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Mr. Kumar was right. It was only the beginning of Ranji’s
success with the bat. In the next game, he scored forty. Ranji
could have certainly scored more but he grew careless and
allowed himself to be stumped by the wicket-keeper. The game
that followed was a two-day match, and Ranji, who was now
Not to be republished
batting at number three, made forty-five runs.
Everyone was pleased with him. His coach, his captain
Suraj, and Mr. Kumar. But no one knew about the lucky bat.
©KTBS
That was a secret between Ranji and Mr. Kumar.

One evening, after a game on the maidan, Ranji decided to
catch a bus home.

He was in the living room, just beginning to sip a cup of tea
when Koki walked in, and the first thing she said was, “Ranji,
where’s your bat?”
“Oh no! I must have left it in the bus!” cried Ranji. “I’ll never
get it back!”
The bat was lost forever. And Ranji’s team was playing their
last and most important match of the cricket season on Saturday,
against a public school team from Delhi.

Next day, he was at Mr. Kumar’s shop looking very sad.
“What’s the matter?” asked Mr. Kumar. “ I’ve lost the bat,” said
Ranji.
Mr. Kumar looked a little worried at first, then he smiled
and said, “You can still make all the runs you want.”
“But I don’t have the bat any more,” said Ranji.
“Any bat will do,” said Mr. Kumar. “A bat has magic only
when the batsman has magic! What you needed was confidence,
not a bat. And by believing the bat was lucky, you got your
confidence back!”
“What’s confidence?” asked Ranji. It was a new word for
him. “Confidence is knowing you are good,” said Mr. Kumar.
“And can I be good without the bat?”
“Of course. You have always been good. If you remember
that, you’ll make the runs.”

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