The Underdogs I Story By Prayon
Chapter One : The Underdogs
The light rain fell on the road, bringing the flora around it back to life, turning the dusty, polluted area into a place teeming with life.
The road was a long one, probably the longest in the district, and wound its way up to the local football field.
There was a young boy on the road. He was called Rumi.
Rumi was juggling a football on the road, his eyes focusing only on the ball.
He was making his way to the field for a game. He played for a team called the Bengal Boys, renowned for their everlasting losing streak and their lack of money, which forced them to play without shin guards and in bad-quality boots.
However, even with all the criticism surrounding the team, he always believed that one day or another, his team would eventually win a trophy.
As he set foot on the field, he saw his teammates warming up.
Amongst others, there were his friends: Arnab, Suman, Ravi, Raghav, Vrihan, and their star player, Pranab.
Last year, the Bengal Boys had scored 50 goals in all matches. Pranab had scored 45 of them.
Rumi could tell that Pranab was frustrated by the team’s losing streak and was eagerly waiting for a win. He sincerely hoped he could make Pranab happy by winning the match.
Within half an hour, they had gotten ready with their boots and jerseys and were ready to kick off the match. Their opponent, The Thunderbolts, was full of tall and intimidating players. They were at least 15-16 years old, whereas the Bengal Boys were mostly 12-13 years old. Nevertheless, Rumi was confident they would win the match.
The two teams got into their formations and the referee blew the whistle, signalling the start of the match.
The Thunderbolts kicked off the game, passing the ball amongst each other so quickly that none of the Bengal Boys’ defenders could catch it.
Eventually, a successful interception by Pranab led to a counterattack for the Boys.
The ball came to Rumi. With one swift touch, he got rid of the defender on him and moved forward. He managed to see Pranab making a run between two defenders, and Rumi put in the cross. As if in slow motion, the ball flew past one defender and landed right on Pranab’s feet. Pranab controlled it perfectly, and with only the goalie in front of him, he launched the ball right into the top corner, where the goalie never had a chance.
It flew past him and hit the net with great force.
Rumi fell to his knees in shock. They had scored! The Bengal Boys had taken the lead!
“YES!” he shouted in delight.
The whole team ran off to Pranab to celebrate as the Thunderbolts walked back to the centre, looking sad and dejected.
Or at least, Rumi thought they were.
When the Boys made their way back to the centre, they were surprised to see all the players of the Thunderbolts laughing and joking as if they were having fun.
As if… They weren’t playing seriously.
Eventually, the Boys’ theory turned out to be correct.
Once they had taken the lead, the Thunderbolts started to take the match seriously.
Their equalizer came immediately from a thunderous strike by their captain.
Then another.
And another.
Every shot they took went in, and soon they had put eight past them, as the referee blew his whistle, bringing the match to an end.
Rumi was devastated. He hung his head in shame as he heard the opposing team celebrating and mocking them.
But even more devastated than him was Pranab. He laid on the ground, his face facing the grass, weeping silently. Rumi saw Arnab going to console him. Then what happened shocked him.
In front of Arnab, Pranab started shouting. The whole team rushed to him as Pranab started pushing Arnab roughly, causing Arnab to fall to the ground. His expression showed that he was deeply hurt.
Suman held Pranab back, shouting: “Pranab! Get A Hold Of Yourself!”
Pranab replied : “You people are absolutely hopeless! Not a single one of you is capable of playing football! I’ve had enough of this stupidity. I’m done carrying this team. I Quit!”
Upon saying this, he took off his jersey and threw it onto the muddy field before storming away in anger. Silence enveloped the ground. No one spoke a single word. Then Mahi, the team’s goalkeeper, walked to Pranab’s jersey, picked it up, and threw it over his shoulder.
Chapter Two : The New No. 9
“Well, guess we have to find our new striker.”
The Bengal Boys’ search for a new striker had been futile for many days, and slowly, it was seeming that they would have to play on without one.
