With the fourteenth over now underway, Rovan once again took the batting crease.
Helios taking the ball from the umpire cast a thoughtful glance towards Poseidon, who stood at the fine leg boundary. Poseidon's face was marked by deep concentration and furrowed brows.
Helios exhaled. "Once this match ends, I have to talk to him." He thought running through the 30 inched circle.
Stepping on the popping crease, he whispered, "Blazing Flare."
The ball aimed towards the leg side instantly deviated towards the off side, straight into Rovan's stumps. Rovan's eyes glowing, he pondered, "He is generating reverse swing now as the ball has deteriorated." Swiftly playing a flick shot through the short fine leg and taking 2 runs.
Helios headed back.
Poseidon throwing the ball back to him, went back.
Delivering the second ball of the over, Helios aimed for an out swinger next. Rovan's eyes glowing darker this time, the black magic circle in his eyes started evolving, he mumbled, "Delivery Speed: 140 km/h (87 mph), outswing Angle: 7 degrees, timing of Impact: 0.04 seconds, bat speed: exceeding the delivery speed for optimal impact with a fast outfield and hard pitch. Here goes a four!" Bat raised and an immediate, powerful square cut was struck towards the deep cover for a four.
Helios narrowed his gaze heading back.
"Don't fret it, Helios." Isa assured handing him the ball.
Further, four more runs accumulated by the end of the fifteenth over. Helios handed the ball to the umpire, but before he could fully release it, Aaron patted him on the back from the right.
Startled, Helios turned towards Aaron, who was reaching for the ball with a playful chant, "Give me~"
With a grin, Aaron took the ball from the umpire, ruffling Helios's hair and catching the ball in a casual up-and-down motion.
Helios sighed, rubbing his tousled hair. "How many times will they mess up my hair?" he wondered, feeling bemused.
Suddenly, Aaron's voice echoed in his mind, "Hehe, until the day we stop finding you so adorable, boy. Now, focus." Helios stared at Aaron's back in shock. "He's really in my head?!" he thought, feeling a bit unnerved.
As Aaron prepared for the sixteenth over, Venus took his position at the crease.
"Now, back to that thick-headed, devil-may-care lad," Aaron mused with a hint of amusement.
Rovan watched him closely.
Stepping a few steps behind the popping crease, Aaron traced Poseidon who had come on mid-off. "Thanks, Isa." he thought with a smile.
"Listening and observing me well, little Sei, Sei?" Aaron asked in Poseidon's head. Poseidon nodded lightly, "Yes…" The color of his eyes looking drained and complexion appearing pale.
Aaron looked at him with a touch of concern. "Not surprised finding me in your head?" he asked him.
"I am quite amazed." Poseidon thought with a smile.
Aaron chuckled replying, "Alright, let me amaze you a bit more, look ahead Sea King."
Delivering the first ball of the over, from the right side of the crease, he delivered a sharp off-break. It turned from off side to leg side. Venus playing the delivery correctly stopped it with a straight drive that Aaron had instinctively stopped, grinning, "Not so fast~"
Venus shrugged unaffected, "Maybe fast on the next ball?"
Aaron went back. Tapping his bat on the crease, Venus looked ahead.
The same off-break delivered with a little bit more deviation, Venus struck the ball towards the mid-on where Kazuna stood shifting from the Third man. Grabbing the ball and ceasing the run scoring he rubbed the ball tossing it back to Aaron once more. The crowd in silence and utmost anticipation, looked forward to every upcoming delivery.
As Aaron delivered the third ball of the over, he aimed for an off-break again, maintaining the same speed and variation. Venus stepped out of his crease, planning a slog sweep towards mid-wicket. However, before he could kneel, Aaron smirked, thinking, "Now you hear me, now you're gone~"
Those very words echoed in Venus's mind, causing him to stand up in shock. "Wha-?!" he exclaimed, breaking his concentration just as the ball headed for the stumps.
Abruptly shifting his bat for a late cut, he only managed to graze the edge, sending the ball flying to Feng, who leaped to catch it. The moment the ball rested in his glove, "OUT! OUT!" he shouted and the crowd erupted in frenzy as the umpire raised his finger, signaling a wicket!
