It was late in the evening, the four boys were returning from their practice session at their Eden gardens. "They will never bowl first, so if we lose the toss, we should be prepared for the run chase," said captain Vishnu. "It doesn't matter whether we chase or defend, we have our Dhoni right," playfully said Adi pointing towards Rajesh. Kiran was in some serious thought and didn't pay any attention to this. He inquired, "Where is the new ball?", "Do not forget to bring it tomorrow". "Yes, it is with me."said Vishnu, taking the new shining cricket ball out of his bag. They all looked at it gleefully. It meant a lot to them. All the money they have saved was spent buying that red leather ball. They are very serious not to lose it and very keen on earning their rival's. The yearly cricket ball challenge between Harithnagar Kings and Durganagar Tigers is scheduled for the next day. They have been practicing for over a month. "In Durganagar team, there are few players who cannot run properly, so we should target them when we are batting and moreover we should not give any extras" said Kiran authoritatively. "Yes, that is right" nodded captain Vishnu.
"By the way, are you guys going to the village meeting?" asked Rajesh with a displeasure and added "We should hurry, the match on TV has already started, Srilankans are batting." "Well, say goodbye to it, we will be there at the meeting till 9 or 10, they never let us go until it is over and we clean the place", said Adi irritatingly. "Anyhow we cannot ditch it, we promised Sir, so we have to go", said Kiran. "I told all the guys to meet up at 7 tomorrow, bring the kit Adi." said captain Vishnu as they walked towards their school, where there is a meeting that evening. They patiently accepted the fact that ninth standard is an ordeal which they have to finish before a pampered tenth. The village have a pretty annoying policy, that the local school boys should help them arrange the meetings. Today it is one of those very important sessions with the local legislator. The long standing, bitter water dispute between Harithpura and Durganagar is going to be discussed. As usual the white kurta clad legislator was sitting in the middle of the dais and few elders were sitting next to him on either side. Everyone was listening to the legislator patiently. The legislator, in a low voice was explaining the budget problems to build a tank. He has been convincing them for past few years. There were complaints, arguments and counter arguments by both the village elders, promises and guarantees by the legislator. The boys were frustrated, restless and eager to go home and watch the match. After few hours unable to bear the shouting and arguing, the boys slipped away.
The next morning they arrived at the ground by half past seven. There were few villagers and some policemen at the ground. "Vishnu", called the Durganagar captain. "My parents don't want us to play with you", said the captain. "Why?" asked Vishnu eagerly, "Didn't you buy the cricket ball?". "No, we did buy, but my parents and our village elders are not happy with what happened last night, so they do not want us to play with you.", in a disappointed tone. Vishnu ran to his team-mates and told them what has happened. Then they all went to their Sir. "Not today boys, you can play the match later." "But Sir, we want to play, we even practiced for over a month" said Vishnu. "Yes, I know, but it is very risky to play a game now. The tempers are high. It can trigger their emotions at any time and you should not bear the consequences."
The boys were disheartened. They walked slowly towards their rival team. "What to do Vishnu?", "Should we reschedule the match?" asked the Durganagar team's captain. "I do not know. May be we should play after everything is fine". "It never going to happen" said an agitated Rajesh. "Yes", said Kiran. "They never resolve this problem and we won't be able to play ever again". Adi said, "let us go to our Eden gardens and play, so nobody can come there." The rival team captain said, "That is not going to work guys, atleast for now. These people will not let us play or even if they do, they will fight during the game." "Next year we cannot play because of the exams. So, this is it guys. We never can play cricket again with you." said Vishnu to both the teams. Everybody were silent for a while. They were all disappointed with what has happened. The silence was broken. Vishnu looked at the rival team's captain and he took the shining cricket ball from the bag and said, "Hey, take this." The others nodded as if they approved their captains decision. The rival team captain took the ball. He then handed their own precious glittering new ball to Vishnu and said, "Good luck guys, may be after we finish our tenth exams, we can have a friendly game." Everybody nodded, slowly one after other, they dispersed.
The frustrated boys started walking back to their homes. Their Sir came running and joined them. He said, "I am so sorry for you boys. May be soon you can play. Don't be disheartened." Adi said, in a hopeful tone, "Thats ok sir, we will play after the exams." Vishnu said, "Yes, we will sure play. But I dont understand why our villages still fight like this. Can't they solve this problem once and for all." Sir explained, "It is not easy boys but all of us are trying". Kiran pointed out, "May be they can come to an agreement. Like, our farmers will work in their mills one year and they can work in our fields. They can alternatively do this, so everybody can share water and the income." Vishnu said, "May be we can build a tank ourselves." "Yes, we can do something like this quickly so we can play soon. It is boring to practice without playing a match." Their Sir looked away , with a hint of smile on his face, thoughtfully as if he is pondering something.
"Catch!!" shouted Vishnu throwing the ball up and high. All the three boys ran across the ground to catch it.
