‘A bit of a wobble there, has the fielder lost her balance? Oops. It does look like her foot has crossed the boundary rope. Well, well, well. What can I say? The match is back on. Inaya Haider is not out and the last delivery will now count for 6 runs.’

Inaya felt a surge of relief course through her. She took a deep breath. She must not waste this precious second chance she’d got. Now the Curry Cruisers needed 13 runs off 4 balls. Inaya was on strike. She managed to edge the ball into a gap in the fielding. Inaya and Lubna raced furiously, scoring 2 runs. The fielder threw the ball back to the bowler’s end, but the bowler fumbled, giving the Curry Cruisers an extra run for the misfield. And bringing Lubna Ahsan on strike.

Ten runs needed and 3 balls to go.

The next ball almost clean bowled Lubna, skimming her bat and skidding just out of the reach of the wicketkeeper. Lubna was already tearing down the pitch for a single—and then decided to come back for a second. There was no second run in that—it was a hugely risky decision, but Lubna was more than halfway down the pitch by now. Inaya figured that if she didn’t run, the fielder would throw the ball to the wicketkeeper, who was waiting to whip off the bails, and Lubna would be run out. Inaya decided to go for the run. Seeing her attempt this impossible run, the fielder scooped up the ball and threw it at the non-striker’s end. Inaya flung herself and her outstretched bat on to the crease. The ball hit the wickets dead on, knocking the bails off. The Chippy Champs team went up in a synchronized ‘Howzaaat?’

Inaya held her breath, waiting for the verdict. Seconds later, a cheer went up amongst the Chippy Champs players. Inaya didn’t even bother looking at the umpire for his decision and started walking off the pitch. She had blown her chance. This was the end of the road for her. Lubna looked absolutely crushed as Inaya walked past her.

‘I’m sorry about that, Inaya—’ she began.

Inaya shrugged it off and walked on ahead. Then she turned around and came back to Lubna.

‘On a pitch like this, Judith tends to bowl a slow ball followed by a yorker in her death overs. Watch out for that.’

Lubna listened with her head cocked to a side and nodded ever so slightly.

The new batter, Dayita, was in and the Curry Cruisers now needed 9 off the last 2 balls to win. Skipper Simone signalled to her fielders to go towards the boundary—the only way the Curry Cruisers could make 9 runs off 2 balls was with at least one 6.

Judith took a longer time than usual for her run-up. Lubna was watching the ball with singular focus. Everyone was expecting Judith’s famous yorker, but this ball was far slower. As it dipped and moved away, Lubna timed it perfectly, hitting it into the stands for 6 runs. Dayita met her in the middle of the wicket and fist-bumped her.