Little Book Of Red Lies | Shubman Gill ✓

17. Intent & Injury

Kavya Arora 

The physiological reactions I am having as I take my first ever run up in a proper match are quite intense. My heart is throbbing in my stomach, my palms are sweating and hence it is only natural that I lose the grip of my first ball. It is way too wide. Arghhh. I can almost see Shubman smirk despite his helmet. 

"Easy, easy, Kavya." I hear Rishu say. He gestures me to take control of my mind. I nod at him. 

I have got this. Arjun's training will not go in vain. As Arjun's name pops up in my head I feel my thoughts getting distracted as they wish he were here. I shake them away. All that matters is the next bowl. 

I focus on getting my desired line and length and pray that I do not bowl a wide this time. 

It is not! Thank you Waheguru! 

Rahul Tripathi gestures his hand for a no ball. I overstepped. Damn, that's sad. My heartbeat quickens. Even though this is on such a small scale, I feel the pressure build up. As I get ready to bowl the next delivery, I feel immense respect for all the bowlers out there. 

"You got this, Kavya!" Ishan's voice makes it to my ears as I bowl the first proper, neither wide nor no ball, of the match. Even though Shubman finds a gap between the Mid on and mid wicket as he smashes a four. Even though I am on the opposite team I can't help but admire the shot. He's got talent, touch wood. 

I take a deep breath before the next ball. And I am a tad too happy for a dot ball as I sigh out of relief. What a challenge I have brought upon myself. 

"Kya hua, garmi lag Rahi hai, Arora?" Shubman asks me as I sweat profusely. 

"Ya thak gayi?" He asks when he sees me struggling to catch my breath. 

"Usse chod, tu bata, tujhe ball dikhi nahi kya?" Sikkhi Pajji says from the slip. He smiles at me showing me that if Shubman sledges me, he won't do so without getting sledges by him. 

"Balle se baat kar Gill, muh se nahi." I tell him with a cheeky grin. Hardik walks towards me from the square leg to give me a pat on the shoulder and whispers, "Just focus on executing the plan." 

He had shown a few deliveries to me before the match. They weren't the usual short balls that I had been practising. Even though I felt underprepared, I tried my best to execute what he had taught me. 

AND ANOTHER DOT. Shubman defends it. Hardik and Ishan clap encouragingly. "Go Kavyaaaa" 

Unfortunately, Shubman slams the next ball for a six. Why wouldn't he! It was in the slot after all! I shake my head frustrated. Two good balls and then this. A bowler cannot let a good ball get to their head. Focus Kavya, focus. 

"Chal chal chal Kavyyaaaa.  Bahot accha kar rahi hai tu!" Rishu says from behind the stumps. Now that makes me smile. 

Determined to get this one right, I bowl the fifth delivery of the over. And Shubman hits it but he gets more elevation than distance. If only I had a deep ka fielder in place…. Shreyas tries his best but the ball lands far from him. 

I applaud his efforts. "That was amazing Shreyas. Thank you." I realise a moment later the reason behind Shreyas' sheepish grin. Oh damn I had gone and thanked him, hadn't I? Must have felt weird. I smile. And here I thought I could get used to this. 

I'm almost exhausted and ready for Mavi to take over but I manage to bowl the last ball in place. At this point, I don't even care about taking Shubman's wicket. Just getting the ball to fall where I want to is proving to be a task for an amateur like me. 

I give the ball to Mavi with a very straightforward message, "Gill's mine. You can take on anyone else."

***** 

Oh man even though bowling was stressful, fielding is amazing. It's such a joy to hear the banter and frequently take part in it. Ruturaj wanted me to take the position of a fine leg fielder and relax for a while and even though it was a very sweet and thoughtful suggestion, I did not want to miss the action. So I decided to stay at the slip a.k.a closest to Rishabh pant. 

It is something else to hear his reactions after every ball. At one point, I forgot to run after the ball because I was busy playing his "O Teri" in my head. It's a good thing that I had become accustomed to the boys and knew that they wouldn't make fun of me for being a fangirl for a second. Well Gill certainly would but woh baad ki baat hai. 

The next two overs of my spell are disastrous to say the least, Shubman is clearly not in the mood to get out. I give 26 runs in these 2 overs. And by now I have accepted that it would take a lot more than a bowling rookie to get Shubman Gill out. Which is great for India. But not all that great for me. 

It's Hardik who's bowling now. Shubman has lifted the bowl for a six but it's coming towards me. I dive to catch it and land with a thud. YESSSS I HAVE CAUGHT ITTTTTTT! I ignore the burning sensation on my elbow but my eyes catch the massive cut on my hand that's now bleeding. who cares? I practically had 50% contribution in getting Shubman out! 

"Yayyyyy!!!! Shubman you see this?" I am surprised to see that Shubman has already started walking out without acknowledging the catch. Come on it's not that bad. It's not like I've won but just that I haven't lost. 

"Gill! Wait!" I sprint towards him. Hardik tries to stop me, eyeing my wound, "Probably not the best time, Kavya." 

"Oh this, no I'm fine Hardik. Please let me have my moment of half glory."

I rush, calling out after him. 

"Shubman….come on yaar. At least look at me." When he continues walking, I double my speed.

"Shubman you can't be serious. Achanak kya hua tujhe, Gill?' I ask trying to turn him to face me. We've reached the dressing room. He turns. Grey veins pulsate near his bloodlusted eyes with a pair of fangs on a pained face that hardly resembles Shubman anymore. I gasp. 

Shubman Gill is a vampire?