Rising Youth SC, KSCA Summer League – March 21, 2013
The sun beat down on Chikkapet Grounds like a judgment.
It was the day of Arjun Desai's official debut for Rising Youth Sports Club in the KSCA U-16 Summer League. He had arrived two hours early—kit bag slung over one shoulder, jersey ironed crisp, shoes spotless. His hands, though, wouldn't stop trembling.
The ground smelled of damp soil and linseed oil. The pitch—a bald, cracked strip of mean turf—looked like it hadn't been watered in weeks. Not a single blade of grass in sight.
He knew this surface. Knew what it did.
And yet it felt foreign.
"Relax, champ," Aditya, the keeper, said, handing him a bottle. "It's just cricket."
Arjun nodded, but inside, his mind was sprinting.
This wasn't just cricket. This was the first verdict.
The Build-up: Toss and Tension
Coach Santosh's huddle was curt. "They'll come hard in the Powerplay. Bowlers: hit the deck. Batters: back yourselves."
Rising Youth won the toss and chose to bat. Harsha turned to Arjun.
"You're still at four. Same as trials. Stay sharp."
It sounded routine. But nothing felt that way.
By the sixth over, the score was 42 for 2.
"Desai, pad up," barked the coach.
His mouth went dry. His legs stiffened. The helmet slid down, obscuring the sky. His heart beat like a metronome gone mad.
Walking to the Crease – To Trial
He wasn't walking to bat.
He was walking to trial.
The pitch was the courtroom.
The bowler, judge and executioner.
Krish Jain waited—Vijayanagar's fast-bowling prodigy. His action was all sling and speed. Arjun knew the name. Had watched grainy YouTube clips on his cousin's five-inch phone. No high-def breakdowns, no slow-mo angles. Just instinct.
The field was set like a trap. Slip. Gully. Short cover. Deep point.
He tapped the crease. Took guard.
Middle and leg.
The umpire nodded.
Krish began his run.
The One Ball
Full. Fast. Furious.
It tailed in late—a gavel crashing down.
Arjun's bat came down half a heartbeat too late. He was expecting back-of-length. Had practiced for it all week.
But the ball ducked in, honed like it had a mind of its own.
He moved across.
Tried to flick.
Too late.
Thud—front pad, flush.
Half a second.
Appeal.
"HOWZZZAAAAAAT!"
Finger up.
Out!!!!
Golden duck!!!
The Walk Back – Stitched to the Chest
He didn't hear the cheers.
Didn't hear the scoreboard shout out his crime.
Just walked.
Each step weighed like wet cement on his boots.
The umpire's finger replayed in his mind. Again. Again. Like a cursed gif loop.
That one second—forever stitched to his chest.
"Unlucky, bro," Aditya said as he crossed paths. "Bad one to start with."
But it didn't matter.
Because inside, Arjun wasn't thinking about the ball.
He was thinking about everything else.
Game Ends – But His Mind Doesn't
Rising Youth scraped to 111.
Vijayanagar chased it in 17 overs.
Arjun didn't bowl. Wasn't even asked.
After the game, Coach Santosh approached.
"That was a good ball," he said. A pause. "Happens."
Arjun said nothing.
"You'll bounce back," the coach added, walking off.
But Santosh lingered a moment before turning—his lips twitching like there was more he wanted to say.
"Don't make me the coach who backed the wrong prodigy."
And he walked.
That Night – The Spiral
Arjun didn't eat. Didn't unpack. Didn't scrub his pads clean.
He climbed to the rooftop and lay there under a sky full of stars.
A million lights above.
None of them his.
First ball. First bloody ball.
In his mind, the appeal looped. The release point. The misread line.
And the imagined voices began.
Murali: You played across. Rookie mistake. Feet frozen.
Nayak: just silence. That's worse.
Then: a voice that sounded like his own.
"You'll never belong here."
Flashback Fracture
Move across. Idiot. Why?!
Let it go. Let it go. Watch it swing. You knew it would swing—
STUPID! What were you thinking?!
The thoughts didn't come in sequence. They stabbed him like random shrapnel.
