The Debut Match

-Written By Imran Ahmed

(Reading Time: 13 min Approx)

A high elbow cover drive. No, no. A straight drive. And if the ball is short, I shall cut it through the square or pull it through the mid-wicket area. It shall be my beginning. The grand debut. Arrival of a Champion.

Amir kept perfecting this shot in his imaginary world, when his father interrupted him.

“What’s the matter, son. You seem distracted. How is the new school? Are the teachers good?”

“Yes, Papa. The school is very good. The teachers are very nice.”

“Good. I sincerely wish that our plans to shift to this big city does not interfere with your studies. If anything, do let me know”.

“Sure, Papa.”

“Let him eat in peace. It’s just been one month since we came here.”

“I know. I just want our young son to prosper and enjoy this new world. And what about you, Sheena. Are you happy?”

Amir’s mother was chewing on her food when his father put this question to her. She finished her chewing and took a sip of water from the glass. Putting the glass down, she smiled looking pleasingly at her husband. A smile that he always felt was the best thing in the world. It could lighten anyone’s heart and fill an entire room with happiness.

“Yes. My sweetest husband, I absolutely love this place. And I want you not to worry anymore. It was a collective decision to shift here and we are always with you. Isn’t it, Amir?”

She took a glance at Amir who felt catapulted to top of the world being the centre of attention in this small, yet loving family discussion.

“I love this place and I love my Mama and Papa.”

Saying this, he jumped from his chair and rushed to his parents, hugging and kissing them in turns.

“And we love our young prince.” His father replied as his mother poured Amir’s favourite halwa into their plates.

On the bed, Amir kept thinking about the evening events. Anshul, the Captain of the local team had asked Amir to join in his team for tomorrow’s match with Manish uncle’s team. One of the batsmen, Sahil was unwell and he could not come for tomorrow’s match. Amir used to watch their matches from his balcony and at times, even participate as the ball boy. He always fantasized about playing in Anshul’s team. Back in Lucknow, he used to open the batting for his junior school team. His friends used to say that his cover drive resembled Virat Kohli’s, but he adored Ajinka Rahane, probably for the latter’s square cut and pull shots. Although his school coach used to make the boys practice the forward defence and cover drive more, Amir always dreamt of playing exquisite shots like Rahane.

For his big debut match in the new town, he really wanted to make a grand entry. He wanted everyone to remember the new kid who toyed effortlessly with opponent bowlers and fielded acrobatically at the point area. He prayed to God to keep the rains away for tomorrow and not spoil his moment.

Early in the morning next day, he woke up with a startle. He had a nightmare in which he had been dismissed on the very first ball of the match. He wiped the sweat off his forehead, said his prayers and went to sleep again.

All through the day in school, he kept thinking about the match. His father was an avid cricket fan but he liked the bowlers more. He would rave about the old days when bowlers like Malcolm Marshall and Wasim Akram used to terrorize the batsmen with their speed and wily skills.

“The batsmen of today are really lucky. There isn’t any decent fast bowler around, so they easily score tons of runs.”

Amir never understood his father’s fascination towards the bowlers. But this never stopped him from dreaming of representing the Indian team as an opening batsman.

Amir told all his school friends about his big match in the evening. Rahul and Sameer promised to come and watch him. They lived in the lane next to Amir’s and would come along with their mom.

“Amir, you go and field at the fine leg boundary.” Captain Anshul’s words startled Amir and he slowly went to the boundary near the huge banyan tree. He could see his friends sitting at the opposite end of the park. They waved to him and he responded with glee.

Manish uncle was in a ferocious mood as he literally hit all the bowlers out of the park. A few balls flew over Amir’s head and he did his part by bringing the balls back to the play.

Amir’s team faced a huge target of 164 runs in just 15 overs. The batsmen gave a good start, but they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. After each wicket, he would look earnestly at Anshul but he would send some other batsman to the crease. Lastly, at the fall of ninth wicket, he looked around and found Amir. He signaled Amir to go the crease.

His team needed 42 runs in just 3 overs. He was determined to play a hero’s innings and win the match for his team. The opposite captain, seeing a small kid come crease, gave the ball to one of his slow bowlers and yelled “Don’t bowl fast to him. He is a small boy. Let him play some balls.”

Amir felt like yelling back to let him bowl whatever he wanted. But he rather focused on his strike. Sagar bhaiyya (Brother) wore a thin moustache, resembling some sly villain of the Bollywood films. He bowled a slow ball, outside the off stump. Amir tried to play his favourite square cut but the slowness of the ball made him miss it completely. The next ball was again on the similar line. This time, he tried to pull it but it hit the inside of the bat and fell at his feet. He tried again on the next delivery but missed it completely. Sagar bhaiyya gave a loud chuckle and started to laugh.

“Why have you brought this kid to the big man’s game?” He shouted in the direction of Anshul and other players.

His pride dented, Amir grinded his teeth and determined to give his best on the next ball. He rushed out and gave his bat an almighty swing. Luckily, he managed to connect with the ball which flew away on impact and went over the straight boundary. His teammates started to laugh hysterically and clapped in unison at the shot. They cheered him and let go some choicest words in Sagar’s direction too. Amir allowed himself a smile and looked pleasingly towards Rahul and Sameer.

“I had told you that I will arrive with a big bang. And I did it”. His eyes seemed to tell them.

He turned to face the next ball from Sagar.

When he opened his eyes, he saw his parents around him.

“Where am I, Mama? What happened to me?” He exclaimed as he tried to get up but the strong pain in his head made him lie down again.

“You are at the hospital, my son. Your father has filed a complaint at the local police station against the lowly Sagar for hitting you. You are not going to play with them again.”

“What Mama…Why did you do this?”

Suddenly, his head started to ache and he passed out again.

“And that’s a wonderful cover drive. This young batsman had changed the match through his enterprising inning. Indian cricket is lucky to have found a new gem.” The words reverberated in his ears as his parents looked worryingly at their sweet kid sleeping soundly in his hospital bed.