After two weeks of searching for a striker, on a normal Monday, Rumi was sitting on a bench at break time in his school. In front of him was the school field, where some seventh graders were playing cricket. Near them was a boy juggling a ball. He did it exquisitely and pulled off some crazy skills with the ball that Rumi had never seen before. He was about to leave when he remembered his team’s missing striker. He got so excited that he immediately ran to the boy.
“Hey, Hey” he called.
The boy looked up, confused.
He had messy black hair, piercing blue eyes, and a positive aura around him that Rumi couldn’t exactly define.
Rumi said, panting, “What’s your name?”
“Ranbir,” the boy replied.
“What position do you play?”
“Well…” he started. “I can normally play on the wing, but I sometimes play as a striker.”
A striker! Rumi thanked the gods silently as he broke into a smile.
“Would you like to play for a team? The Bengal Boys?” Rumi asked earnestly.
“O-Okay. When do I start?” he said nervously as the bell rang, signalling the end of break.
“Come to Sreebhumi field this Saturday at six in the morning,” Rumi said, as the boy started heading back to class. He went back to the class with an unmistakable smile on his face.
“What happened, Rumi? You won a trophy or what?” his best friend, Goni, asked.
“No, but we will,” Rumi said confidently.
Saturday came faster than a Formula 1 racing car ever could. At six in the morning, Rumi and his teammates were training when they saw someone walk in.
“H-Hello,” he said nervously. “Is this the field where the Bengal Boys train?”
“Ranbir!” Rumi said excitedly as he ran towards him.
“Guys, this is our new striker!” he said to the rest of the team.
“Him?” Arnab said, discouraged. “He doesn’t look like he would hurt a fly.”
“Go on, Ranbir. Show them what you’ve got,” Rumi said, with a friendly pat on the back.
Rumi walked up to a ball and launched it into the air.As the ball came down, Ranbir controlled it perfectly with a heel-flick and shot the ball into the goal.It flew like a bullet into the top corner. The team was shocked.
“W-Wow!” exclaimed Vrihan.
“He really is good!”
“That’s exactly what we need. Here, take a jersey,” Arnab said, throwing a Bengal Boys jersey to him. “You’re our new number nine. What’s your name?”
The boy smiled. “Ranbir Tripathi.”
Chapter Three : The Change
The team rebuilt itself around Ranbir.
All tactics now included feeding Ranbir passes for him to score. The team’s training sessions were now full of jokes and laughs. The time was a good one for the team.
Rumi had noticed that on top of Ranbir’s exquisite playing style, he was also very positive, motivating his teammates and helping them in their times of need.
Only a week ago, Ravi had to go to Shimla for a family emergency and could not take his dog with him. Without hesitation, Ranbir had volunteered to take care of Ravi’s dog for the time period he would be gone.
There was a positive aura around him, and he never shouted at his teammates if they made a mistake. Instead, he motivated them and lifted their spirits. This was something Pranab never used to do, even as captain of the team. Pranab always considered himself better than the others, and his pride and egoistic nature left him with not many friends. The team had visibly changed into something more, and very soon, other teams began noticing this too.
One fine Saturday morning, Arnab came running to the football field. As soon as he entered, he announced: “I have officially enrolled our team in the Saltlake Youth Football Tournament!!“
“What?!” Raghav stuttered.
“Isn’t the Saltlake Youth Football Tournament the largest tournament in the district?” Rumi asked.
“Hey guys! Don’t take this as something negative. This is a perfect opportunity for us to showcase our talents and win our first trophy, right?” Ranbir said, walking up to Arnab.
“When’s the football tournament?”
“Next Saturday. There’s four teams in every group and we have to finish in the top two to qualify for the knockout rounds.”
“Next Saturday? That means we have to start training every day, and we have to train hard,” Ranbir said.
The practice sessions were brutal. The team had to push themselves to their limits.
Ranbir kept motivating his friends, hoping to get the most out of training.
