The Lucknow Cricket Academy shimmered under the late morning sun. The final phase of the Uttar Pradesh U-16 State Camp had begun: match simulations. No drills. No theory. Just cricket. Real overs. Real pressure. Real consequences.
Nikhil stood near the nets, padded up, Veer in hand. His name was on the team sheet for the first match—Team Ember vs Team Sapphire. He was batting at number four. Arjun, his roommate and a fast bowler from Kanpur, was listed for Team Sapphire.
"You're up against me today," Arjun said, grinning as he laced his boots.
"I figured," Nikhil replied. "Let's make it count."
Ember's Innings
The pitch was dry and cracked, offering low bounce and unpredictable turn. Arjun opened the bowling for Sapphire, steaming in with intent.
His first over was fiery—two dot balls, a yorker, and a wicket. The stumps flew. The fielders roared.
Nikhil watched from the dugout, calm but alert. He studied the pitch, the angles, the field placements. He wasn't intimidated. He was calculating.
By the 10th over, Ember was 42 for 3. Nikhil was called in.
He walked to the crease, eyes scanning the field. Arjun stood at the top of his mark, smirking.
"Let's see what Chandpur's finest can do."
First ball: short. Nikhil ducked.
Second ball: full. Nikhil defended.
Third ball: slower one. Nikhil stepped out and lofted—over mid-off. Four.
Cheers rose from the dugout.
He built his innings with quiet precision—singles, twos, the occasional boundary. He guided his partner, adjusted to the pitch, and absorbed pressure. Sapphire's bowlers tried everything—reverse swing, off-spin, sledges—but Nikhil was unmoved.
By the 25th over, he had 39 runs. Then came a sharp bouncer that struck his shoulder. He winced, dropped his bat, and took a moment to breathe.
The physio ran in. "You okay?"
Nikhil nodded. "Just a bruise."
He resumed batting, slower now, more deliberate. He reached his fifty off 47 balls, anchoring the innings and helping Team Ember post 168 for 6.
During the break, Coach Rameshwar approached him.
"You absorbed pressure. That's rare."
"I just played like I do," Nikhil replied.
Sapphire's Chase
Sapphire's openers came out swinging, racing to 60 in 8 overs. Nikhil was placed at point, watching the ball like a hawk.
Then came a chance.
A mistimed cut flew toward him. He dived, caught it clean, and rolled over. The umpire raised his finger.
The momentum didn't shift entirely, but the pressure on Ember eased. They needed more breakthroughs.
In the 10th over, Ritesh, a left-arm pacer, took the ball.
First ball: yorker — clean bowled. Batter stunned.
Second ball: short — punched to deep cover for two.
Third ball: good length inswing — dot.
Fourth ball: yorker again — lofted to long-on, caught.
Fifth ball: around the wicket, toe-crusher — LBW. Finger raised.
Ritesh was on a different level. The team erupted. One ball remained—he was on a hat-trick.
Sixth ball: good length outswing — defended. Dot.
A gasp rippled through the field. Ritesh stared at the stumps. So close. Nikhil walked over and congratulated him.
Ember had clawed back into the match. Sapphire: 70 for 4 in 10 overs.
The Middle Overs
The pitch slowed. Boundaries dried up. Ember's spinners showed their class, conceding just 43 runs in the next 10 overs and claiming three more wickets.
With 10 overs left, Sapphire needed 55 runs with only three wickets in hand. No specialist batters remained. Ember's hopes surged.
Ritesh returned.
First ball: slower one — grounded to point. Miscommunication. Nikhil pounced. Direct hit. Run out.
The team swarmed him. Two wickets to go.
But then came resistance. The batters dug in, defending everything. The run rate collapsed like a car rolling downhill with the accelerator jammed. No boundaries. Even singles were rare. Dot balls piled up.
The Final Over
Sapphire needed 9 runs off 6 balls. Coach Rameshwar handed the ball to Ritesh.
First ball: dot.
Second ball: single.
Third ball: two runs.
Fourth ball: wicket.
Fifth ball: four.
Two needed off the last ball.
Ritesh ran in, bowled a yorker. The batter dug it out—straight to Nikhil at point.
He threw—direct hit.
Run out.
Victory.
The team erupted. Ritesh pumped his fist. Arjun, despite being on the losing side, walked over and clapped Nikhil on the back.
Aftermath
The selectors gathered. One of them, a former Ranji captain, pointed at Nikhil's name on the sheet.
"He's not flashy," he said. "But he's a match player."
Coach Rameshwar nodded. "He's a builder. Not just a hitter."
That night, Nikhil sat under the academy's neem tree, notebook open, shoulder sore, heart full.
"Lesson: Pressure reveals truth. Fix: Trust the bruise. Goal: Be the player who finishes and defends. Reminder: State cricket is a mirror. I belong."
Tomorrow, the camp would continue.
But tonight, he had arrived.