12th Man to Cricket Legend Chapter 41 41: Debut 2 (1389 words) (Bonus Chapter)

Author's Note:🏆

On readers' demand. I'm doing this for the first ti...

Weekly Power Stone ♦️ Goals:

150 ♦️ PS: 1 Bonus Chapter

250♦️ PS: 2 Bonus Chapters

500♦️ PS: 4 Bonus Chapters

Let's see how far we can climb this week! 🚀

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[A/N: This chapter was actually deleted or never saved in my notes. I couldn't find it anywhere, not even in the recycle bin. Now I have to rewrite it using clues from the previous and next chapters. FUCK Samsung Notes! 🤬🤬]

The atmosphere at the Wanderers was thick with anticipation. The young debutant had survived the raw fire of Steyn, but now he faced the cold, surgical precision of Vernon Philander

Over 4: The Artist and the Surgeon

Shaun Pollock: "Now, this is a completely different challenge for young Rudra. Philander won't try to blow your head off with sheer pace. He'll try to kiss the outside edge of your bat. You have to be technically perfect here to survive."

Ball 3.1 (136.4 km/h):

Philander landed the ball on a di, dropping it just outside off-stump and letting it nip back in slightly off the seam. Rocky played it right under his eyes, keeping his bat and pad tightly closed together.

It was a dead-straight, textbook defense directly back to the bowler.

Mark Nicholas: "Solid. Exceptionally solid. He's found his defensive range early this morning. No nerves whatsoever showing against Big Vern."

Ball 3.2 (134.2 km/h):

Philander tried to draw him into an expensive drive by searching for a slightly fuller length drifting onto the pads. Rocky didn't overcommit his front foot. He stayed perfectly balanced, and with a sudden flick of his wrists that looked eerily similar to the future great, Steve Smith, he worked the ball cleanly through the gap between mid-on and mid-wicket.

It wasn't a power shot. It was pure, unadulterated timing. The ball raced away to the fence.

Shaun Pollock: "Oh, look at those wrists! That is almost Smith-esque, a young Australian batter who just established himself in the ongoing ashes series. The way Rudra just casually glanced that away. He didn't even bother to follow through with the shot. He just closed the face of the bat at the absolute last microsecond. Beautiful cricket."

Ball 3.3 (135.8 km/h):

Philander, looking slightly annoyed by the sudden breach of his line, went fuller again, trying to trap the teenager pinned on his pads. Rocky anticipated the adjustnt. He stepped slightly across his stumps, used his fluid wrists a second ti, and whipped the ball even finer than before, completely dissecting the leg-side field.

Two back-to-back boundaries.

Mark Nicholas: "Subli! He is actively playing with the angles of the field already. Two balls, two boundaries, and the boy hasn't even broken a sweat yet. The South Africans are looking at one another in the slips. They certainly weren't expecting this level of wristy elegance."

Ball 3.4 (138.1 km/h):

Philander pushed his length back a couple of yards, testing Rocky's patience and forcing him onto the back foot. Rocky rose nicely with the extra bounce and played the ball with a very soft hand toward point.

No run.

Ball 3.5 (137.0 km/h):

Another perfect, probing length ball right on the off-stump line. Rocky completely smothered the seam movent and the bounce, presenting the full face of his bat to push it right back into Philander's follow-through.

Ball 3.6 (135.5 km/h):

The final ball of the over. Philander angled the delivery in toward the stumps. Rocky nudged it softly toward mid-wicket and set off for a sharp single imdiately. He wasn't just running, he was confidently calling for the run before the ball had even passed the inner-ring fielder.

1 run.

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In The Comntary Box:

As the players switched ends for the beginning of the 5th over, the broadcast caras caught a close-up of Rocky adjusting his gloves at the non-striker's end, looking completely unfazed by the hostile environnt.

Mark Nicholas: "And he safely takes the single to close out a highly profitable over! You know, Shaun, most teenage debutants would be absolutely delighted to just park themselves at the non-striker's end and let the senior pro handle the heat. But this youngster, Rudra... he is actively rotating the strike like he wants to be the one facing every single ball. He is completely taking control of the rhythm out there."

Shaun Pollock: "It's exceptionally rare for a newcor, Mark. It shows a massive amount of unshakeable self-belief. He isn't out here looking for a hiding place from Philander or Steyn. He is genuinely enjoying having the lion's share of the strike. The boy just wants to bat, plain and simple."

Sunil Gavaskar: "Well, I am certainly glad that he is starting to prove wrong with these boundaries, but let's not jump to grand conclusions so early in a Test match. This is only the fourth over of the first morning. The ball is still brand new, and the pitch has plenty of life left in it. Let's wait and see how he handles the rest of this grueling first hour."

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As Rocky and Murali t mid-pitch for a glove tap, Murali Vijay was actually laughing.

He looked at the eighteen-year-old, shook his head in sheer disbelief, and gave him a hearty pat on the top of his helt. It was the telling look of a senior pro realizing that the "kid" was doing the heavy lifting against one of the most brutal bowling attacks in the world

In the Dugout:

The television cara panned imdiately to the Indian balcony, catching the raw reaction of the team.

MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli were both standing up against the railing. Dhoni had a rare, wide grin stretched across his face, clapping slowly and deliberately, while Kohli was nodding his head vigorously, shouting a stream of intense encouragent toward the middle of the ground.

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End of Over 4: India 14/0

Rocky Rudra: 14* (18b) [3 fours]

Murali Vijay: 0* (6b)

Shaun Pollock: "Fourteen runs on the scoreboard, and all fourteen belong entirely to the teenager. He's successfully managed the 'Big Two' for four straight overs on a green top. But now, the clouds are darkening over Johannesburg, the ball is starting to swing even more in the air... and Dale Steyn is coming back for his third over."

Rocky adjusted his gloves, stared down the pitch at the charging Steyn, and firmly tapped his bat.

The non-existent fear had been replaced by pure excitent.

Only the ga remained.

This was exactly what he had dreamt of as a boy in Cuttack, and he was going to fulfill it no matter what happened next.

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