The team found themselves training five hours a day in the morning, afternoon, and evening. It rained incessantly on many days, but they didn’t stop. They practised till blood was visible on their socks from shooting so hard.
At one point of time, Rumi was forced to go to school in the morning, tuition in the afternoon and immediately go to the field to practise in the evening.
Finally, Saturday arrived. The team arrived at the venue, hoping their hard work would pay off. Ranbir had insisted to everyone that no matter how long they practised, to get a minimum of nine hours of sleep the night before. In front of them stood their opponent: the same team they had played with barely three weeks ago.
The Thunderbolts..
Chapter Four
The Saltlake Youth Football Tournament
The commentator announced:
“And now, let the 50th Edition of the Saltlake Youth Football Tournament Begin!”
There was plenty of people surrounding the field who whistled and cheered. The referee brought on the two teams and in under a minute, the match was set to begin. Rumi got a glimpse of Mahi kneeling down and praying.Before the match started, it was clear right from the beginning that the game was going to be tense and physical.
Slide tackles were flying everywhere.
Raghav passed the ball to Rumi, who was about to drive forward when two players came from behind, tackling him at the same time.
Both of them launched a kick at his left foot from opposite sides.
For a second, everything stopped.
Then…Extreme pain shot up his leg as Rumi collapsed, rolling on the ground.The pain was too much. The sheer agony brought tears to his eyes. The first one to reach him was Raghav.
“R-Rumi, Rumi! Are you alright? Can you continue?” he asked desperately.
Rumi wanted to. He badly wanted to. But he knew he wasn’t fit to continue, and he knew that he couldn’t let the team fail because of him.
“N-N-No, I can’t,” Rumi said. “I can’t.”
Raghav started shouting to a nearby medic.
“He can’t continue! He can’t play!”
Two medics rushed onto the field and somehow got Rumi off while a substitute entered the field.Rumi had to spend the whole match on the bench, watching his team battle it out while he couldn’t play. Tears came to his eyes, not from the pain. But because he had failed to play in his first big game for his team. The first match ended in a goalless draw.
On the other hand, the other match in the Bengal Boys’ group resulted in a dominant 4-1 victory for the Royal Tigers.
To finish in the top two, they needed to win their next two matches. The team should have been under pressure, but the Boys weren’t as worried. Their next opponent, the United Titans, were the worst team in the district, even worse than the Bengal Boys. Hence, they managed to get their first win in a long time by a massive margin of 7-0. Ranbir had scored five of them. They came back cheering and singing songs.
“Hey, let’s party at the field tonight. I’ll bring some food. We ought to celebrate our first win in over three months!” Vrihan suggested.
Everyone was agreeing readily when Ranbir said in a strict manner:
“Guys! Do you call yourselves footballers? We have a crucial game tomorrow. Then next week we have the quarter-finals and semi-finals. We can’t afford to get sick!”
“How do you know we will go that far” a boy asked.
“I know we will go that far. But for that, we have to work hard and sacrifice,” Ranbir replied.
“But…” Vrihan insisted.
“Ranbir’s right, guys. We can’t afford any sort of sickness. However, if we win the whole tournament, then we’ll party for the whole week!” Arnab spoke out. Everyone laughed and went back to their houses, exchanging goodbyes. At night, around midnight, Rumi was lying in his bed, stress slowly building up in his mind. The constant pressure of winning. He knew everyone felt it. On top of that, he had missed almost the whole of the first match.He had targets to achieve, and expectations to exceed. Big, big expectations.
It was raining heavily the next day. The attendance of the audience had dropped drastically.
Rumi walked onto the field and saw his mother in the stands.
He smiled, and he saw her smile back.
As he walked onto the pitch, he understood it would be very tough to score. The field was very muddy and the ball would not move across easily.
The referee’s whistle pierced through Rumi’s ears as he received a pass from Ranbir.
He took a touch away from the defender and ran as fast as his legs could with the ball, getting past two defenders with ease before slotting in a perfect cross for Ranbir to score.
