Bade Sapne

◇ Part 4 ◇

I turned to look at him and he just shrugged. It'd gone too fast for even him to understand what had happened. Then we both turned to look at the umpire, watching him expectantly, hoping he would shake his head to say not out.

But, the finger went up. Abhi hi hona tha, yaar. Hamari itni aachi partnership bhi chal rahi thi. He looked at me and gave me an apologetic smile, almost as if to say, good luck out there, it's on you now. Ab mein kya karoon?

By now, I was just one run away from a half-century. But I wasn't on strike. David came out to the pitch, where I explained the fielding and pitch situation to him, and we did a quick fistbump before he went to his crease.

And so, the game resumed, with David on one end and me on the other. His first shot crept straight to mid-off, where a fielder picked it up, stopping us at just a single run. I was on strike now.

Ek bada chhakka maro Shubman. Seedhe stands thak jaane chahiye. I visualised myself holding up my bat, celebrating my half-century. Shayad woh ladki meri bhi shot catch karegi. Nahi, woh Ishan ki hai. Chup beto, Shubman aur thik se khelo.

I pushed away my internal debate, trying to focus on the game. I looked over at the bowler and nodded. He bowled to me, and just like I had visualised, the ball went straight into the stands. I held my bat up, happy, but trying not to get too overconfident.

This stage of the innings was where many batsmen got out, due to overconfidence. Belief in yourself is not a bad thing- until it goes too far. I'd seen it too many times to let it get to my head now. Heck, I'd been through it so many times myself.

I was back on strike. Once again, I steadied myself and played.

And again, the overs flew by, and wickets kept falling. I'd been on since the beginning, and sweat was dripping through my helmet, as I marked out the centre again with my foot. The score was now 198 and we had one over left. 6 wickets down.

And I was on strike. I just needed 3 sixes to win. By now, MI had realised their mistake and patched up the mid-on, mid-wicket issue. However, by doing so, they'd now exposed the mid-off area. Perfect.

I hit an off-drive, which seemed like it was going towards the boundary. But it was beautifully fielded by SKY, and stopped us at a single run. By now, Shami bhai was with me, and was currently on strike.

He hit a shot towards the boundary, which unfortunately didn't carry, and ended up being a single. 13 runs needed. Just 2 runs away from a century. I got ready to hit. I adjusted my gloves and looked at the bowler. Aava de.

This ball came scarily fast, and I chose to leave it hoping for it to bounce and go over the stumps. But, instead it bounced and crashed straight into them and the bails flew off. The worst sound for a batsman.

I looked back, and mentally cursed myself for leaving it. I groaned in despair. Would my team be able to keep up? The captain had departed at the worst possible time. Dismissed when his team needed him most. That's what everyone would be thinking. We were so close to winning this match as well.

I felt like smashing my bat into the ground, but then remembered something my father had taught me. Never blame your bat for your own mistakes. I gripped my bat tightly, trying to collect my thoughts. Trying to calm down.

I walked away. I looked on the big screen, wishing to watch the replay of my wicket. But before they showed my wicket, an alarm sounded in the stadium.

At first, I started panicking. Was there a fire in the stands? I looked up, but the crowd wasn't reacting. All the other players seemed pretty calm as well, and that was when I realised what it was. The alarm was to indicate a no-ball.

So... I wasn't out.

I sported a slight smile, then walked back to the pitch ready to win this for my team. 12 runs left. This was my chance for a free-hit. I kept my eyes on the ball, wondering what to do. I had 4 balls left, including this one. I could do three 4s. Or two 6s. No, three 4s was too much of a risk.

The ball came towards me relatively slowly, and I played a pull shot, which sent the ball flying into the stadium for six.

The bowler looked frustrated and was running his hands through his hair, having an intense conversation with Hardik bhai. Usually, when Hardik bhai had such intense discussions, it meant bad things for the opponent. But I knew his tactics. I'd learnt a lot from him.

I looked back up at the scoreboard, to check that only 6 runs were left for us to win the match, when I realised I'd reached my century. I'd been so invested in the match, that I'd completely forgotten about my century.

I took off my helmet and smiled wide, holding up the bat. I punched the air in excitement and Shami bhai ran to me to hug me.

"Badiya kaam kiya hai tune Shubman. Well done!"

"Thank you, Shami bhai."

He patted me on the back, then let me go, and I did my signature pose, taking a bow. I stayed like that for a couple of seconds before putting my helmet back on. Abhi humko sirf 6 runs chahiye, aur phir hum jeetege.

I went back to my crease, hopefully for the last time this match. The bowler took a shorter run up this time, and the ball came much fuller. There was more bounce on it, and definitely more speed, but I got down on my knees early on, and took a scoop shot.

The ball dropped just after the boundary, and the umpire signalled six, and me and Shami bhai ran towards each other, cheering, happy to have won the match. We did a quick fistbump and then ran towards the changing rooms.

About an hour later, the post-match presentations had finished, and I turned my phone on to see a message from Ishan.

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From Ishan, 5 minutes ago
Meet me by the canteen. Aaj kuch toh accha pehen lo yaar. Tumhare woh design wale shirts nahi chalege. Tumko dekh kar woh bhag jayegi, aur uske saath teri future bhabhi bhi gayi.
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Arey yaar, I'd completely forgotten. I quickly got dressed into something presentable and ran out of the changing room.

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A/N

Heyyy guys :))

How you doing?

So, yes, that one was MUCHHH longer than previous ones, so, thoughts on that, do comment :D

Shubman (and Ishan) are going to meet Vira for the first time sooonnnn 🤩 Who's excited??? I am! What do you think will happen?

Also, once again, I can't guarantee the accuracy of this match, because I'm writing this before it actually happens.

As always, if you see any mistakes, don't hesitate to comment and tell me.

Thank you for reading :)))

Remember to vote :D