June 11, 2017 | The Oval, London
India vs South Africa – Group Match | Champions Trophy
Prologue: The Noise Before the Fall
The sky above The Oval was unusually clear for a London morning — blue, sharp, and deceivingly calm. But Ishaan Verma could feel the tension clawing beneath his ribs.
Every corridor echoed with murmurs. Breakfast was half-eaten. Headlines from the past week blared from TV screens in the team hotel lobby.
"Verma: The ICC Prodigy"
"India's New Face"
"The Hook That Humbled Pakistan"
And yet, he felt none of it.
Inner Monologue:
That was last week. They forget quickly. One edge, one mistake… and you become a question again.
Toss and Teams
Virat Kohli called right — India would bat first.
The crowd roared. Fans in blue jerseys waved Indian flags furiously. But inside the changing room, Ishaan stared at the dressing mirror longer than usual.
The same jersey. The same kit bag. But a strange heaviness in his chest.
India XI (unchanged):
Rohit Sharma
Shikhar Dhawan
Virat Kohli (C)
Ishaan Verma
MS Dhoni (wk)
Yuvraj Singh
Hardik Pandya
Ravindra Jadeja
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Umesh Yadav
Jasprit Bumrah
South Africa XI:
Quinton de Kock (wk)
Hashim Amla
Faf du Plessis
AB de Villiers (C)
David Miller
JP Duminy
Chris Morris
Andile Phehlukwayo
Kagiso Rabada
Morne Morkel
Imran Tahir
First Innings — India Bat
10:30 AM Local Time
The Oval, usually gentle, had a spicy pitch this morning. Slight grass cover. Cloud movement overhead.
Over 1.1 – Rabada to Rohit
Short, lifting. Beats the outside edge. A warning.
Over 3 – Rabada strikes
Rohit Sharma trapped lbw. India 15/1.
The silence was immediate.
Enter Ishaan Verma
He walked in slowly. No cheer, no smile — just the sound of his spikes on turf. The Oval, massive and looming, felt colder than usual.
Rabada stared him down.
Stump Mic (Rabada):
"You're trending, bro. Let's see how long it lasts."
1st Ball – Rabada to Verma (Over 3.3)
Back of a length. Ishaan tucks it into midwicket.
No run.
3.4 – Rabada to Verma
Good length, angling across. Ishaan pushes half-heartedly. Misses.
Stump Mic (De Kock):
"Oooh… early nerves."
Over 5 – Morkel's Spell
5.2 – Morkel to Verma
Short. Ishaan pulls — mistimes. Ball lands just short of midwicket.
Kohli (from non-striker's end):
"Eyes in, Ishaan. They want you early."
5.4 – Morkel to Verma
Fuller, outside off. Ishaan tries a flashy square drive.
Edged! FOUR.
Thick outside edge races past gully.
Commentary (Sunil Gavaskar):
"That's risky. Young Ishaan still playing the IPL drive."
Over 8 – The Fall
India: 43/1
Ishaan: 11(13)
8.1 – Imran Tahir to Verma
Flighted. Ishaan steps out, defends.
8.2 – Tahir to Verma
Shorter. Ishaan rocks back. Flicks for one.
8.3 – Tahir to Kohli
Single. Ishaan back on strike.
8.4 – Tahir to Verma
A googly. Flighted.
Ishaan dances down blindly—goes for the big slog sweep. Mistimes completely.
Stumped!
De Kock whips off the bails. Ishaan's foot? Nowhere near the crease.
Silence.
Not just in the ground. But in Ishaan's ears. A ringing vacuum.
He turned, stared at the crease. Then at the sky. Then at Kohli.
The captain didn't speak. Just exhaled.
Ishaan walked back — head down, gloves dragging.
In the Commentary Box
Virender Sehwag (sharp):
"That's just poor. Rash shot. This isn't the IPL. This is the Champions Trophy. You don't gift your wicket like that."
Harsha Bhogle (softly):
"And with that, Ishaan Verma walks back to a different silence than the one he came in with."
Back in the Dressing Room
He removed his pads slowly. Sat on the bench. Didn't look up.
MS Dhoni walked in. Sat beside him. No words.
Kohli returned ten minutes later, padded up. Looked directly at him.
Kohli (calmly):
"One bad match doesn't define you."
Ishaan didn't respond for a long time. Then, softly:
"But it makes people forget everything else."
India Finish at 271/7
Yuvraj and Dhoni steady the middle overs. Pandya blasts late.
But the shadow of Ishaan's dismissal lingers in press boxes.
Second Innings – India Bowl
South Africa crumble. Bumrah breathes fire. Jadeja spins webs. Amla caught. AB de Villiers run out. India win by 37 runs.
But Ishaan doesn't smile.
Post-Match Presentation
Virat Kohli:
"We're happy with the win. And we back every player in this dressing room — no matter what."
That Night — Hotel Balcony, 11:43 PM
Ishaan sat alone on the balcony. The London sky above him. His phone lit dimly beside him.
Twitter fed him its venom:
"Overrated."
"What a fraud."
"Not made for ICC pressure."
"Tried to be a hero. Became a meme."
He locked the screen.
From inside the room, his India jersey hung on a chair — crumpled.
He picked up a tennis ball from his bag. Tossed it up. Again. And again.
The noise outside? Louder now. But his mind was quieter.
Inner Monologue:
Let them say it. I know what I saw. I know what I did wrong.
But next time… next time, they'll remember.