My day of glory

Cricket has never been my favorite game probably because I didn’t play the game so well. But as a kid, that is the sport I have played the most. Most of my friends were good at it, except for a few, including me. I was neither a good batsman nor a good baller, but an excellent fielder. I would never let the ball pass through me - a formidable iron wall. Once we had a match with the boys from other school. It was summer time, and the sun was burning. The match started at 4 pm, on the Empire Pitch. The opponent team won the toss, and elected to bat first. They played well and put up a total score of 76 runs. Our team was the next to bat, but the few opening batsmen barely put 24 runs on the scoreboard. I was the last man down and all the hopes were stuck on me. The tension was peeking with every passing second.

The match proceeded, and the baller threw the ball at me. Nothing happened in the first 3 balls. The leather ball would just swoosh past me into the gloves of the wicket keeper. Then came the fifth ball on the onside, which I flicked with my bat, towards the back of the wicket, and it went straight for a 4. The next ball met the same fate – a 4. Cricket is a game of uncertainties and the whole game can turn around at any point of time. My friends looked at me as if I was the white horse who will turn around their fortunes. I had to lead the team to victory but it was a huge feat. I took a run on the last ball, so I managed to keep the strike. The next baller balled, and I managed to score 2 more runs. My partner on the other end, kept on hitting the ball left, right and center, and we kept on adding to the score card. My partner put in a total of 22 runs, while I was rotating the strike with him.

We were nearing the target of 77, and were playing at a steady pace. I took the crease and a guy named ‘Akshat’ balled to me. The first few balls went past me, but then the 3^rd ball hit my stumps, and I was out. We were all out for a total score of 57, and lost the match by a mere 20 runs. We had 7 players in our team, and I thought to myself, had all the players scored 11 runs, we would have easily reached the target and won the match. But, I was proud that we, the last 2 batsmen, could put up a total of 33 runs, before getting out. That was our moment of glory, though a bit overshadowed by the felling of losing the match.

Nevertheless, losing doesn’t matter, playing in the right spirit is what matters.