The story so far: Under Geetha’s strict mentoring, Ankita starts picking up the basics of cricket. But progress is slow.
After almost three weeks of training, one morning, Ankita hit a couple of boundaries. For the first time, Geetha high-fived her.
This was the turning point. Ankita started playing both pace and spin with greater ease. It was as if the confidence she was looking for had found her!
Geetha now shifted her focus to fielding.
“Ankita, for any player, the skills of ground fielding, catching, aiming and throwing are extremely important.”
“Yep, after all, catches win matches!” replied Ankita.
“Exactly. So, from today, we are also going to concentrate on these aspects.”
Training intensifies
Geetha noticed that Ankita was adept at catching but not quite good at fielding and throwing. So she focused on those aspects and slowly Ankita showed improvement. As she progressed, Geetha raised the bar further. She would keep just one stump and ask Ankita to run, pick up, aim and throw.
The selection trials were held soon after the school reopened. But, when the results came, Ankita’s name was missing from the top 15. “How come I didn’t make it?” she asked Aniket.
“The coach wanted to give a chance to the girls in class ten who will be passing out soon.”
“That is not fair!” Ankita said, her face red.
Simmering rivalry
Once day, Aniket and Ankita were chatting in the classroom. “You know Aniket, yesterday I watched the replay of Virat’s first century. One particular cover drive was awesome.” Ankita tried to replicate her idol’s stroke with a ruler. She turned when she heard a snigger.
Vinod from VII B and his buddy Taj were laughing. The two didn’t like Ankita and Aniket and the feeling was mutual. Vinod, in particular, didn’t miss an opportunity to pass snide remarks at Aniket. While Aniket ignored him, Ankita would jump in and take Vinod on. Vinod would then accuse Aniket of hiding behind his sister.
“Taj, what a sight. If Virat were here, it would have been the ultimate ROFL moment for him,” Vinod declared.
“That’s not funny, you overgrown clown. Don’t think you are the only one who can play cricket. But, for some stupid logic, I too would have been in the squad.”
Vinod was already in the school team. He was a fast bowler and batsman. “Are you trying to compare yourself with me?”
“Naah! But I have a proposal, which will pit us against each other.”
“Okay, shoot. Let me hear your hare-brained scheme?”
To be continued