"Edged and gone! Caught behind by Feng Mir Ozer while Aaron Noel Herve is on fire; he's got the ball talking!" the commentators cheered,"A reply and green light for the Kings! What a way to relieve pressure! Venus Raafi departs at 4/9…"
"Haha! That was incredible! He faced the same delivery repeatedly and still got out?!" Azazel gasped in disbelief.
The boys surrounded Aaron, embracing him in celebration.
"Haha!" Aaron laughed, but Venus on the other hand, stood confused, touching his ears as Rovan approached him.
"He… was in my head?" Venus asked, bewildered. "How could I counter something like that?"
Rovan silently patted Venus's back as he returned, his expression stern and dissatisfied. He brushed past Emaad, who wore a smile.
Tossing his bat and gloves aside, Venus left the dressing room.
"Venus." Romeo called out, prompting Venus to stop, gritting his teeth in frustration. "You did well," he praised.
"Captain, if I have to face those cheaters again, you'd better let me cheat too, or put Basid in my place. I won't play them again." With that, Venus exited.
"You're running away?" Ibn Sena added, disappointed.
"Yeah," Venus shot back with a sideway glare, "If I'm going to get out because of someone suddenly invading my thoughts, then I am!" He slammed the door behind him, leaving Hamit, Ulhas, Basid, Mikael, Azam and Hamza speechless.
"Player invading his head…?" Hamza echoed, confused.
"With hypnosis, Aaron can perform telepathy on the field. He uses it to his advantage, sometimes startling batsman mid-play to take their wickets. Or, even bowlers to mess up their initial deliveries. It's the lowest way to gain an upper hand, but there's no evidence anyone can keep before the umpire for foul play so it's hopeless. The batsman is already out," Asim explained.
"Furthermore, only middle schoolers fall for this silly ability. The rest of us know better and stay mentally prepared," Juhan added, upset.
"A telepath…" The middle schoolers were left stunned and creeped out by the mere mention of the term. (So forget about the rest…)
Hamit scratched his head, speechless.
"No wonder Venus, who values fair play, reacted that way. Nobody wants to return in such a disgraceful manner," Ibn Sena sighed.
Meanwhile, Emaad struck a boundary with a sneaky leg glance, apologizing slyly to Aaron, "Oops, sorry. I really didn't mean it."
Aaron snickered wiping his sweat.
"Heh, now this is what I call fair play," Romeo chuckled, "With shallow tricks, only shallow tricks can answer."
"Emaad, a left handed spin/pace returner and left handed leg-spinner, is known as The con artist of the pitch. His sneaky batting and bowling—like that leg glance—makes him a 'Wild Card' in the game. But I've heard he doesn't last long at the crease," Alan noted, twirling his hair.
"Wild card, just like me?" Adam asked curiously.
"Nah, more like Ezekiel. Sometimes performing, sometimes backfiring. His play depends on his mood," Alan replied.
Ezekiel, slightly offended, pouted, "Excuse me?"
"How do you know that?" Gabriel inquired.
"I watched the last match he played against Multan Sultans. Despite being selected, he didn't do much—just took a wicket and fielded well. He never got to bat since he was positioned at eighth, and they never got that far down the order," Alan explained.
"I see." Cassiel noted in his journal, "But doesn't that make him more of an unpredictable batsman, capable of turning the game in unexpected ways?"
As the sixteenth over concluded, Islamabad had scored 136 runs for the loss of 5 wickets, signaling the start of the death overs.
"Xavier, Azazel, Kazuna, Helios, then Xavier—that's our final bowling lineup. Any suggestions or questions?" Isa asked the coaches, Rauf, the high schoolers and the middle schoolers.
"Xavier and Helios will finish their overs. Kazuna can't bowl consecutive overs, so Azazel will come in as the seamer and the new bowler," Elias summarized and looked at Xavier, Azazel, and Helios with a smile, "Best of luck. We're counting on you."
However, the three wore slightly concerned expressions as they nodded.
"What's wrong?" Rauf asked, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow with a grin, "Too scared to move already? Or you all can't handle it?"
Kenzo rolled his eyes, giving Helios a reassuring pat on the back.
Xavier shook his head, a thrilled smile lingering his lips. "We're neither scared nor incapable. We're ready to go all out." He declared.
The middle schoolers agreeing stepped inside the ground. Kazuna throwing an apathetic glance at Rauf too headed in.