The story so far: The match is headed for a nail-biting finish, as both Ankita and Vinod play their hearts out.
Sameer bowled an in-swinger and Vinod smashed it. The ball came whizzing towards Ankita’s right. She dived and stopped it. As she got up in a scramble, Vinod raced back for the second run. Ankita could see just one stump. She took a couple of steps and let go. The ball flew and crashed into the stumps, even as Vinod dived full length, his bat sliding in front.
“Howzzzzzatt!” half the stadium yelled.
The square leg umpire was Glory. Her finger went up and pandemonium broke loose. The members of Avengers went berserk and fell on Ankita. Aniket, who had closed his eyes, opened them. Seeing the celebrations, he ran on to the field.
Vinod was declared the best batsman, Sameer, the best bowler and Ankita, the best fielder.
Celebration at school
That evening, the principal hosted a high tea for the two teams .The spread was lavish and Ankita piled a plate high with a couple of samosas, a chicken sandwich, a neat heap of bhelpuri and three laddoos. She hadn’t been able to eat properly earlier because of her tension.
She had just taken a big bite of the samosa, when someone called her. She turned back to see Vinod coming towards her with a plate. She couldn’t help looking at it. It had just two kachoris and one peda.
“So, still mourning your defeat?” Ankita taunted him.
Vinod smiled, “You are one hell of a fighter. You caught and fielded brilliantly.”
Slightly taken aback, Ankita mumbled, “Thanks.”
“Friends?” Vinod asked, raising his palm.
“Friends!” replied Ankita, high-fiving him.
As the youngest player, Ankita was allowed to take home the trophy and keep it for a day.
When she reached home, she found Madhavi standing at the door, smiling widely. Aniket who had gone home early had told her the whole story and how Ankita was responsible for her team’s win. She pulled Ankita close and gave her a hug.
“I am proud of you, Anki,” Madhavi said.
“This unexpected compliment is even better than winning the championship!” Ankita whispered to Aniket.
The end
