would do to another at a time of crisis..wouldn`t say a word but expect the
friend to just understand...pick up and come forward. He wasn`t sure if cricket
balls behaved that way!! Seemingly not when the going flow is up against you ,
pushing you , testing you, mocking you. He just wished the ball would land as
he wanted, turn as he would envisage and the batsman would make the mistake he
prayed for!!
He was Rajat. The newbie in the team.People were not surprised, they
kind of expected him to get beaten like this, the look of ..`see I told you’
lurking in the face of Sekhar, his captain ,who looked
at Ashim sir after each six . He
didn`t miss the glance exchanged between them. Ashim sir`s look said it all, he
wanted Rajat to just do it, to just
take a few wickets, to just repay the faith he had shown on him.
4 balls in in his 2nd over were left, the
first over was hit for 7 runs broken up into a four, 3 dot balls, a double and
a single. Not bad , he had thought considering the raging bats of Dinesh and Mithun. The over before his ,
bowled by Raja, had gone for 12 runs and seemingly 7 runs seemed nothing out of
place. He was surprised to see the cold shoulder given by Sekhar to him after he finished
his, he didn’t say anything, but Rajat could feel it. He had gone
back to the boundary line and tried to get back his attention on the
game. He needed to watch closely, very closely for any weakness in the batsmen,
any small clue of uneasiness that they would show and he thought that he had
found something. Dinesh swayed his bat at an uppish delivery by Raja and in
the next , rode his luck as the ball missed the stumps by inches, there was no
footwork.
He
also thought that Dinesh was getting a little restless with each dot ball. He
prayed that he should get the next over. Sekhar tossed the ball to Satya, the
off spinner and Rajat
thought he`d better get down to the ropes. Satya and Sekhar had a small chat and Rajat was
called, Sekhar
tossed the ball to him and gave him a look of ‘you better do it’. He got the
over he wanted and though he came in confidently, he was whacked for two
straight sixes by Dinesh. Both times lofted straight over mid on. He had to do
something, this over would define him, his confidence, his self. It was not
just about wickets....it was more...it was not just about this match....it was
his match. He wanted to make a mark. He had worked on it ,risen mornings,
toiled hard and he wouldn`t just let it go.
They were playing the annual inter club
cricket, the winters had set and the action had begun. He hadn`t expected to be
in the team in the first place. But he had made it riding on some of his feats
in the opening matches. Those were league matches and now they were playing the
semi final of this big tournament. There were some India players in action too,
some Ranji
players in most of the clubs. Sekhar was a permanent fixture of Bengal`s Ranji team
and was touted to get into the big league in the next series. Ashim sir
had insisted on playing him and was proved right in the very first match
against Dhakuria
club. He had taken 3 wickets, all bowled. The ball had turned sharply each time
taking the batsmen by surprise. He knew he could turn the ball and make it
tough for batsmen.