But instead of smashing the ball into the net, it bounced off the pole with a loud CLANG.
Ranbir fell to his knees, devastated. Even Rumi couldn’t understand how the boy who scored five goals last match missed such an easy chance.
Meanwhile, on the other half, the rebound gave the opponents a perfect chance. Their striker drove the ball forwards into a corner before squaring it to the winger, who buried the ball in the back of the net.
As they ran off to celebrate, Ranbir collapsed onto the grass, his face buried in the ground.
Looking at him, Rumi was reminded of someone he knew.
..Of Pranab.
“No…” he whispered.
He went to Ranbir without hesitation.
“Ranbir, get up. These things happen,” he told him.
“No, they don’t. Not to me,” Ranbir said with a teary face.
“They happen. We all make mistakes. After all, we’re all human,” Rumi said as he bent down beside Ranbir. “What matters is how we move on after.”
Ranbir smiled.
“You’re right,” he said, wiping his tears.
“Last I checked, I was very, very much human!”
Laughing, they got up and returned to their half. The match began again.The opponents started a beautiful passing sequence, but Ranbir had had enough.He intercepted a pass from his own half and passed it to Arnab, who crossed it to Vrihan. Vrihan passed the ball back to Rumi, who flicked the ball with his heel for a perfect volley opportunity for Ranbir.Ranbir absolutely launched a rocket into the top corner, beyond the reach of the goalkeeper.The whole audience burst into applause.
The commentator shouted:
“And what a goal by Ranbir Tripathi! What a way for the Bengal Boys to equalize!”
That goal gave the confidence the Boys needed. They started to create more attacks and eventually managed to get a late winner through Raghav in the dying minutes of the game. Everyone jumped up, celebrating in joy. Rumi saw his mother dancing in delight in the stands, and that made him happier than anything else
Chapter Five
Road to the Final
The community was buzzing with pride at the Bengal Boys having reached the knockout stages of a prestigious tournament.
Wherever the team went, they were greeted by praise and cheers.
It was easy to understand that the team, while happy and motivated, had fallen into a state of pressure and stress.
Their practice sessions stretched into ten, even eleven, at night.
Mahi kept practising diving and saving shots.
Arnab took a hundred shots every day on each foot.
His foot felt like it would come off, but he didn’t stop.
He couldn’t stop.
Rumi used to come home at midnight every night and would fall asleep on the sofa, sleeping until five o’clock in the morning, when he would wake again to get in two hours of practice before school.
One night, when Rumi had gone to sleep on the sofa, his father asked his mother:
“Should we stop him? Is this much worth it?” His mother contemplated for a while, then answered:
“Let him do it. He needs this.”
When Saturday arrived, the whole team got up at five in the morning and started practising. Ranbir pushed them like he did every day, urging them to do as much as they could and to give everything they had. Finally, it was time for the knockouts. The quarterfinals were tough.
Their opponents, the Orion Footballers, had a much older and better-quality team than the mediocre Bengal Boys.
“Even their name is cooler than ours,” Ravi said, looking at their team with wide eyes.
“That doesn’t matter. We’ve given everything for this match. Just everyone, give your all in this game and we’ll be okay,” Ranbir said. “Now, come on, our game’s starting.”
As they walked onto the field, half of the audience stood up and started cheering loudly, motivating the team and lifting their spirits. But this was dwarfed by what the other half of the audience had planned for the Orion Footballers. As their opponents walked onto the pitch, the audience started cheering even louder. They roared, brandished banners, and even criticized the Bengal Boys. “Now that’s done it,” Rumi said angrily.
The referee brought the two captains together, completed the toss, and started the match with a shrill whistle. Ranbir attempted a long shot from his own half. It was powerful, but the opponent’s goalkeeper wouldn’t fall for something so easy. The Orion Footballers immediately launched an attack. Rumi attempted a slide tackle to intercept the ball, but it proved futile. Before long, they got a shot in. But Mahi had trained hard and blocked it comfortably. Rumi silently cheered for him.
