(Part 9)

Leaving the ball, Helios whispered, "Twilight Sunbreak!"

The inswinger aiming for Asim's pads, he tried to block it with his bat, however it struck his knee pad as he took a sudden run and completing it.

"OH!!" The crowd went along with Helios who chuckled taking his hand to his mouth. The umpire rewarded a single leg-bye.

Ibn Sena again took strike.

Ryan clapped his hands. "Well done, everyone!" Feng encouraged.

The last ball of the over, Helios looked at the ball and its seam. An exciting grin resting over his lips, he grabbed the ball from the sides of the seam with his middle and index finger, running towards the popping crease.

Pedro observed keenly.

As soon as Helios stepped behind the popping crease, aiming the ball towards Ibn Sena, he murmured, "Twilight surging sunbreak!"

"Huh?" Sena blinked, "Is it an inswinger or an outswinger…?" he wondered as the ball oblivious of its swing on the pitch instantly went inside.

In a blink of a second, it struck above his right knee pad rather than the bat. Helios's gaze widening, he immediately turned around declaring, "OUT! OUT!"

His called evident and supported by Heber, Azazel and Isa.

The crowd instantaneously bellowed, as soon the umpire raised his finger up.

"The Hell! It's gone!" Orion pointed, bewildered.

"Mindboggling! A staggering inswinger?! Ibn Sena's not satisfied, Asim's confused. Even Feng shrugs and the crowd has yet to digest. Still, Helios got the umpire's green signal, as happy as he could be." Wasim remarked. "Ibn Sena's discussing with his partner, and yes, they're going for the review. Let's see what the technology has to say." Maaz added.

"Ibn Sena's out?!" Adam grabbed Cassiel hands, jumping excitedly.

Kenzo astonished glanced at Gabriel, who too looked ahead satisfied.

"Haha! Way to go, Captain!" Ezekiel cheered.

Alan wondering for a moment pointed towards the big screen, "Not so fast. Look, Islamabad has taken a review."

"Darn..." Nagi uttered.

The high schoolers turned to him slightly taken aback.

"Is what I should say. Since, the previous delivery was a little high from the wicket's impact." Nagi, showed the recording of the previous delivery.

"Um… from where in the world are you getting this?" Senri asked with a gulp.

Nagi, the least bit of surprised pointed towards one of the cameramen who stood before the field. "Srour, family is especially recording the PSL matches, not a big deal."

Speechless, the high schoolers, sat however, Christopher and Damian stared with their mouths agape.

"The least I could expect." Haris remarked.

"Islamabad's taking the review, we'll be heading upstairs to the TV umpire now…" Maaz said.

Helios, surrounded by the boys, smiled as they encouraged him back.

"Hope for the best." Kazuna patted his shoulder.

"Yes," Helios agreed.

Romeo smiling at the screen, sat unfazed.

"Karachi is hyped." Juhan grinned.

"Hmph, getting out in the first over? Hilarious. If this turns out to be a success, I'll see how he laughs." Venus snickered.

"Say, Senior Rovan, if Captain Sena were to get out who would go next? I am not in the batting order." Basid yawned, revealing his innocent face from behind a book while he rested his head on Emaad's legs, laying straight on the seats.

Rovan sighed in disbelief. "Seon yul will go next, you little brat. Honestly, why do you want to be in every single match?" he asked.

"I love to play, that's why~" Basid chanted, looking inside his book once more as Hamza, Mikael and Wasif chuckled.

"Nevertheless, Captain Romeo, what do you think will happen?" Emaad tapped his shoulder.

Romeo gave a reassuring look and replied, "It's all up to you who are the cavaliers of this battle. The outcome will be a result of your hard work. As for now, we'll see what the review reveals." His gaze shifting towards Rauf.

The big screen visible, the crowd, Isa and Helios along with Ibn Sena stared hopefully at the review.

"Alright, here comes the replay. Original umpire decision is 'Out'. Checking for a fair delivery, it's pitched in line. Let's check for any bat involvement. Ultra Edge shows a clear gap between bat and ball, so it's definitely pad first…" the third umpire reviewed.

"Wohoo!" the ground begun to cheer.

Helios gulped. Poseidon stood beside him patting his arm in assurance.

"Now, onto the ball-tracking. It's pitched in line... but wait, it looks like it's going down the leg side! The ball-tracking confirms that it would have missed the leg stump. The impact is in line, but the ball is missing the stumps. A little gap, it's just a graze's gap, what luck!!" Jones uttered in disbelief. 

Helios, ran his hand through his hairs with a smile mixed with disbelief.

"Tch!" Ryan and Azazel clicked their tongues annoyed.

"It's alright, don't fret it, Helios." Aaron ruffled his hairs.

"The on-field decision is going to be overturned and the umpire will signal 'Not out' now." Wasim added, sweat dripping down his chin.

