Author's Note:🏆
On readers' demand. I'm doing this for the first time...
Weekly Power Stone ♦️ Goals:
100 ♦️ PS: 1 Bonus Chapter
250♦️ PS: 2 Bonus Chapters
500♦️ PS: 4 Bonus Chapters
Let's see how far we can climb this week! 🚀
.
.
.
Currently ♦️ 74 PS!
And, If you like the story, remember to give a review. It'll motivate me to continue with same passion ✌️😁
******
CLT20 2013.
The Sawai Mansingh Stadium had seen legends come and go, but nothing like this.
By the 12th over, the 27,000-strong crowd, a mix of deep blue gold of Rajasthan faithful and blue Mumbai invaders had been reduced to stunned silence broken only by sporadic, disbelieving roars.
The atmosphere at the Stadium was no longer just about a cricket match.
It was a psychological siege.
As the clock ticked into the 12th over, the Star Cricket commentary box was in a state of absolute disbelief.
In the Commentary Box:
Harsha Bhogle: "I've seen the Rajasthan Royals defend some tiny totals on this ground, Sourav, but today... today they look like they've run into a natural disaster. Rahul Dravid is standing at mid-off, hands on his hips, just staring at the turf. He has no answer for Rocky Rudra."
Sourav Ganguly: "It's the sheer disrespect for the length, Harsha. Look at the fielders! Their shoulders aren't just dropped. They are already slumped. James Faulkner is looking at his captain as if to say, 'Where do I bowl to this boy?' Every time they go short, he pulls. Every time they go full, he carves. Mumbai score is 155 for no loss in the 12th over... in Jaipur? This is unheard of."
Sunil Gavaskar: "It's a massacre. Pure and simple. We are watching a madness from a boy who was doing odd jobs in Cuttack just a few years back. Now, he's making the world's best look like club cricketers."
___
The floodlights burned brighter than the desert stars overhead.
The air was thick with dust, sweat, and the unmistakable smell of history being rewritten in real time.
The scoreboard glowed like a taunt:
Mumbai Indians 155/0 in 12.0 overs.
Sachin Tendulkar - 41* (28), stood at the non-striker's end like a calm lighthouse in a storm.
Rocky Rudra - 111* (44 balls),with a monstrous strike rate of 250 had turned the game into a massacre.
Rahul Dravid, the Wall himself, paced the boundary with hands on his hips, face etched with rare helplessness.
His tactical brain, the same one that had built Rajasthan Royals on "Moneyball" smarts, had run out of answers.
Pravin Tambe's loopy leg-spin?
Dispatched over mid-wicket with a nonchalant slog-sweep.
When James Faulkner tried his famous back-of-the-hand slower balls, Rocky stayed back and slapped them through the covers like they were friendly throw-downs.
The Royals fielders stood with dropped shoulders, eyes wide, looking less like professional cricketers and more like spectators watching a video game on the highest difficulty.
The Royals' realized that they weren't playing against a man.
Instead they were playing against a ghost of Ponting's peak aggression, his ego, his pride... everything.
___
Dravid threw the ball to Shane Watson for one last desperate burst.
The big Australian charged in, face red, veins popping, the same aggression Ponting had warned Rocky about just minutes earlier.
12.1: Short ball, climbing. Rocky rocked back and pulled it flat and vicious over mid-wicket.
SIX. The ball disappeared into the stands.
The Jaipur crowd erupted, half in shock, half in awe.
12.2: Full and wide outside off. Rocky reached out with a horizontal bat and carved it over point.
FOUR. The sound of bat on ball cracked like thunder.
12.3: Watson tried the yorker. Rocky cleared his front leg and helicopter-flicked it over long-on. SIX.
The stadium was shaking with "ROCKY! ROCKY!" chants drowned out the commentary mics.
12.4: Slower ball, dipping late. Rocky read it early, waited an eternity, and lofted it straight over Watson's head for another boundary. FOUR.
12.5: Watson, now furious, banged in a high bouncer.
Rocky hooked it behind square with contempt. FOUR.
12.6: Watson, out of ideas and pride, bowled a wide, wide delivery outside off.
Rocky lunged, hunting one more boundary, however.
Fatigue from the blazing Jaipur heat finally betrayed his bottom hand. The ball sliced high into the night sky.
Ajinkya Rahane sprinted back from cover, eyes locked on the ball, and took a stunning overhead catch right on the boundary rope.
Rocky Rudra: 135 off 50 balls (12 fours, 9 sixes)
___
As Rocky began the long walk back, the entire stadium rose as one.
Not for the wicket. For the boy.
A standing ovation in the heart of enemy territory for a Mumbai player, pink flags waving, blue jerseys screaming.
Even Rajasthan players were clapping, some with relief in their eyes as this crazy guy finally got out.
