God of Cricket!-Chapter 47: He’s A Baller

Chapter 47: He’s A Baller

[Regent’s Park, London]

[Local Academy Practice Match]

The match between the mixed academy sides restarted. Aryan’s team, the "Regent’s XI," needed 45 runs off 30 balls to chase down the target set by the "Surrey Hopefuls."

Aryan, who had not yet faced a ball, was standing at the non-striker’s end, leaning on his bat, observing the field placements.

He was scanning the pitch, analyzing the bowler’s grip and the gaps in the field.

Unfortunately for him, his partner, a local club player, was struggling to rotate the strike. He swung wildly and missed three balls in a row.

"Why is it like this everywhere? Even in London, the strike rotation is non-existent," thought Aryan, suppressing a sigh as he tapped his bat on the crease.

Aryan saw Kevin signaling from the boundary. Kevin was the captain of this pickup team.

Finally, the striker managed to nudge a single to mid-on. Aryan sprinted to the danger end.

"This one might be able to hold a partnership," he thought as he took guard.

James (the Surrey rival) was bowling. He was fast, aggressive, and clearly annoyed that a random kid in track pants was on the pitch.

James ran in and bowled a short-of-length delivery outside off.

Aryan didn’t try to overhit it. He saw the gap at deep extra cover.

He played a lofted inside-out drive. It wasn’t a brute slog; it was a caress. The ball curled in the air against the swing.

The shot drew gasps from the small crowd gathering around the park fence.

The ball soared over the infield and landed just inside the rope for a bounce-four.

"What a shot!" one of the passers-by, an elderly man walking his dog, said.

"How did he pick the length so early?" another added.

As the fans were still talking about Aryan’s shot, the latter had already marked his guard for the next ball.

"When did he get that bat speed?" thought Kevin, who was watching from the sidelines.

The next ball. James bowled full, attacking the stumps.

Aryan played it with soft hands to mid-wicket and called for two. He ran the first one hard, turned, and sprinted the second.

His partner, out of pressure, almost slipped but made it back.

All the players and the spectators who saw this running speed were in awe.

"He’s good," thought Kevin and James at the same time.

Aryan didn’t wait for the bowler to settle.

With his strides eating up the 22 yards, Aryan looked like a professional among amateurs.

The next over, a spinner came on. He tried to flight the ball.

Aryan, seeing the flight, stepped out.

The spinner shortened his length. Aryan adjusted. He played a Leg Cut sending the ball past the slip fielder who tumbled trying to stop it.

Three fielders from the opponent team moved to cut off the angles.

Aryan faced the next ball. He performed a shimmy down the track to get to the pitch of the ball.

He then utilized his wrists to flick the ball—a Helicopter whip—to get it over the mid-wicket fielder

Aryan after this saw a gap at long-off.

The bowler fired it wide. The wicketkeeper moved to collect it.

But Aryan, who had anticipated it, played a Reverse Sweep.

He rolled his wrists.

The ball went in a mad curve—a top-spin lob—evading the outstretched hands of the short third man.

The ball hit the boundary board. Four Runs!

An eerie silence fell over the turf for a moment before the applause started.

The players, coming out of their trance, fist-bumped Aryan as he punched gloves with his partner.

"That shot was beautiful, mate," the non-striker said.

Aryan nodded and said, "Thanks."

"Who is he?" James asked some of his teammates in hopes that someone knew who he was.

"I don’t think he’s a Middlesex or Surrey player since we would have known about him from the county circuit," one of the Surrey academy players said.

James put all that aside and decided to ask after the match.

The match went on and Aryan’s team was dominating the chase now.

Aryan had taken complete control of the innings, rotating strike and hitting boundaries at will.

[In the Park Benches]

"Raj Bhaiya (Brother), did you get that on camera?" a girlish innocent voice said.

"Yes I did, Simran," a more mature male voice said.

"Why are you so interested in this park match?" Raj said, adjusting his camera lens.

"Cause he’s playing and I don’t believe it," she said.

"Who’s playing?" Raj asked.

"My crush," Simran said.

"Your what?" Raj responded, eyebrows raised.

Simran sighed and pointed to a green-eyed youth who had just recently hit a boundary.

