Story c39_0823|Born to Fight for Success - A Journey with SA Redbacks, Innings 2 of WW Vs SA FC

[coolash1]

Ram Rock!!!!

 

[surendar]

Hope Ram gets a huge success in U-19 tournaments and good to see my name used in this story

Best of luck for Ram.Hope he will get a great under 19 tournament and play for the senior team

Ram Rock!!!!

Thank you Guys, yeah I am also hoping that game favors me as well.

They had to pick you, just had to. After all, the average is almost in 3 figures. C'mon Ram! Go ahead and break records!

Haha, that would be a very big ask on the little boy. You know, rumors are, Suren Ram is now more excited of his people's trust/confidence on him than U19 selection.

That's just fabulous..Hope Suren excels in here as well.
That injury twist made the story damn interesting..Can't resist leaving the page in the middle...Your english is damn fabulous too..I have to admit it
Keep it Up!

Thanks a lot, Anirudh. Will try my best to keep the readers entertained, those sweet words are very much encouraging. Obviously, it means a 'sky' to any writer! Thanks.

Thanks again guys for the valuable feedback/views. Am working on the next update of this story, will keep you posted once I am done.

 

[surendar]

Chapter 28
Suren Ram's First Experience of U19!
​

June 28, 2009
Time - 11: 00 AM​

With my position in the tour of Australia confirmed, I was asked to attend various net practicing sessions @ chepauk stadium. Arun, our U19 coach, looked to be very practical personality with lots of confidence in our youth squad. Making a mistake in nets, or arrive bit late to nets session - he always took it easy with patting our shoulders which was like give a sort of confidence that, he is always there to guide us. This is a kind of nice feeling to our squad which made us to work better & better with the coach. Our visa & tour iternary details were soon confirmed by our management. It was quite surprising that we were asked to leave the country within a week, as our first match was scheduled on July 07, 2009. This was too crunchy timeframe for us to prepare, but we were geared up for this, after all, this was our first overseas experience for many of us in the squad. My heart just pumped up high with excitement to travel abroad & experience the total new change in atmosphere.

Tour Iternary - Warny Tendulkar Challenge @ Australia, a Talent Hunt Exclusive :

• July 7, 2009 - India U19 Vs Aus U19, First T20
• July 8, 2009 - India U19 Vs Aus U19, Second T20
• July 9, 2009 - India U19 Vs Aus U19, Third T20
  
• July 11, 2009 - Aus U19 Vs Zimbabwe U19, First OD
• July 13, 2009 - India U19 Vs Aus U19, Second OD
• July 15, 2009 - India U19 Vs Zimbabwe U19, Third OD
• July 17, 2009 - Aus U19 Vs Zimbabwe U19, Fourth OD
• July 19, 2009 - India U19 Vs Aus U19, Fifth OD
• July 21, 2009 - India U19 Vs Zimbabwe U19, Sixth OD
  
• July 24, 2009 - TBD vs TBD, Finals[ Shane Warne will be featuring in meeting the player of the tournament ]

This indeed looked to be a very tight schedule for the month of July, though we were anticipating the test matches than OD matches. It looked like, we would not be having any test matches scheduled due to our visa limitations for needing to return within a month span. I don't understand all these weird visa policies but, I was just excited to start touring abroad at this young age. Even if I had chosen IT line in my career instead of cricket, I don't think I would have had such an opportunity to travel abroad at such a young age. Yes,"Bring IT ON" is what my heart & mind kept saying to me consistently.

June 30, 2009
Time - 09: 00 PM​

" Hello guys, hope you all having a good training camp @ MAC stadium. We are glad to announce that we have been approved now for a team visa and your name has gone through all the process approvals without any issues. You are now clear for the process to fly to Australia. We are also glad to inform that, all the tickets needed for travel has been arranged. We would be leaving on July 3 from Chennai INTL airport and reaching Australia on July 5. Please make sure that, you are allowed to carry only 1 personal bag aside the cricket kits which should not weigh more than 50 lbs. Anything more than the minimal criteria, you would be needing to spend for it from your own pocket. Since our flight timings is at early morning, please make sure that you are meeting us @ Royal Meridian hotel's parking lot near Entrance 2 by 11PM, July 2. We would be having a common vehicle to drop us at airport and have our members given the complete information on travel/insurance details for flying. Thank you for the cooperation - India U19 MGMT, please reach out to Arun for any concerns. "
These contents reached my mail box and I was just jumping wildly in my room with so much excitements and inner happiness mainly because, I am flying abroad! What else can make a little boy jump at this age? Ofcourse, selection to TeamIndia can make me jump even bigger.

