Aru waited at the non-batting end and watched as Rohan got ready to face the first ball of the match, wind had died down a bit, but the bounce on the ball would be a problem, it won't be as long as everyone can keep their cool and build a great foundation for next 20 overs left of the innings.
1st Ball: One of the Delhi academy's bowlers came in fast, the new ball whistled past Aru at the non-batting end and swung in towards Rohan, who calmly struck the ball gently, letting it roll down square leg for a single...
2nd Ball: The bowler came back, this time Aru was on strike, there was an air of calmness, Rohan had proved that the bowling was nothing special, Aru calmly watched the ball and, using perfect hand-eye coordination, sent it to the fielder with a roll.
3rd Ball: Aru remained on strike after not scoring any runs, and the bowler came back this time, belting an off swinger, Aru in fear of losing his wicket, stepped back cautiously and tapped the ball away and ran, one and then two...
4th Ball: Aru remained on strike once more after scoring an even number of runs, and as the bowler came in, Aru saw an opening in the field, no one was marking deep extra cover, and Aru stepped forward and sent a thundering cover drive to the boundary for four...
5th Ball: This time the bowler came in much faster and sensing the incoming yorker, Aru waited in his position and as the ball came dangerously close to his legs, he simply stroked the ball for a single to rotate strike.
6th Ball: Rohan anticipated the same fiery yorker treatment but was surprised to be met with a slower ball, he grinned as he stepped off the crease and swept the ball to deep midwicket, clearing the boundary ropes for four.
1st Over: Score... 12/0 ----- Rohan: 5/2 Aru: 7/4...
Pince watched and analyse the movements of the players and the changing pitch conditions with the help of the system, and he gained a deeper understanding of the game. However, the game began to take a turn as after the power play they introduced spin, the score after power play was as follows...
Score: 45/0-------- Rohan: 23/17 Aru: 22/19
When the spin bowler was introduced...
1st Ball: The spinner came in and played a wonderful off spinner, Rohan sensing he could send this for a single, stepped forward, but misjudged the angle, the ball clipped the bat gently and flew into the keeper's hand and the umpire lifted his finger to show out, Rohan was out, 23 off 18, the score now 45/1...
2nd Ball: Danish had come on at the non-striking end, and Aru was ready to face the new spin baller that Delhi had thrown into the mix, once again the spinner came in leisurely but the ball spun well, not much grip due to it being early overs, Aru was caught off guard and the ball landed long and spun into his stumps, sending him back to the pavilion with just 22/20... the score now 45/2... and Samir Ahamed came on. Prince watched from the sidelines, looking a bit surprised at the rapid fall of wickets...
That over was a travesty, only yielding one run for the team.
The next few overs Delhi switched between Seam and Spin continuously and the batsmen fell out of rhythm, by the tenth over Samir and Danish were looking tired of this, a slow ball came in and Danish being the aggressive one, smashed it high into the air, earning a look of disapproval from coach Gautam as it fell straight into keeper's hands...
It was time for Prince to come on, and he padded up and entered the field.
The score after the tenth over was as follows:
60/3-------- *Samir Ahmed 7/10 Prince Martin 0/0
Eleventh Over:
1st Ball: Samir watches as the seam baller comes in hot, and he taps it away for a single rotating strike, letting Prince have his first ball. Coach Gautam watched with a scanning-like expression...
2nd Ball: Prince felt a great rush of excitement, the first time he lofted a bat in a proper match, playing for a team, a unit. The bowler came in hot and Prince knew, there was no time to wait, he looked around the pitch one time before smashing the ball down long-off for a four.
3rd Ball: Bowler came in this time, deliberately playing a short and slow ball, to throw Prince off the rhythm, however, Prince adapted to this instantly and pulled his bat back before smashing the ball with the middle of the bat, sending it for six down the middle, a beautiful straight drive.
4th Ball: Bowler was coming in hot, this time and he was showing no sign of relenting, the yorker was imminent, but Prince ignored the danger, leaving one foot on the crease while stepping forward with the other, cascading with the ball, letting it roll, albeit accidentally to deep-point for four.
5th ball: The bowler was now targeting Prince with in-swingers, and he could do nothing but tap it away for a single, so as to not waste his wicket, as one of the few big hitters remaining for the Kerala team...
6th Ball: The bowler came in for Samir, and he flicked it off his pads to third man to run a double.
The eleventh over was very fruitful, the best one yet for Kerala, the score now was as follows...
Score: 78/3--------- Samir: 10/12 *Prince: 15/4
The next chapter will be: First innings Part 2