Short Story - A Cricket Match

The match was on its final over. Bikram had the ball and was 

planning on delivering his trademark B-bouncer. If he takes the last wicket, he might even make it in the elders team. He adjusted his glasses making sure the batsman jumps with freight at the pace of the ball.

“Take care, it’s the last over. Don’t fuck it up!”, screamed Captain Dada from behind.
Bidhi was taking the crease. He was his last hurdle, on his quest to seal the place in the adult team. Although Bidhi was known for his nerves he somehow managed to pull of great few shots. Bikram wondered how a boy who had the makings of biology lab skeleton muster such powerful shots.

“Bowl him out from behind the legs. Its easy as its gets!”, Astik whispered so that players of the rival team don’t get notion of his masterpiece strategy. He squeezed the ball hard, cocked his arm recoiled a bit and let it go. SHIT! Full toss. All Bidhi had to do was to swing the bat. The ball rocketed past captain dada, who springed away like a frog away from the ball to avoid being hit.
It was a nasty sixer.

“What the fuck are you playing at!”, Captain dada screamed,

“Full toss in the last over! Have anybody bribed you to play on behalf of their team!”

Bikram wondered how Dada could say that, after all the last three wickets were just by him.

He cursed his luck. Now Bidhi was showing off his sixer spiraling his bat like Sir Jadeja.

5 balls to go 12 runs to win.

Bikram focused hard. He had to execute his B-bouncer, he cocked his wristed and let it go. The B-bouncer his specialty hit write on the leaf Bikram had for marker. Bidhi ducked.

“WIDE! Bye FOUR!” The umpire stretched his arm like the school PT teacher.

A lump restricted the flow of saliva in Bikram’s throat.

Captain Dada sat on the ground with his hands on his head. This could not get any bad. He as good as presented the match to the opponent.

“I told you not to give him the last over Dada”, Babu said coming to Dada, “I could have taken him out with my very first delivery”.

Lousy old Babu, after getting smacked hither and skitter in the 2nd over Dada didn’t hand him the bowl again. And now he is challenging Bikram, the bouncer king, taker of last 4 wickets.

“The way this idiot is bowling! Even Bhutu can bowl better than him.” Bhutu was the 2 years old brother of Dada.

Bikram swallowed hard. He had to get this over right. He had to. Team has bet 50 rupees on the match. Dada has scored a fifty after 3 ducks in previous matches. He looked extremely happy after all the rival teams players got out for cheap. He finally would be able to answer tera(eye impaired) Saroj in his own style. All this if only Bikram didn’t screw the last over so badly.

7 runs needed, 5 bowls to go.

This time it was a juicy half volley. Bidhi swung hard, missed. Bikram felt the lump dissolve.

“You were lucky this time. He could have juiced you if he wasn’t such an ass.” , Dada said.

He was acting unbearable today. Not that he ain’t everyday, but today Riya Di came to see the match. Dada’s crush, looked like, he wanted to show her what a stud he is. Today he even slapped Astik on the head for not throwing the ball straight to the bowler.

3 balls to go 7 runs needed.


Bikram bowled well this time. Bidhi swung hard at the slower ball mistiming it completely causing the ball to hit the edge of the bat and fly high. Handa ran towards it. Probably ran too fast, the ball fell with a thud too feet after where he was standing. He dropped a sitter.

Although it was bad for the team Bikram felt relieved that this time it was not his fault. He enjoyed showing extra emotions and telling Handa off for putting down the match.

It was too much for Dada now. He could smell his first victory in a long time meters away from him. So close, yet so far. He looked like he would sell Handa’s kidney for dropping the catch.

2 BALLS TO GO.


If only Bikram managed these 2 bowls well. There would be a 100 rupees Samosa party after that, ofcourse if they win. And he might get an extra one if he took the team through.

No more B-Bouncer. Bikram focused near Bidhi’s leg. He pulled his arm back as far as he could, he let go.

Bidhi stepped two steps in front, and WHAM! A Yorker transformed into a full toss! Six!

Bidhi jumped in delight, their Captain dashed to him in delight clapping and yelling furiously, he even gave Captain Dada a ironic pat on the back, implying “Better luck next time, Moron!”. It was too much, playing in the big boys team didn’t matter to Bikram any more. He couldn’t see Captain Dada getting humiliated by a guy who literary scores a duck in every other match, he just couldn’t .

1 ball left, 1 run to go.

Scores were leveled. All drama in the last over. This time Captain Dada didn’t even come to scold him. Bikram knew this was the calm before storm. It was certain he was going to get his ass kicked that day, but still if he managed to get the game to a super over he might go off in a discount.

He was too nervous to think of any thing else. All his team members were looking as if he was a burglar or something. 100 rupees was not a joke in a Bengali teenagers life, even if it was shared between half a dozen participants. Bidhi settled on the creeze after a stunning display of spinning his bat like a sword. He was now beating his bat furiously on the ground.
Bikram rolled his sleeves for the last delivery, he had to take him, he had to. He squeezed the ball hard, cocked his arm hard, he swung his arm as hard as he could his target the wicket, the ball zoomed hard and bounced midway on the field.

Bikram watched with the others spectators as Dada’s team faced Tera’s team a week later. After the incident of the last match, there was no way Dada took Bikram in his team, let alone Tera Saroj.

What happened was, B bouncer was executed in the last bowl of the last over. Well, Bidhi missed it completely, so did the wicket keeper. The ball flew high above the ground and hit Riya di who was sitting far in the spectators wall. Well for Dada, the fury of his girlfriend getting hit was by far greater than losing the match. Rest is history.

“OUTTT!” shouted Dada as Astik bowled Tera, destroying the middle wicket.

Bikram, heart heavy with agony, clapped with the others muttering, “Next Time…”