The GOAT of Cricket

*April 11, 2017 | MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai*

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**Scene 1: The Furnace of Spin**

The Chennai air clung to the skin like syrup. Sticky. Still. Suffocating.

The pitch—dusty beige, spiderweb cracks, and a dull puff on every warm-up delivery—offered one promise: **spin will rule.**

Ishaan Verma, padded up in red and gold, sipped on electrolyte water and watched as Moeen Ali sent down looping off-breaks in the warm-up.

ABD walked over.

"You see the way the ball stops here? It's not bounce you play—it's patience."

Ishaan nodded, eyes fixed on the surface.

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**Scene 2: Toss and Trouble**

RCB batted first.

Gayle departed early.

Kohli looked calm at one end.

Ishaan walked in at 38/1 in the 6th over.

**Crowd murmur:** "Verma! Verma!"

**Chennai's yellow outnumbered Bangalore's red.**

**Over 6.3: Jadeja to Ishaan**

Flat. Fast. Turning slightly.

Ishaan shaped for a cut. The ball skidded.

**Inside edge into pad. Dot.**

**Over 6.4: Jadeja to Ishaan**

Shorter. Teasing cut again.

**Beat the bat. Dhoni smirked behind the stumps.**

Stump Mic (Dhoni):

> "Cut ke chakkr mein chal pada... dhyan se, ladka." *(He's trying to cut everything. Careful, boy.)*

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**Scene 3: Moeen's Trap**

**Over 10.2: Moeen to Ishaan**

Flighted off-break. Drifts in.

Ishaan leans to defend. Ball dips. Bites.

**Edge!**

**Caught at slip.**

Silence. Even the Chennai crowd offered stunned courtesy.

Commentary (Sanjay Manjrekar):

> "He played for turn that never came. That's a classic Chennai dismissal."

**Ishaan walks off: 12 off 17.**

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**Scene 4: The Dressing Room Conversation**

The RCB dugout buzzed with murmurs.

Ishaan sat, helmet still on.

Kohli came and sat beside him.

"You tried to force the pace. In Chennai, the pitch sets the tempo. Not the batter."

Ishaan kept quiet.

Virat continued:

**"You don't beat pressure by ignoring it. You absorb it. Then you bleed it out shot by shot. You looked like you were playing Mohali, not Chennai."**

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**Scene 5: Midnight Nets**

At 11:42 PM, the Chidambaram practice nets buzzed with only one set of lights.

Ishaan was in full gear.

ABD threw balls from behind a netted mesh.

"Right—slower off-break coming!"

**THWACK!**

"Topspin now!"

**SMACK!**

Ishaan missed. Swore. Took guard again.

ABD walked up:

"Forget scoring for now. Just read. Read the hand. Read the air. Forget the scoreboard. Win the mind game."

They went on till 1:15 AM.

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**Scene 6: Virat at the Balcony**

From the hotel balcony, Kohli watched the floodlit nets across the road.

He smiled. Then typed a message.

> *It's not failure if it teaches you something.*

**He sent it to Ishaan.**

The reply came after five minutes:

> *Then I'm learning fast.*

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