But suddenly, trouble struck. In an attempt to launch a long pass, Mahi gifted the ball directly to the opposing team’s striker.The striker launched it powerfully into the bottom corner. Mahi launched himself towards the ball. At first, it didn’t seem that he could save it, and the team had almost given up hope when… Mahi’s fingertips touched the football. Just barely. But somehow that was enough!
The ball hit the post and rebounded back to Mahi, who immediately caught it.
The audience erupted.
“Mahi’s playing out of his mind!” Rumi exclaimed.
“Yes, but he can’t afford to give loose balls like that to the opponent,” remarked Ranbir.
As the ball came to him, Ranbir shouted: “Go front!”
He immediately put a beautiful pass into the box. The goalkeeper had come forward, but Rumi reached the ball first, took a touch past the keeper, and shot into an empty net. For a second, Rumi didn’t believe it.The next second, his whole team piled onto him, celebrating wildly. The stadium had gone mad. Rumi’s mother was absolutely overjoyed.
The Orion Footballers kept trying to get a shot on goal, but after scoring, the Boys shifted completely into a defensive approach and didn’t let a single shot get through.
Eventually, the Bengal Boys went on to win the match.
It was another win for the Bengal Boys, extending their winning streak to three matches.
As the referee ended the match, the commentator shouted:
“And we have a team for the second Semi-Final! What a win! But don’t leave your seats just yet..”
Rumi looked at the commentator as his face turned pale. He knew what the commentator was about to say.
“No…” he whispered.
Meanwhile, the commentator continued: “The management has decided to continue with the Semi-Finals roday to finish off with the final on Sunday, so teams, better get ready with your strategies.”
Now because by the end of the day , we will have known our finalists for the-“
“On my god! We have to play the semi-finals today? But how?
Some of us are really tired,” whimpered a boy.
“I don’t know, but we have to recover and FAST. Get some water and relax as much as you can. I’ll go find out who our opponent is,” announced Ranbir, as he ran off.
The team brought their bottles and started gulping down water, while looking very grave. They barely had time to rest, and they had to play a semi-final match without as much recovery as they had hoped for.
“I hope we got an easy team,” said Arnab.
“Me too,” agreed Rumi. In a minute, Ranbir came back, panting. Rumi gave him a water bottle. Ranbir gulped half of it down, before saying: “Bad news, guys. We’re facing… The Thunderbolts.”
Meanwhile, staring at the Bengal Boys from a distance were the other semi-finalists: The Universal Warriors.
Pristine gear, shiny boots, complete with shin guards, and expensive, futuristic jerseys. In short, money wasn’t a problem for the team.
Their players were extremely good as well, with many of them qualifying for prestigious tournaments and even going to nationals.
“They’re real underdogs, aren’t they?” a player said.
“That won’t help them get past the semi-finals, you’ll see,” remarked another player. “Right, Pranab?”
From behind, Pranab emerged towards the front of the team. He thought for a while, then gave a cold, calculated reply: “I’m surprised they even made it this far.”
As the Bengal Boys and the Thunderbolts walked onto the field, the whole audience seemed to have its breath.
Not a single sound was heard, even as the referee kicked off the match.
The silence was unsettling for Rumi. Whenever he looked at the stands, he saw the audience’s eyes glued to the pitch, absolutely quiet.
The uncomfortableness pressurized Rumi. When he got the ball, he failed to receive it and gifted an easy chance for the Thunderbolts to score, but Mahi’s excellent save denied an early chance for the Thunderbolts.
“What’s wrong, Rumi? Are you alright?” Ranbir asked.
“Yes, yes. Sorry, no problem,” Rumi blurted out, nodding his head.
On the Boys’ side of the pitch, Arnab launched an excellent counter-attack. Ranbir passed it to Rumi.
It was an easy pass, but still… Rumi missed.
