Second Innings began.
First over.Pranay opened.No music. No cheer. Just breath and weight and the hum of a stadium built to silence you between deliveries.
His first ball was wide of off.
Dot.
Second — just short of length.
Tap-and-run denied.
Third — full and threatening.
Swing. Miss.
Inside the analyst booth, someone noted: "He's not bowling to take wickets. He's bowling to press pause."
And that was true.Because every dot wasn't just a number.It was a thread looped tighter.
The fourth delivery — flicked to square.
Single.
Fifth — low bounce, defended sharply.
Dot.
Final ball — seamed in, struck the pad.
No appeal.No need.
Dot.
Raj clapped once — a sound lost in the quiet, but sharp enough to be felt.
Second over began.Zoya crouched behind the stumps, eyes locked.
Veer bowled this time.Not fast.
Not flashy.But precise.A line that whispered: You'll have to earn every step.
Dot.
Single.
Dot.
Dot.
Two runs.
Dot.
By the fourth over, the scoreboard read 14/0.
