Never Underestimate Your Potential

“You just need to focus and hit another sixer,” said the voice from the cheering crowd. It was a pleasant summer morning in 2016, and my friends decided to play a friendly match with the boys from a neighbouring colony.

The captains selected their teams, and the rest of the boys sat down to cheer on their sides. My captain chose me as an all-rounder. We won the toss and decided to field first. Our bowling lineup was strong but beyond our expectations; their batters gave us a tough time. We played well and chased 101 runs.

This was the biggest score ever done on our home ground. Our captain raised our morale, and the opening batsman went to the batting pitch. After playing barely two overs, our opening lineup was destroyed. Then I went to the strike; my captain was on the other side.

For the first ball, I moved my bat in the air, and the ball went out of the ground. This strike was needed to make the crowd alive again. The captain and I observed their bowling strategy for two overs, and we started hitting them out of the ground.

The opponents did not expect this either, so one of them became frustrated and pushed my captain; he was not looking forward to him, so he fell and hurt his leg. The empire gave the other player a warning, and the match continued. On the next ball, I played the ball slightly to the offside and ran to score a run, but unfortunately, my captain fell due to an injury, and he got out.

This caused massive damage to our team. Only one over was left, and 17 runs had yet to be scored. The player on strike could have been a more confident batsman; he needed to achieve a run to give me the strike.

He tried his best but unluckily missed two balls and scored a run on the third delivery. Now, finally, I was on strike, and as soon as the ball delivery came, I hit it as hard as I could, and the ball went far out of the ground. Now, ten runs were needed on two deliveries.

I slightly touched the pacer and went for a bouncer, and by luck, there was no fielder at that side, so it was a boundary. Now, six runs were needed on one last attempt. My heartbeat throbbed as the bowler’s feet touched the ground; the ball was out of his hand and bounced once. I closed my eyes and slammed my bat on the ball.

The crowd went silent, and everyone looked into the sky. I tried to find the ball in the air, but the sun’s rays disturbed my vision.

Suddenly, I saw my teammates running toward me; I couldn’t understand what had happened until my captain jumped onto me, yelling that we made it. Then I realised it was a sixer and we had won the match.

Trust your skills and abilities, especially when things are hard. Staying focused and determined can lead to excellent results.

Disclaimer: This story is the real story of the author's son, who was also written by him, edited, and proofread by the author.

PS: This story was initially published on Medium by the author of Read or Die