The opposing striker pushed Rumi away to intercept the pass and launched a violent rocket into
the Boys’ goal.
This time, it was too much for Mahi to handle. The ball smashed into the net, and the audience exploded, as if the people had suddenly come back to life.
Ranbir came to Rumi.
“Rumi, is anything wrong? Talk to me.”
Rumi hesitated but then sighed and answered: “It’s too much. Too… Too much pressure.”
Ranbir wrapped his arm around Rumi.
“Rumi, forget that. Forget the audience. Forget everything except the ball. Just take the ball, dribble and shoot. Don’t think about it, just do it. Okay?”
Rumi nodded.
“Okay, now come on, we have to win!” Ranbir said, getting back into position.
Unfortunately, winning was seeming less and less likely.
Within a minute, the Thunderbolts capitalized on a missed attempt for a quick counter attack.
The ball moved so fast, the Bengal Boys defenders couldn’t even catch it, and soon, they took another shot and –
They scored.
The audience roared even louder now. The Thunderbolts celebrated passionately, thinking they had won.
Surely, there was no way to come back now. The Bengal Boys needed 3 goals to win in 10 minutes.
But, meanwhile, something was boiling inside Rumi. Not exactly anger.
It was revenge.
As soon as the Bengal Boys started the match again, Rumi received the ball and slipped it between a defender’s legs and took a large touch from another defender. He chased it down and unleashed a shot directly at the goalie. It was so powerful the goalie failed to handle it properly and put it in his own net.
“AND THE BOYS GET ONE BACK!” shouted the commentator.
The audience seemed it was coming back to life again.
Then Ravi got the ball because of applying extreme pressure on the opposing winger and passed it to Rumi, who dribbled past a defender easily and aimed for the top corner, launching a finesse directly into the top corner.
He was about to celebrate but his hopes were cut down when the goalie pulled off an unbelievable save to block the ball.
But fortunately, there was another person there at the right place at the right time.
Ranbir.
He tapped it into an empty net and fell down to his knees, wildly gesturing toward the audience.
They had found an equalizer!
From almost no hope to tying the game, what a match it had been!
The audience screamed their heads off, celebrating in the stands.
But, Rumi’s revenge wasn’t over yet.
No, he had to win.
With nothing to separate the two teams, the match went into a penalty shootout.
First went the Boys. Arnab stepped up to take the penalty and calmly slotted it in the back of the net.
Then, Mahi pulled off an unbelievable sequence, saving two back-to-back penalties of the Thunderbolts. The Bengal Boys capitalized, scoring two penalties in a row.
Now, if Mahi saved this penalty, the Bengal Boys would be heading to the final of the Saltlake Youth Football Tournament.
Everyone knew the stakes, even Mahi did. He knew he had to save this penalty for his team. Hopefully, his practice had paid off. The hundreds of shots he saved every day. He remembered the pain he had gone through for this moment.
The penalty-taker stepped back from the ball as the referee blew the whistle.
The whole audience was silent.
The player ran up to the ball and shot it with great force to the left bottom corner.
Mahi stretched his hands as much as he could as he slid across the grass.
His hand catching the ball…
And then…
Silence.
Then the whole audience erupted, screaming and celebrating.
The whole team ran to Mahi and put him on their shoulders as they shouted:
“Three cheers for Mahi! Hip-Hip-Hooray!”
Chapter Six : The Final Battle
The team should have celebrated that night, but instead they were grave.
They knew that they had to give everything they had for this match.
That night, Rumi couldn’t sleep. He stayed up thinking about the final.
He started to remember all his mistakes.
That failed receive that led to a goal, the injury that prevented him from helping the team.
Self-doubt crept in, and Rumi barely got any sleep that night, waking up the next day very sleepy.
He got ready and reached the field. He saw his teammates training without him, staring at the field.
Ranbir kept telling the team to focus on their training, but he knew it was no use.
No one could pay attention to anything except the final.
