Episode 33

Mar 12 2007

Matters hot up

The match between the Cricket Star XI and Under 19 Invitation XI was barely done when daggers were sharpened. The boys had plenty to say when the game drew to a close. Praveth was reeling from watching his week change from being a hero to becoming a man in serious trouble. Karan Joshi could only smile and accept the selectors’ verdict and Robin Singh’s anger, while disagreeing with their allegations. Kadir Patel seemed dwarfed by the controversies dogging the Cricket Star XI. Forced to come lower down the order and in a delicate situation with two overs remaining, he felt he had too little time to set in and make an impact on the game.

The one thing that made Sukhvir ‘Happy’ Singh lose his smile was being placed in the danger zone for a second time.

In the midst of such chaos, the boys managed to get their heads and their groove together for a special day with Waqar Younis. The Pakistani fast bowler who has teased and taunted some of the best batsmen around the world, spent time with the boys in an informal chat. He also conducted a cricketing test of spot bowling where the goal was to concede the minimum amount of runs. Amiteshwar won that battle and had the opportunity to have a phone chat with Monty Panesar.

But the boys continued to remain in the shadow of the looming danger zone outcome. A change of setting helped a little. They were set a unique task—to try high rope river crossing. The boys took a dig at Dinesh Salunke by sending him first. But it was Sukhvir who set the boys a worthwhile challenge. However, Samandeep met the challenge and beat Sukhvir’s time by three seconds.

This led to a war of words with Karan plays the dubious role of a mediator. This is just a start. The boys have many more bridges to traverse!