July 2, 2009
Time - 11: 00 PM​

" Arun, would like to inform you that I might be running 20-30 minutes late. Have got stuck in the traffic on the way from T.Nagar to Guindy area, we have been having cops all over trying to clear it out but traffic seems to be on slower side. Sorry for the inconvenience, I would be there before 11:30 PM! "

DAMN!!!! This TRAFFIC!! Though I am born & brought up in Chennai, I should just admit that, it S$#@S when it comes to Chennai Traffic. I don't even have to rely on cops as they will be busy collecting money from someone innocent in some corner. I just hoped that, I don't end up going very late which would really spoil my image to my new coach. I just kicked myself for not having started early in the evening despite knowing very well that these areas are very much prone to heavy traffic. This is the moment I realized that, there is no point in blaming one's fate if one doesn't take any efforts to reach towards it. Had I been early in my timings, I would have been in much more comfortable zone. My excitements disappeared, & tension/pressure in me increased. Yes, I started sweating more and I just requested my taxi driver to be on faster side or to get some shortcut routes to clear the traffic. This is just insane of me that, I handle few things in a very careless manner.

However, I was slightly on fortunate side that I made to Royal Meridian by 11:30 PM in the night and I was so nervous to face my coach for 30 minutes delay. Arun kept positively by saying as not a problem, however I felt that uncomfortable moment in me even after boarding my flight later. Well, this was my first flight journey outside India. Though I very much wanted to enjoy my first INTL journey for those 20+ hours, I had that moment of nervousness/tensions inside me which was like a spoilsport to my joy. I slowly dozed off & when I woke up - 'IT WAS AUSTRALIA!'. The atmosphere was very much clean, I should say when compared to India. Everything looked very different including the roads, vehicles, discpline of the people etc. We checked in to a suite which looked very big compared to the normal economy Inns @ India. I just felt like walking on dreams on witnessing these moments in Australia and we all dozed off very soon due to journey tiredness.

July 7, 2009
Time - 09: 00 AM​

With July 7 being our match day for our first T20, we had very short time to practice for our match. We packed up our kits and reached the ground @ Darwin named Marrara Cricket Ground. When my team mates were telling me MCG, I actually mistook it as Melbourne Cricket Ground. Now I realized the actual ground, & I just had a silent smile when I realized this. Ground was looking very vast, unlike the subcontinent grounds. It was once again looking very different to me. I geared up for my nets session & was running along with my team mates.

Everything looked good UNTIL this MOMENT! ​

I want to scream, shout, plead but I controlled myself with disappointed & silent smile on hearing this from my skipper/coach... AM I A VICTIM OF ANY POLITICS???​

While having some batting and running session, my coach and skip pulled me suddenly to a corner. They asked me not to push too hard in my nets with statements of being rested for my first T20. My face absolutely turned from smiling to shocking one on hearing this, and the worst thing being, they never bothered to hear back anything from me. They just told me, patted my shoulders and resumed back to the practice. I was wonder stuck and shocked without moving an inch, but I had to take it as I had no other options. I did not enjoy the nets session after this moment, as I was very much looking forward to play in the first T20 match in an abroad condition. However, I did not give up and managed to complete my full practice session.

This is the moment where I felt both lonely and sad that I didn't interact with any of my teammates. I didn't take my lunch in afternoon with frustrations, but there came a girl who made me break this frustration & burst out with laugh. Yes, it was a person from Starbucks where I blinked like dumb in choosing a coffee but the girl who worked there was kind enough in helping me out by some silly jokes and a coffee. I didn't even pay for it as she treated my first coffee @ Starbucks! It is not my fault though, I never expected that there would be so many options in choosing ONE single cup of coffee! Oh my goodness, Coffee in India was very simple! I just managed to hang around with my team mates who were preparing for their first T20 match Vs Australia.