Soon enough, the commentator announced that it was time for the final and the team silently walked onto the field.
Everything they had worked for.
All the blood, pain, sweat, and sacrifice.
For this.
The audience had extremely few Bengal Boys supporters, but even the few that were there brandished banners and tried lifting their spirits.
However, no matter how much their fanbase tried, it was nothing compared to those of the opposing team.
As their opponents, the Universal Warriors, walked out, the Boys were shocked.
They had pristine gear, high-quality boots costing at least four thousand rupees, and expensive jerseys. Their equipment was of much better quality.
Rumi stared at himself. His jersey was a plain half-sleeve T-shirt, he had no shin guards, his socks were mismatched, and his shoes weren’t even a fourth of the price of the opposing team’s.
He could tell that his teammates were extremely jealous of their opponents.
Even the players of the Universal Warriors were so tall, and each player looked like they had fought in a war.
As the two teams went to greet each other, the Boys were greeted with another surprise.
Amongst all the tall players, there was a boy of medium height.
Their previous star player.
Pranab.
They couldn’t believe it.
Everyone except Ranbir knew how Pranab was, but they never expected him to betray them like this.
“Pranab,” Arnab growled.
“Him,” Rumi said as he clenched his fists.
As the teams shook hands, Rumi ended up shaking Pranab’s.
As he looked up, he saw him smiling.
“Rumi,” he acknowledged sarcastically.
“Shut up,” Rumi growled as he moved on to the next person.
Now, they really had to win.
To show Pranab they weren’t as mediocre as he thought they were.
To prove him wrong.
The audience roared for the Universal Warriors as the teams got into their formations.
The referee blew his whistle once again.
And so kicked off the final of the Saltlake Youth Football Tournament.
Vrihan passed the ball to the Bengal Boys’ full-back.
He was about to receive it when Pranab roughly tackled the full-back, pushing him down while he crossed it into the box, where their tall midfielder rose higher than the others and performed a perfect header.
The ball whizzed past Mahi and buried itself inside the net, as the Warriors ran to their supporters and celebrated passionately.
But none of the Bengal Boys players were about to give up just yet.
Ranbir called the team for a huddle and immediately said, “We can’t lose hope. Rumi, are you all right?”
Rumi looked sickly pale. His hope was rapidly deteriorating.
He never planned to be trailing in the final.
“No, no. Yeah, I’m okay,” he replied instinctively.
“Okay, listen. Sophisticated football is not going to work here. We have to play dirty. We have to.”
The team silently nodded.
“Okay, okay, come on, let’s get out there and show them why we’re here in the final, huh?” Ranbir said, as they walked to the center to restart the match.
The Universal Warriors fans were cheering.
However, the other side, where the Bengal Boys supporters sat, was quiet and silent.
But this time, nothing was going to unsettle Rumi today.
As the match started, he got the ball and dribbled past one, then two players with ease before squaring it back to Ranbir, who performed a little flick to pass the ball to Arnab, who was about to drive forward but got tackled by Pranab, who was about to put in a cross to the tall player near the ball.
Rumi suddenly remembered what Ranbir had told him yesterday.
“Don’t think about it, just do it.”
Without thinking, instinctively, Rumi chased down Pranab and pulled off a slide tackle in an attempt to stop him.
Pranab shouted as he fell down on the ground.
The referee pulled out his yellow card and showed it to Rumi.
But that only gave the Boys more motivation. Soon, everyone was fouling Pranab when he got the ball. He kept falling down and crying out in pain. Eventually, he had to be subbed off, and the whole Bengal Boys audience roared.
This was a huge victory for the Boys and, using the motivation, they launched a counterattack. Rumi passed it to Arnab, who chipped the ball for Ranbir to score a spectacular volley.
With sheer power, it smashed into the net, tearing through it.
The team was overjoyed as they started dancing on the field, shouting in unison.
The Bengal Boys fans began chanting for the players, as the Universal Warriors players collapsed.