But, this wasn't just cricket anymore.
To everyone, it might be entertaining but to Rocky, this was something more amazing than cricket, it was personal and a statement to the world.
___
Star Cricket Commentary Box
Harsha Bhogle's voice cracked with pure disbelief:
"I have seen the desert storm in Sharjah in '98. I have seen Chris Gayle at his monstrous best. But this? A 135 off 50 on your Champions League debut after already playing ten explosive IPL innings? Rocky Rudra has just rewritten the T20 batting manual. Rajasthan Royals aren't celebrating the catch, to me, they look relieved the storm is finally over!"
___
In Cuttack (OCA Office):
Sujit Sir sat frozen in front of the TV.
His mind flashed back to the first time he saw Rocky, he was just a scrawny teenager doing odd jobs that doesn't match his age and how he dragged him into the academy based on a gut feeling.
His hands trembled as he wiped his eyes.
He remembered the boy's calloused hands. "You did it, you stubborn boy," Sujit whispered, his voice cracking as he wiped his eyes.
"From nothing to the top of the world."
___
At home in the small Cuttack house, the neighbors had crowded into her small living room, shouting every time the screen showed a four.
Grandma Rita sat in the corner, her prayer beads moving rapidly through her fingers.
Her eyes were wet, not because of the fame, but because she knew what it took.
She didn't care about the records. She remembered the boy who once slept on a thin mattress after long days of practice.
"My Rudra," she murmured, smiling through tears.
She knew the nights he spent practicing in the dark, the sacrifices of a boy who grew up too fast.
To the world, he was a hero. To her, he was the little boy who conquered his fate.
___
Indian News & Social Media Explosion
Times Now Breaking: "135 off 50 in CLT20 debut! Rocky Rudra turns Jaipur into his personal maidan. Is this the birth of India's next T20 superstar?"
In Twitter (#RockyRudra #CLT20) was trending worldwide within minutes:
@espncricinfo: "135 off 50 balls on CLT20 debut. Rocky Rudra has just announced himself to the planet. Strike rate 268. Unreal. 🔥"
@virendersehwag: "Rocky ne Jaipur mein pathar tod diye! (Rocky broke stones in Jaipur!) 135 ( 50) on debut in CLT20. Pure entertainment bhai! 🔥"
@cricketwallah: "From carrying drinks in IPL to 644 in 10 matches to 135 in CLT20 debut game. This kid is writing his own fairy tale. India's next big thing?"
@KP24 (KevinPietersen): "Absolute filth! 135 from 50 only, on CLT20 debut?! This Rocky kid is playing a different game. Pure box office! 🔥"
@VVSLaxman281: "Special, very special innings from Rocky Rudra. To dominate an attack led by Dravid and Watson on debut is something we will talk about for decades. A star is born! 🌟"
@AakashChopra: "Is he human? 135 from 50. Rajasthan Royals didn't just lose overs. They lost their spirit. The 'Rocky' mountain was too high to climb tonight. #AakashVani"
@ipl_memes: "Rahul Dravid's face when Rocky hit the 9th six 😂 The Wall just got demolished today."
___
Global Media reactions.
Sky Sports (England):
"Absolutely outrageous!" Nasser Hussain watching from the studio, was on his feet.
"This is the most destructive T20 innings we've seen since the format began. Yes, I would rate this higher than McCullum's 158 and Gayle's 175. I mean look at the guy age...18 years old? An 18 years old smashing world class bowlers like they're paper? If you told this before, I would take it as a joke. Yeah, Rocky Rudra is not playing cricket, he's playing a different sport entirely."
Fox Cricket / Channel 9 (Australia):
"Mate, this is Ponting 2.0 on steroids! 135 off 50 in his Champions League debut? The kid just took Shane Watson to the cleaners in front of his own coach. Australian fans are calling it the most frightening T20 knock they've ever witnessed. If this is what 18 looks like, God help the rest of the world in the next decade."
BBC Sport Headline (UK):
"Teenage sensation Rocky Rudra produces one of the greatest T20 innings ever seen, 135 off just 50 balls on CLT20 debut. England players watching from home are reportedly speechless." 😂😂😂
___
After Rocky's departure, the platform he had built was so massive that Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard barely had to break sweat.
Rohit played a classy 35 off 15, while Pollard smashed three sixes in the final over to take Mumbai Indians to an imposing 236 in 20 overs.
Final Score:
Mumbai Indians 236/3 (20 Overs)
The Rajasthan Royals walked off with heads bowed, the shadow of Rocky's 135 looming over them like a dark cloud.
They were chasing a mountain, and the mountain had a name.
Rocky Rudra.
======
Please vote and give a review if you like the novel 💎
By the way, don't forget to throw power stones and leave a review to motivate me :)