Final over of the inter-college cricket match. Hari’s team needs 6 runs to win and is already 9 wickets down.
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“I almost never see myself in my dreams, all the dreams I have seen are as first person, I’ve always seen things happening around me in the dream.”, Hari said to his friends. The topic of discussion was ‘dreams’, and venue the ‘Murudeshwar’.
“My mom says early morning dreams always come out true”, said Ketan.
Hari came back home. He had an exciting dream that night. He saw a part of cricket match. He was a spectator in the crowd. The batting team was chasing an impossible target, and had already lost 5-6 wickets. Most of the specialist batsmen were out except for a one single man. This batsman then goes ballistic at the bowlers and comes very close to the victory. At this very point, Hari woke up. He felt his heart beating fast from the adrenaline and excitement of the dream. Thoughts rushed in Hari’s mind. Who was the batsman? Was he Tendulkar? but was that Indian team? or was he Mark Waugh? Wasn’t that our school ground? The dream was too vague to recollect the precise details. Hari just thought of it as an outcome of his passion for cricket. But Hari was not able to ignore that there will be a one-day match between India and Australia today, and they had all the discussions on visions and early morning dreams just a night before. Hari thought he might as well check the time, and it was 5:30 am!
Gosh! A bell ringed in Hari’s mind, perhaps this is the vision for today’s match after all. He got ready early, called up Ketan and told him everything. They decided to watch the match at Hari’s home. For the first time in their life, they were very excited even though Australia piled up 370 in 50 overs, a target close to impossible for the Indian team to chase. And then 40-45 minutes into the the Indian innings and Indians were 5 down for 48 with Tendulkar still not out. Everything went according to the dream. Hari and Ketan were totally excited. Hari could feel he had seen everything in the dream. He felt the same adrenaline rush that he felt when he had woke up in the morning. But to their disappointment, Tendulkar got out. India was defeated by more than 100 runs. There was no fightback from Tendulkar and there were no fireworks. Australia cruised to the victory. Hari decided not to believe in the visions and dreams ever again in his life.
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Hari’s college was chasing 135 runs from 20 overs. The opposing college scored 134, a highest of the inter-college tournament so far. The inter-college tournament has been using the 20-20 format way before it came to an existence in international cricket, mainly because the game ends faster. Hari’s team was down in dungeons as the scoreline said 33 for 4 in 7 overs. The mood in the dressing room was clear from the faces of the players. Hari was the next man in, and everyone knew what the end result would be, just another loss.
The moment Hari entered the ground with the bat in hands he felt something familiar. He just went into the middle and started hitting the ball as hard as he could. Hari realised his vision. He had seen himself batting in his dream. He never saw the face of the batsman in the dream, neither did he remember the outfit nor the scoreline. But he definitely remembered the school ground. It was him! His confidence shot up high into the sky. He never felt so good ever before in his life. All those brilliant shots, he used against his team-mates in the nets, were coming out ever so smoothly on the ground, perhaps for the first time in Hari’s life. When he came out of his trance, he already was a half centurian and the team needed 6 runs to win in the last over. He felt the exact same emotion as to when he woke up after that dream.
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Final over of the inter-college cricket match. Hari’s team needs 6 runs to win and is already 9 wickets down. Unfortunately he is not on strike. His best mate, Ketan, a bowler and the worst no.11 batsman of their college is a non-striker. For the first time since he walked out to bat, Hari is unsure of the victory. He had seen everything in his dream, but not the end.
The first ball of the over – is as expected a short-pitched and Ketan surprises everyone by pulling it over the ropes for a six. Hari’s team has the victory. Ketan steals the show.
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Your thoughts lead to your dreams. The dreams which wake you up leave an impression in your mind. The dreams which remain stuck in your thoughts come out true.