"You know, I shouldn’t have allowed you to come outside to ’study’. Let’s get back to the car and go home before Mum notices you’re not at the library," Raj said.

"Can’t we wait a bit? Just one more over?"

Simran pleaded.

Raj sighed while looking at the puppy eyes of his sister.

"Fine, but we’re going home after this," Raj said. Simran nodded sharply and returned her focus to the match.

"Who is he anyway?" Raj asked.

"He’s currently my favorite cricketer," Simran said.

"Is he a professional player?" Raj asked, looking at the boy’s technique.

"Yeah he is. He actually plays for Mumbai in India and that’s why I was surprised when I saw him here in London," Simran added.

"Are you sure? He looks young," Raj said.

Simran took out her phone (a sleek Sony Ericsson) and searched for the video highlights of the Mumbai vs Delhi final she had downloaded.

She gave the phone to her brother and continued watching the match.

Raj, after watching the grainy video on the small screen, couldn’t believe how good the player in the video was.

"He came on and just saved his team from losing with a switch hit? How can he do that at such a young age?" thought Raj.

"By the way, how old is he?" Raj asked as the commentary in the video seemed to mention his youth.

"Oh, he’s turning 16 this year," Simran answered.

"Wait, he’s younger than you?" Raj said.

"Yeah, and so?" Simran retorted.

"Nothing," Raj said. "Is my sister a cradle snatcher at such a young age?" Raj thought.

As if reading his thoughts, Simran shot him a deathly stare.

"What is he doing in London anyway?" Raj muttered.

Simran who heard this raised her shoulders to signify she didn’t really know.

A few loud gasps brought Simran and Raj’s attention to the match again.

[On the Pitch]

James had bowled a No-Ball. The umpire signaled a Free Hit.

Aryan stood at the striker’s end. Kevin, who was at the non-striker’s end, didn’t try to give advice as he was curious about Aryan’s abilities.

Aryan tapped his bat. The fielders retreated to the boundary.

James and the keeper looked confused as Aryan changed his stance slightly, opening up his hips.

"Didn’t he mostly use textbook shots before this?" they thought.

James ran in. He bowled a fast yorker aimed at the toes.

Aryan, with a quick shuffle, cleared his front leg.

He chose power this time. He converted the yorker into a full toss by stepping out.

"He wants to hit it out of the park," Kevin muttered.

CRACK!

Aryan smashed the ball straight back over the bowler’s head. The ball went with power and speed, soaring high into the London sky.

It cleared the park fence, crossed the road, and smacked into a tree on the other side.

SIX!

The spectators couldn’t help but scream "Shot!" Aryan looked around and saw that the number of spectators had increased.

"This won’t cause any trouble right?" he thought as he moved to tap the pitch, as the spectators and players stared at him.

"Okay, seriously, who is he?" James said. The other players couldn’t help him out with that.

The equation was now 12 runs to win off 10 balls.

The match resumed. The opponent team tried to bowl tight lines, but the Regent’s XI team proved difficult with Aryan on strike.

Aryan had now adopted a finisher’s role.

He was manipulating the field, playing soft hands for twos and putting pressure on the fielders.

Aryan got a single and gave the strike to Kevin. He signaled Kevin to stay calm. Kevin nodded.

Kevin hit a boundary. 7 needed off 6 balls.

Last Over. James to bowl.

Ball 1: Aryan on strike. He plays a dot.

Ball 2: Aryan hits a four through covers. (3 off 4).

Ball 3: Aryan takes a single. (2 off 3).

Kevin on strike.

Aryan saw the field. He saw the mid-off was up.

He walked to Kevin. "Hit it over mid-off. He’s bowling full."

Kevin trusted him. James ran in. He bowled full.

Kevin lofted it. The ball cleared mid-off comfortably.

They ran two.

Match Won!

Kevin, who had hit the winning runs, simply couldn’t believe how easy Aryan made reading the game look like.

The match ended with Aryan scoring 70 off 30 balls*.

Aryan sat on the grass, watching the grey sky clearing up. "That was a nice change," he thought.

Kevin, James, and a few other players decided to approach Aryan.