He sat up, breathing ragged.
He had been dreaming of this moment for months.
And now, all he had was one run-up etched in shame.
March 23 – Isolation Drills
Practice resumed.
The nets buzzed, team laughter echoing.
Someone hit three sixes in a row.
Arjun, silent, took his position.
Bowled. Fielded. Shadow batted. Mechanically.
No one mocked him. But no one talked either.
Coach Santosh pulled him aside.
"Still stuck on that LBW?"
A nod.
"You think the game cares?"
A pause.
"You think bowlers slow down because your feelings are hurt?"
Arjun looked down.
"You fell. Fine. Stay down, and I'll replace you."
Blunt. But fair.
And maybe… not without concern.
March 24 – Return to the Past
That evening, Arjun took an auto to Basavanagudi Academy.
He hadn't been back in weeks.
Nets empty. Stumps tilted. Grass yellowing under sunset.
Coach Nayak stood quietly, coiling a net.
He saw Arjun. Didn't react.
"I heard."
Silence.
Nayak pointed to the pitch. "Bat."
"I don't have gear."
"Use the academy set. This pitch doesn't care."
And so he did. In slippers. With a borrowed bat.
Nayak bowled.
Same delivery.
Full. Swinging in.
Again. Again. Again.
After twenty balls, Arjun stepped out.
Panting.
Nayak tossed him the ball.
"You know what you did wrong?"
"Played across. Didn't trust the line."
"And?"
"…I wasn't ready."
A long pause.
Then Nayak, simply:
"Then get ready. The world doesn't hand second chances. You take them."
March 25 – Reclaiming Fire
Something changed.
Arjun didn't speak more. Didn't ask for extras.
But stayed after practice. Bowled extra. Helped pick cones.
He asked Aditya for wicketkeeping tips. Repeated shadow batting drills in the mirror. Hit his bat against the wall 200 times until the rhythm felt right.
He borrowed his cousin's 5-inch phone. Rewatched Krish Jain's deliveries on loop.
Every tail-in. Every toe-crusher.
Every one ball.
March 26 – The Old Ball
A courier arrived.
Inside: a single, almost leatherless cricket ball.
And a note.
"You got out in one ball.
Good. Fewer to analyze.
Now earn 10,000 more.
No shortcuts. No sympathy.
Understand the ball. Then conquer it.
– M."
Arjun held the ball.
There was something ugly about it. Scuffed. Cracked. Smelled of sweat.
He slipped it into his pocket like it was sacred.
Later, he would name it:
One Ball.
March 27 – The Second Chance
Coach Santosh read the XI aloud.
"Matchday 2: vs South End Colts. Same team. Desai at four."
No reaction.
No pats on the back.
But Arjun sat taller.
He wasn't dropped.
He wasn't done.
Epilogue: Under the Moonlight
That night, under the pale moon, Arjun stood on his terrace again.
The city hummed below.
He pulled out One Ball.
Held it.
Shadow batted.
One step. Trigger. Bat lift. Stillness.
Again.
Again.
Sweat clung to his skin. The wind dried none of it.
He whispered:
"One ball doesn't define me."
Pause.
"But how I answer it… will."
The moon shone down like a second chance.
Score Recap – Match 1 (March 21, 2013)
Rising Youth SC vs Vijayanagar Warriors – KSCA U-16 Summer League
Rising Youth SC Innings:
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Batsman Runs Balls 4s 6s SR
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Pratyush (Opener) 18 22 2 0 81.8
Imran (Opener) 9 14 1 0 64.3
Nikhil (No.3) 13 10 2 0 130.0
Arjun Desai (No.4) 0 1 0 0 0.0
Harsha (Captain) 27 23 3 1 117.4
Aditya (Wk) 19 17 2 0 111.8
Extras 25
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Total: 111/6 in 20 overs
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Bowling Summary – Rising Youth SC:
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Bowler Overs Runs Wkts Econ
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Ravi (Med Pace) 2 17 0 8.5
Parth (Left Arm) 3 21 1 7.0
Harsha 2 15 1 7.5
Varun 2 20 0 10.0
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