Pyaar Se: An Innings At Love

50. match 1

"Nothing got me feeling this way."

Naman's P.O.V.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" I warned Rahul who was ready to go for a run from the other side of the crease.

I knew the fielder had gotten the grip of the ball and was about to throw it towards the wicket but he was very subtle about which is why it might've missed Rahul's eye.

As soon as the words left my mouth, Rahul's bat hit the crease line and he went back to his position near the stumps- his face held a confused expression.

A few seconds later, after looking towards the fielder, a sly smile appeared on his face as he understood my intention. I smirked.

He walked towards the middle of the pitch and so did I.

"You saved me there, captain." He touch his bat to mine as we fist bumped.

I nodded in response and gave him a 'be careful in the future' look.

It felt a bit uneasy to play on the field since I was on the bed for the last couple of months but I think I'll adjust back in no time.

I was running again and that was miracle itself so, I can't complain about anything. All I can do, now, is practice.

And practice, and practice.

Today was the first World Cup match for India, and it was against England. Not going to lie, the match was in England's court as of now.

We were a bit far from the required run rate and to compensate for that, we'd have to kill in the second innings.

Back to the game, I focused on the hand movements of the bowler and quickly recognised it was going to be a yorker. So, I moved around the crease and turned the yorker into a full toss as I hit the ball up in the air.

My eyes were glued on the ball and it was rising up in the sky. It went up and up and landed in the stands.

The umpire's hands went about his head, a six.

"And that's a massive six right from the captain's bat. All the muscles in Mehra are oveshining through, as always." The commentator spoke.

The crowd erupted in a loud cheer.

The next ball, the bowler reciprocated his earlier movements as his wrists turned and he bowled a yorker, at least that's what I thought.

And boy, that a misinterpretation.

As an instinct, I moved around the crease but the bowl actually found its way to hit the stumps while I moved, hitting the stumps.

The entire stadium went silent. The sound of the bails falling struck my eyes and I cursed myself in a low tone.

You should've known better, Naman.

I fell for his show and got caught in the trap. I kept my head low while I walked back towards the dressing room.

I removed my helmet and pads and sat in the silence for sometime.

It's okay, it's just the first match. I'll come around.

But, fuck, I should've known better. I am better than this.

Am I not fit enough to play?

Am I not fulfilling my duties as a captain?

Fuck, I wish I could talk to her.

I closed my eyes and her smiling face flashed in my mind.

You are the best at what you do, don't let these voices tell you otherwise.

My wife's words from earlier echoed in my brain as I lifted my head up.

Get it together, Naman.

Yes, I should get it together. There's the entire second innings left with us.

A few hours later

To my shock and disappointment, the second innings wasn't going as we expected it to.

We were just dragging the match and with every bowl our winning rate was going lower.

We had just taken two wickets and England was just twenty seven runs away from winning.

But whatever time we have left, I wouldn't give up or let my team be in that zone. Whatever the results may be, we'll give our best till the end. There's no concept of giving up here.

"Come on, boys! Cheer up." I encouraged the guys as I instructed some alterations in the fielding positions.

As a captain, it was my duty to keep the team motivated. It comes with the many responsibilities of being the captain and I didn't mind it, not even a bit.

The match continued and eventually came down to its final balls. It was two runs to seven balls, with four wickets down.

The match was out of our hands but we would put in all that we have.

The bowler bowled his delivery and the batsman, the captain of the England team, bent his knee forward and moved a bit out of the crease and hit him for a four.

The opposite team started celebrating and I walked towards the bowler- Yuzi, and patted his back. He did great today.

"You did well, Yuz." He just gave me a sad smile in return.

The boys and I shook hands with England players and I prepared myself for the post match presentation.

All of us walked back to the dressing room. The atmosphere in there was wistful, so, I decided to break the ice.

"It's okay, boys. We just have to keep going." I told them.

"I know this sucks but I think it'll help us learn from where we went wrong today and we could improve ourselves in the next match. Just don't get upset. I-"

"Skipper, the presentation is about to begin." A crew member informed me. I nodded in response.

"I'll go deal with the media. You guys don't worry and have some water." I said and walked down to the field.

When I reached, the commentator was talking to the England captain. I stood there as I waited.

"Now, I'd like to invite the captain of Indian team, Naman Mehra, here." He announced and I walked towards the spotlight.

"Ah, Naman, a rough start to the cup. Don't you think?" He began.

"Well, of course, this was something that we didn't expect. But I'd like to believe that it just wasn't our day and of course, we'll come back stronger in the next match." I answered confidently.

"I'm sure of it. Many of us thought that you might have to miss the World Cup because of your injury in the England test series. How was the healing process?" Was his next question.

"Pretty exhausting. And honestly, at one point, I also thought that I'd have to miss the Cup because of the injuries and I hated that. I couldn't have missed the World Cup for anything and well, I'm here." I kept my answer short as I was in no mood of doing this interview right now. We'll keep the details for some other time.

"And I'm sure India must be glad. Well, I'll let you go now, skipper. I wish you and the entire team all the best for the upcoming matches." Oh, thank fuck, he concluded.

"Thanks, Brad. Cheers." I walked back, my head consuming me of a lot of thoughts.

Fuck, I'm not used to losing.

Author's note:

50 chapters, fuck, is this even real? I cannot believe we're fifty chapters into the book and none of it would've been possible it weren't for you. I will try my best to live up to your expectations. Also, we're so close 100k!

From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
I love you.