July 7, 2009
Time - 11: 00 PM​

India Vs Australia, U19 T20 Match - First Match @ Darwin​

Though was cheering from dressing room, I just wished that I had that chance to be in Team XI!​

Players picked in this match clearly had experience compared to me, it seems that I am the youngest among all my team mates. Not sure whether it became the obvious reason for my elimination but everyone inside team XI were having good U19 World Cup experience under their names. Our captain, Vijay Zol won the toss and put Aussies into bat first.

First Innings - Summary, India U19 Vs Australia U19​

​

Mortimer & Morgan had a solid start with no wickets falling within their first 10 overs, though Khan managed to get an opening breakthrough by getting rid of Morgan who was caught near the boundary. Score was 76 runs when Aussies lost their first wicket in 12th over. Their skipper, McDermott added further to this solid start with Mortimer and the skipper continuing to dominate our bowlers all over the ground. Mortimer brought his fifty, but our death bowlers managed to grab 3 quick wickets. This did not stop Aussies from going past 150 mark, and the target of 160 was set for our team after the first 20 overs.

Second Innings - Summary, India U19 Vs Australia U19​

​

There was some tension in our dressing arena as 8RPO on a foreign conditions looked challenging to us. I wished Vijay Zol, my luck for the second session. Our openers did get a solid start with going over Aussies relatively in terms of scoring rate but we also lost our first wicket on 75 runs. We were confident in our dressing room as we managed to get 70+ runs in just 9 overs! Zol and Herwadkar continued to dominate but we kept loosing wickets at regular intervals that, we reached 142/4 in 19 overs with needing to get 18 runs in last over. We kept positive that we can make it to victory, but shockingly Ashknazi, their death bowler had us in the end. He managed to bowl that beautiful 20th over with 2 wickets and 4 runs only. Over which was supposed to be a run feast in a T20, managed to get a win from bowling side. We lost despite having plenty of wickets in our hand. This was disappointing finish for us.

Players handshaked, cheered each other and left back to hotel. I was still hanging out with faking smile outwards. Though things finished very quickly on the first match day, I continued to feel bad for not having a place in team XI. Everyone were disappointed with the loss that, I didn't dare to ask my coach for any changes in playing XI for the next T20 scheduled for tomorrow. Except for my one smiling moment in Starbucks, it looked like that my journey to Australia has been on rough side until now. Well, it is only a beginning and all I hope is to have some changes in the way things are happening around me. This will not stop me from having butterflies flying all around my tummy though even in sleep, just dreaming and wishing for my debut in U19.

Well, Fate or Destiny? No matter what it is, Stay Tuned to find out more on Suren Ram!
​

​

 

[Aravind.]

Very realistic writing bro Kudos to you

 

[surendar]

Thanks Arun, I actually had images messed up with my imageshack links in my first update of chapter 28. However, I have corrected the links now.

All due to my adhoc participation in GFX section for Sachin's farewell that I pasted wrong image links which has been edited now to reflect correct ones. Sorry for any inconvenience caused.

 

[Paree]

sad to see Ram not getting a chance

 

[RPHKR]

Hey Suren, great work so far. I read your story from the beginning last year. It was so engaging, I felt sad when it was discontinued. Glad that you're continuing it. Though I didn't visit this site for a month or so, your story made me visit. So KUDOS.

But I would suggest a good tip that'll work. Readers like me prefer to see the scene rather than hearing the summary. That makes it more engaging. It's like watching a movie sequence rather than hearing its plot.

For example, in a few places, a dialog would do than telling what happened.

However, I was slightly on fortunate side that I made to Royal Meridian by 11:30 PM in the night and I was so nervous to face my coach for 30 minutes delay. Arun kept positively by saying as not a problem, however I felt that uncomfortable moment in me even after boarding my flight later.

When I reached there, I checked my watch, it showed 11:30 PM.. something like that
"Sorry sir, I was late"
"It's okay Suren, no problem. Let's get ready."
Phew! That was a great relief for me.

Just show the scene, don't tell what happened.

 

[surendar]

sad to see Ram not getting a chance

Yeah. Hopefully, this doesn't affect his determination.

Hey Suren, great work so far. I read your story from the beginning last year. It was so engaging, I felt sad when it was discontinued. Glad that you're continuing it. Though I didn't visit this site for a month or so, your story made me visit. So KUDOS.

