The eleventh week of camp began with a sense of finality.
This was it—the last match of the cross-team simulations. After weeks of 20-over and 50-over formats, the mentors had chosen a middle ground: a 35-over match, designed to test adaptability, stamina, and tactical clarity.
The fixture: Team Red Group A (Vijay Hazare) vs. Team Green Group B (Syed Ali)
The match would be the final data point before the shortlist.
Toss and Early Overs
Rishabh Noorani, captain of Green Group B, won the toss and chose to bowl first. The pitch was slightly damp, the outfield sluggish. It was a decision made with calculation.
Mayank Rawat, leading Red Group A, nodded. "Let's build, then explode."
But the start was anything but smooth.
The openers struggled against the new ball. Arav, bowling with sharp angles and clever changes of pace, struck early—removing Raghav Mehta with a dipping off-cutter.
At 42/2 in 9 overs, Red A looked shaky.
But the middle order steadied.
Siddharth Rao and Mayank stitched a 90-run stand, rotating strike and punishing anything short. By the 25th over, the scoreboard read 156/3.
Nikhil's Gear Shift
In the 30th over, with the score at 198/4, Nikhil walked in.
This was the moment he'd been preparing for—the late-innings gear shift he'd practiced in silence, the explosive mode he hadn't yet revealed.
He didn't wait.
He danced down the track to the off-spinner and launched him over long-on. Next over, he reverse-swept for four. Then came a flurry—pulls, lofted drives, and one audacious scoop over fine leg.
In just 18 balls, Nikhil reached his fifty.
The dugout stood. Mayank, at the non-striker's end, just stared.
By the end of 35 overs, Red Group A had posted 271/6.
The Bowling Response
Mayank opened the bowling and struck early—two wickets in his first three overs, both caught behind. His rhythm was sharp, his lengths perfect.
The rest of the bowling unit followed suit:
Ravi Teja, the left-arm seamer, bowled a tight middle spell: 7-1-28-1.
Siddharth Rao chipped in with a wicket through a clever slower ball.
Nikhil was handed the ball in the 22nd over.
He didn't take a wicket.
But he did something just as valuable—he contained.
Bowling to set batters, he gave away just 19 runs in 4 overs, varying his flight and pace, denying boundaries, and forcing mistimed shots.
Green Group B finished at 221/8.
Red Group A won by 50 runs.
The Aftermath
Both teams shook hands. There was no bitterness—just mutual respect.
Rishabh clapped for Nikhil as they walked off. "That fifty… was something else."
Mayank grinned. "You've been hiding that gear, Sharma."
Nikhil just smiled.
Then he walked over to Arav, who had bowled a brilliant opening spell.
"Good bowling today," Nikhil said, offering a fist bump.
Arav nodded. "You too. That knock… you lit the place up."
Back in Room 101, Nikhil opened his notebook and wrote:
The games were done.
Now came the wait.