"Boys, we are set to start. It's time for the National anthem," One of the support staff informed the players who just slipped into their jerseys. The players moved out of their dressing room and the children were already waiting for them. Each player held a child's hand as they stepped down the stairs. 

The crowd erupted into loud cheers, as they noticed their favorite players walking out with their heads held high and chests puffing with pride, carrying their nation's name on their jerseys and a hunger to win in their eyes. The national flags fluttered proudly in the hands of viewers and the cameramen did an excellent job of jumping onto the flags in the crowd before jumping onto the face of the captain of the respective team. 

The players of both teams stood in a horizontal line with their national flags behind them and kids in front of them. The Australian national was played first as a mark of respect and recognition to the home ground. Then the Indian national anthem started playing and the players and Indian audience sang along, with their heads held high and pride-filled hearts. 

The bowlers and fielders started another round of practice to get accustomed to the conditions. They did their stretches and warm-ups as they waited for the toss. When it was time for the toss, the host called both the team captains to come forward. 

"Shaurya, do you want to go for it today?" The host asked Shaurya with a smile at which Shaurya took a glance at the other captain. On attaining a go-ahead nod from the opponent captain, Shaurya stepped forward. 

"What's your call, William?" The host asked William who took a brief moment to think and replied with a "tails" Shaurya flipped the coin into the air. The camera remained focused on the captains but it also captured the funny banter going on behind Shaurya as the young players, Naksh and Likhith tried to snatch a pair of gloves from each other. 

"Looks like Naksh wants to wear Likhith's gloves for today's match!" The commentators exclaimed with a chuckle making Shaurya turn to his young players. With a shake of his head, he turned forward to get the result of the toss. 

"Heads it is. It's your call, Shaurya." 

"We'll bat first," Shaurya replied after thinking for a few seconds. 

"India won the toss and chose to bat first," The host announced before turning his attention to the captain of the other team. 

"William, what are your thoughts on bowling first?" 

"We are prepared for both scenarios. This pitch looks good, we are confident in our bowlers to make early breakthroughs. " William replied confidently. 

"Excellent, any changes to your lineup for today's match?" The host asked his next question. 

"Yes, we've made a couple of strategic changes to our bowling attack, bringing in some fresh faces to add variety. We are hoping they would give us early breakthroughs as we are going to bowl first," William explained. 

"And what about you, Shaurya? Any changes in your batting order?" The host questioned Shaurya who smiled with a shake of his head. 

" We're sticking to our game plan and backing our top order to set a strong foundation for us."

 "Thank you, captains, and best of luck to both teams for today's match." The host wished both captains. The captains moved back to their respective teams after thanking the host.

"We are going to bat first," Shaurya informed his team once more and all of them moved to their dugout while the other team made their field placements. 

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"Bhavin, where are you? The match is about to start!" Nithin exclaimed through the call as his teammates were yet to reach. 

"We will be there in 5 minutes. Who won the toss?" Rakshith asked as he answered the call as Bhavin was driving. 

"We did," 

"Then we will be there in 2 minutes," with that being said, the call was cut, and as said, they were at Shika's doorstep in another 2 minutes. The friends settled on the couches after locking the doors, with snacks and drinks sprawled on the table in front of them. 

The opening batsmen stepped into the field and the crowd erupted into a round of cheers with the songs and cheers blasting from the DJ. The cameraman zoomed to a few cards in the hands of viewers making the team smile at a few of them while a few made them crack up.

The bowler chose the ball from a box of balls from the empire and the match started. The batsmen suffered in the first over but they started hitting boundaries and sixes from the second over. The bowlers tried to control them with googlies and yorkers but the batsmen played carefully, making sure not to give in and fetched singles and doubles whenever possible. They also stretched a few 3s when hitting boundaries became difficult. 

After scoring 70 runs, India lost its first wicket as the long-on fielder caught the ball. The captain entered the crease, carrying the responsibility of setting a respectable target in front of the opponents to make it easy for their bowling unit. The team lost its second wicket soon after the captain's entry as the other opening batsmen got stumped. With the entry of another new batsman, it took them a few more balls to create a new partnership. 

When the 4th batsmen pulled out long shots and boundaries, Shaurya stepped back, letting him take the lead, as he helped him with comfortable singles and doubles. After the fall of the third wicket, the next batsmen couldn't stick for a long time and the wickets started to fall continuously making it hard for them to form a partnership with Shaurya. Though Shaurya hit a few boundaries and sixers, the fall of wickets became a cause of distress among the audience.

"Yaar! Why are these people so desperate to go back to the dressing room?"

"Can't they stick in the crease for a while? They could have at least stood at the non-striker end and they are failing in that even!" Nithin and Bhavin ranted out like every time.

"Why don't you go and play instead of blabbering here?" Ananya chided her friends before turning her attention to the TV screen with a Coke in her hands. Shaurya hit a sixer when she took a sip of her coke and Shika turned to her with starry eyes. 

"No! He hit sixers when I wasn't drinking too," Ananya tried to explain knowing very well about her friend's blind beliefs. 

"Try again. If he doesn't score this time, I won't force you," Shika requested with her puppy eyes. Ananya, having no other option took another sip of her coke and Shaurya hit a boundary this time.

"See! He is scoring when you are having your Coke. Come on, Anu, have it," Shika literally pushed the bottle to Ananya's lips making her drink the Coke. Shaurya scored a 2 this time but according to Shika Ananya's drinking the Coke was the reason for his 2 runs too.  Shika made Ananya drink 5 Cokes in the next 5 overs making her take bigger sips. 

"Mr. Shaurya! I am stuck here because of you," Ananya glared at the poor soul through TV, who was completely unaware of a girl glaring at him because of her friend.

Their innings concluded with the score of 210/7 and Shaurya scored a Century. When it was time for a break, the team discussed the strategies to restrict the opponents from chasing the target while the friends watching the match discussed the menu for the second half. 

Shaurya and his team stepped into the field while Ananya took the delivery of the food they ordered. When the bowler took his place beside the stumps, Ananya set their snacks on the table. With a nod from the empire, the first was delivered and the first slice of pizza was lifted by Bhavin.

Shaurya made strategic changes in the field placements from time to time and the bowlers too restricted the batters with their reverse-swing and in-swing deliveries. The slower ones played a crucial role in taking the wickets. 

The match turned interesting when William and Mark established a partnership and started hitting bigger shots. Shaurya changed the bowlers trying different deliveries to restrict them but they played all the balls with practiced ease. Shika on the other hand believed it was the slice of pizza in Rakhith's hand that made the opponents score. She snatched the slice from his hands and stuffed it into Nithin's mouth making both the men look at her with weird expressions while the remaining two burst into laughs.

After constant changes in field placements and bowlers, Akshith finally took the wicket of William making Indian fans breathe a sigh of relief. The scoring pace of Australia drastically fell after William's departure and the final wicket fell in the first ball of 19th over. The Australian innings concluded at 187/10 in 19.1 overs. 

The Indian fans erupted into a series of cheers and shared hugs and congratulations. After the handshake between the players of both teams, they moved to their respective dugouts. The match concluded with post-match presentations, honoring the players who showcased exceptional performance in the match.