Those are kind/sweet words, Thanks a lot mate. Yeah, real life had lot of twists and turns that I need to shift gears to catch up my pace in my own life. I don't even have my PC & time to play games like before, as I am staying away from home country due to work commitments. I just tried to continue after hearing from few readers who were still interested to see this continuing. Story forums was my favorite when I joined here, & I am just trying to join hands with other writers to bring the activity back to some extent. Hopefully with new games, we might see some more stories and hopefully all things go good.

Thanks again for visiting back, I would try my best to give the valuable readers some entertainment as far as I could.

For example, in a few places, a dialog would do than telling what happened.



When I reached there, I checked my watch, it showed 11:30 PM.. something like that
"Sorry sir, I was late"
"It's okay Suren, no problem. Let's get ready."
Phew! That was a great relief for me.

Just show the scene, don't tell what happened.

That is a great idea, will note it down for my future updates.

 

[SambarVadai]

This update has left Suren amidst a cloud of confusions...
Well...it'll go good for him..thats for sure....The traffic scenario was something unexpected again..
Keep it up man!

 

[Prithvi]

Suren Bhai, hard to believe (but awesome to see) that this story has been updated. Read this by skipping studying for uni exam.

Awesome story. Under 19 is fun.

 

[surendar]

This update has left Suren amidst a cloud of confusions...
Well...it'll go good for him..thats for sure....The traffic scenario was something unexpected again..
Keep it up man!

Thanks Anirudh for continuous feedback, keeps me certainly encouraged to hear everytime from the readers.

Suren Bhai, hard to believe (but awesome to see) that this story has been updated. Read this by skipping studying for uni exam.

Awesome story. Under 19 is fun.

Binnu? That is nice to see you back! Very fabulous to almost have a reunion with some old members coming back, recollecting the classy era of story forums.

Thanks for coming back.

@ All - Very much appreciated on the feedbacks & efforts taken to motivate the writers. Thank you very much, also to your convience - you can refer to the date section in my story title to know whether this has been updated or not.

For instance, my title currently say - "11/19" meaning, the update was last done on Novemeber 19. So even if the story thread keeps popping up now, it should be my reply to readers' feedback instead of an update. Not sure whether it is a good idea, but this might help certain busy scheduled readers who might save time to pop into the thread searching for an update. Hope it helps, please let me know for any concerns.

 

[Prithvi]

Thanks Anirudh for continuous feedback, keeps me certainly encouraged to hear everytime from the readers.




Binnu? That is nice to see you back! Very fabulous to almost have a reunion with some old members coming back, recollecting the classy era of story forums.

Thanks for coming back.

I am angry on you as you didn't even bother to inform one crazy follower of this story on fb.

Jokes apart, yes- after my ongoing examinations, I'll try to bring back a story of mine which I left. Probably the career one, which I started couple of years ago, which actually had decent follow up.

And regarding the date of update on title, its a good idea. But I don't know why you prefer writing date on thread title when you already have new chapter heading on it. Yes many won't remember the previous chapter heading, but it will consume the little space.

May be as 28th chapter has come up, you could use a good v0.28, which consumes just 5 characters where as your current version of doing (V_11/19) is taking 9 characters.

 

[surendar]

Binnu, I didn't want to disturb you in Facebook

By the way, I thought about the chapter before I actually went with date. Problem with chapter is, readers can't be remembering the chapter numbers. Date is easy to understand. For example, if no updates come in next 2 weeks, if I have chapter 28 in title - it's tough to recollect what the number was. however, date is anytime recognizable. What say?

 

[Samuels]

Binnu, I didn't want to disturb you in Facebook

By the way, I thought about the chapter before I actually went with date. Problem with chapter is, readers can't be remembering the chapter numbers. Date is easy to understand. For example, if no updates come in next 2 weeks, if I have chapter 28 in title - it's tough to recollect what the number was. however, date is anytime recognizable. What say?

Nah, I prefer Chapters. It is easier to read Chapter x+1 after Chapter x and anyway, the date does not really matter much in a virtual story so I would suggest you to stay with the title as Chapters/serials.

 

[Prithvi]

Binnu, I didn't want to disturb you in Facebook

By the way, I thought about the chapter before I actually went with date. Problem with chapter is, readers can't be remembering the chapter numbers. Date is easy to understand. For example, if no updates come in next 2 weeks, if I have chapter 28 in title - it's tough to recollect what the number was. however, date is anytime recognizable. What say?

Date is absolutely fine, as far as the titles aren't being truncated.