Raj, who was now being dragged by Simran to go and meet Aryan, couldn’t help but sigh.

"Hey," Kevin said as he got near Aryan. Aryan nodded while standing up.

"You know, we didn’t ask when you said you played, but what team do you play for?" Kevin asked.

"I don’t think they’re a local club, so don’t try to lie," James said, still stinging from the defeat.

Aryan smiled as he looked at Kevin and the other eyes surrounding him.

"Mumbai Ranji Team," Aryan said.

"Wow, you play for the Mumbai youth academy? That’s great," a boy said.

A silence prevailed after that before Aryan corrected them. "No, the Senior Team."

Kevin and James spoke, "Wait, you’re on the senior team?" Kevin said.

"Wait, he’s on the First-Class team?" the former boy said.

"So that’s why you’re so good," James said.

"You’re already playing with the big boys? With Tendulkar?" James continued, eyes wide.

"Well, sorry guys but I need to leave since we have team training at The Oval in the morning. I’ll see you very soon, Kevin," Aryan said as he picked up his kit bag.

"Wait, Mumbai is in London?"

"They’re probably here for pre-season."

"I’m gonna go and watch the match against Surrey to see if that kid will play."

"Probably not, there might be a lot of seniors better than him."

These were the words of the people who were talking after Aryan left.

"See me soon? What’s he talking about? Where am I gonna be seeing him again?" Kevin thought as he stood there with a complicated face.

"He’s not even 16," Steve, the wicketkeeper, muttered.

"What?" Kevin asked.

"I said he’s not even 16," Steve said again.

"What do you mean?" James said as he took the phone from Steve’s hands.

Turns out a few minutes earlier when Steve had learnt of Aryan’s identity, he decided to confirm it so he searched his name on the Internet via 2G.

His profile on Cricinfo was displayed there, and he even saw the information about Aryan’s new contract.

What shocked him was the date of birth which implied he was turning 16 in 4 months.

"A genius," said Kevin as he looked at Aryan’s retreating back.

[Near the Park Exit]

Aryan, who was on his way back to the hotel, was stopped by two people.

A young man and a female teenager.

"Hello," the girl said fluently in English.

Aryan assumed that the girl thought he couldn’t speak Hindi/local dialect and that was why she was using formal English.

(Why does everyone think English is the default language? Oh wait, I am in England).

"Namaste. You know I speak Hindi just fine, right?" Aryan said with a smile.

The girl looked a bit surprised.

"Sorry, I thought... anyway..." Simran said, not finishing her sentence.

"I became a fan of yours not long ago after the Delhi match, and I’ve been wanting your autograph ever since."

"Today I saw you playing here, and I even asked myself if it was really you, and after close inspection, I found it really was you, so I decided to come and ask for an autograph and possibly a picture," Simran said, making her brother raise an eyebrow.

"Oh, and he’s my older brother, Raj," Simran said pointing to Raj..

Aryan, who saw her brother’s raised eyebrow, looked at him for confirmation to which he nodded, albeit protectively.

Aryan took a sharpie and signed his autograph on the notebook Simran had in her hand.

Afterwards, Aryan took a selfie with her using her digital camera.

"Wow, she smells nice... wait, what is wrong with me? Focus, Aryan," Aryan thought.

After the selfie, Aryan headed towards the hotel.

"You like him," Raj said as they walked to their car.

"Noo, I don’t!" Simran said with a blush.

"You would have a hard time convincing Dad to let you date a cricketer. They travel too much," Raj said.

"Wh- who wants to date who? Plus, he’s based in Mumbai," Simran said with a sad face.

"Well, you’re applying for colleges next year, right? Why not choose Mumbai University? You’re smart so getting in isn’t a problem," Raj said, and Simran started to actually think about it

.

"You’re actually thinking about it aren’t ya?" Raj teased. "You like him, just confess." He added, making Simran blush like a cherry.

[The Langham Hotel]

Aryan made it to the hotel just in time for breakfast which was light (continental).

Aryan washed up since he was feeling sweaty after the park match before joining his teammates for breakfast.

After that, the players and staff began heading towards the bus that would take them to The Oval where they would be having their official training session against Surrey’s Second XI.