The umpire soon waving his hands horizontally.

"Ah!!! No way!!" Adam cried in incredulity.

"The exciting first over now concluding, Islamabad accumulated 6 runs with no loss." Maaz continued.

Sena tapping his bat against Asim switched positions, for the second over.

"Oh my." Haruf remarked while "Augh~" Gabriel, Haris, Orion and Mikael grumbled irritated.

"It was just a few centimeters difference, though!" Noah grabbed his hairs devastated.

"Hmph, that's what you get for getting too over confident." Nidou scoffed.

"They are playing quite well, though." Ren retorted.

Rauf squinted his gaze, "An awful friend this fate is, unsure if it even acts as one."

His gaze meeting Romeo who smiled, he grinned, closing his eyes.

Alan, meanwhile, simply observed Helios. "Despite that, just look at how composed he is." he pointed, "His expression seems to be saying, 'Don't worry, this chance will come back again.'"

Seraph agreed, "That's right, since out of all of us, he is the only one who lacks discouragement."

"Hey, give me the bottles, I'll take it to them." Adam hopped downstairs, beside Cassiel and Lou Wang, grabbing the towels and sports drink from the highschoolers.

In the second over, Xavier took the ball while Helios positioned himself at first slip.

"Xavi, Xavi is up next," Adam announced, returning with a hint of surprise.

"It's his first time bowling since the PSL began," Mikael observed.

"I'm looking forward to it," Seles remarked, intrigued.

Meanwhile, Mir silently analyzed Isa's strategies.

On the field, Xavier, tossing the ball to Ryan and catching it again, stood just outside the 30-yard circle.

"That's him, Rovan," Juhan pointed out, "The seam and swing variation bowler I mentioned. Told you they'll definitely use him."

Rovan squinted, silent.

"Xavier…" Alan mused, "I haven't seen his progress since playing against him. Today's a great chance." His eyes scanned Kenzo, Seraph, and Gabriel. "And I guess I'm not the only one thinking that."

Running towards the popping crease, Xavier left the first ball of the second over, a short-pitched bouncer reaching shoulder height.

Ibn Sena, on strike, immediately ducked as Feng leapt and caught the ball mid-air, somersaulting. Standing straight, he tossed the ball back to Xavier, encouraging, "Nice, vice-captain."

Xavier beamed radiantly.

"Wow…" Mikael swallowed, "He startled them on the spot."

"Smart strategy," Haruf added.

The second delivery targeting the stumps, resulted in another dot ball as Ibn Sena returned it without scoring.

Xavier headed back, twirling the ball between his fingers.

"Xavier Ibn Zain, bowling for the first time on Lahore's rough pitch, is showcasing his skills and prowess. Meanwhile, Islamabad's Ibn Sena seems to be struggling to score," commented Jones.

On the third delivery that pitched outside the stumps, Ibn Sena saw his chance. He smiled, stepped forward, and with power and technique, sent the ball straight for a six over long-on.

The crowd erupted with excitement. Xavier glanced behind him, slightly surprised. Kazuna, Feng, Heber, and Isa also stared in astonishment.

"And just like that, he goes big! The ball rockets straight ahead for a spectacular six!" Jones exclaimed. "Ibn Sena, what a kid! He made me swallow my words back, haha!"

Kenzo and Seraph exhaled while the high schoolers watched in silence.

"Not bad," Ibn Sena grinned at Xavier.

"Thank you, same goes for you," Xavier replied, his eyes glistening under the floodlights.

A single scored on the fourth delivery brought Asim to the striker's end.

Xavier wiped the sweat from his chin. Confidence etched on his face, he whispered, "Alright, enough playing around…" Running towards the pitch, he stepped on the popping crease and murmured, "Realm of Divine Ingeniousness… Release Unlimited Upgrade!"

Xavier's hair transformed to a blazing silver with a glistening red star appearing on his forehead. The ball, thrown significantly faster than his previous deliveries, raced towards Asim, who momentarily gasped.

"Critical pace… Evolved slashing knot," Xavier whispered, his stare intense and aura radiant.

Ibn Sena watched in stunned silence. "What is that…?" he thought.

Asim steadied him, carefully reading the ball as it split into thirteen pieces. He traced the real ball and struck it hard between the gully and point, sending it towards the sweeper. Out of Aaron's reach, who stood a little away from point, a boundary was scored.

"Tch," Aaron muttered, running behind the ball.

Almost immediately, the Realm of Divine Ingeniousness vanished from Xavier without a trace as Isa caught the ball and threw it to Feng.

The crowd cheered as the commentators exclaimed, "Brilliant placement! Asim finds the gap perfectly and sends it racing to the fence through point for four! Karachi has given quite an expensive over."

"Good job, everyone. Don't let it get you down," Feng encouraged.

Asim stared at his quivering hand, taken aback. "This boy…" he wondered.