In our building, we loved to play cricket. A twenty by twenty feet clearing was our stadium! Rahul was eight like the rest of us. Bat, pads, gloves, wickets down to the cap, he had the complete kit! Since the equipment was his, the rules were his. He always got to bat first.
He would tap the ‘pitch’, check the flow of the wind, look all around the stadium -only his mother would be watching- and then take guard.
He would usually get out on the first ball!
What would follow next was a daily occurrence.
Rahul, would sit on the ‘pitch’ and start crying.
“Please let me hit a six!” he would plead.
If we refused, he would walk away and take all his gear with him.
We always agreed to these terms and let him hit a six.
His mother would applaud, and our game continued.