The commentator announced:
“AND RIGHT AT THE STROKE OF THE TWENTIETH MINUTE, THE BENGAL BOYS GRAB AN EQUALIZER! THIS TEAM WILL JUST NOT QUIT!!”
“He got that right!” shouted Arnab.
“Come on guys, now we have to win, ” Ranbir said.
The match restarted once again, with the Boys pressing like their lives depended on it.
Because of their high pressing, it didn’t take them long to seize another chance. Rumi passed the ball to Arnab, who unleashed a shot from outside the box.
For a second, it seemed that the Bengal Boys had gotten the lead, but at the last second, it collided violently against the woodwork.
The Bengal Boys didn’t stop. They took another chance, but a defender cleared the shot away.
Slowly, and with each passing moment, it looked like the Bengal Boys were going to win their first trophy.
Rumi smiled.
Maybe Ranbir had been right.
The tournament had been an excellent opportunity for them to win their first trophy.
They had taken many shots.
They just needed one to go in.
Towards the end of the game, the Bengal Boys were dominating.
Arnab got too confident and tried a long shot from his own half. It flew across the air, straight into the goalie’s hands, who immediately launched a counterattack.
Rumi looked at the scoreboard that showed the score and the time.
The last minute of the game.
The whole team rushed to defend as the ball came to the Warriors’ full-back.
Arnab tried to block him, but he had already launched a cross into the middle of the pitch.
The ball came to the opposing team’s midfielder.
The tall teenager pushed towards the Boys’ goal at full speed.
Rumi rushed in for a slide tackle.
A last hope.
A last resort to stop them from scoring.
He was going to reach the ball, and Rumi thought they had successfully defended the attack, but then…
Tragedy.
At the last moment, the midfielder passed the ball to the boy who had come on for Pranab.
He put in a low-driven shot into the box, and there was their striker, who tapped the ball in.
The ball moved like it was in slow motion.
Mahi tried his best, but he was never reaching the ball.
It buried into the bottom corner, past the reach of Mahi, and Rumi saw the trophy disappear right in front of his eyes.
They had lost.
The referee’s whistle blew like a siren, and the Warriors ran to the audience and started celebrating, singing songs and dancing in pure, unfiltered delight.
However, the audience was silent, evidently confusing the players of the Universal Warriors.
Rumi had collapsed into the grass, but he suddenly looked up at the silence.
Then, one by one, person by person, they started clapping.
Everyone.
Every single person.
Not for the Warriors.
It was for the Bengal Boys.
Slowly, every player got up from the grass and stared at the audience clapping for them in the stands.
“They’re clapping… for us,” whispered Raghav.
Rumi found himself crying.
“Yeah, they are,” he said.
They had lost the game, yes.
But their journey to the final had been legendary, with their low-quality boots, mismatched socks, and cheap equipment.
No one expected them to.
And every victory was earned, with gallons of sweat and blood behind it.
They had lost the game, yes.
But they had won everyone’s hearts.
And no matter who says what, that is the only thing that matters.
THE END
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What is the main plot of “The Underdogs”?
The story follows Rumi and his passion-driven football team, the Bengal Boys—a group of under-resourced local kids facing a severe losing streak. After their star player quits out of frustration, they discover a talented and positive new striker named Ranbir, rebuild their team spirit, and fight their way through the prestigious Saltlake Youth Football Tournament.
2. Who are the primary characters in the story?
- Rumi: The main protagonist whose determination and love for football keep the team together.
- Ranbir Tripathi: The new Number 9 whose skills, humility, and positive leadership transform the Bengal Boys.
- Pranab: The Bengal Boys’ former star player who quits the team in anger and later joins their wealthy rivals, the Universal Warriors.
- Mahi: The hardworking goalkeeper who performs clutch saves during high-pressure moments.
- Arnab, Raghav, Vrihan, Ravi, and Suman: Rumi’s supportive teammates who give their all to win.
3. What central themes does the author explore?
- Resilience and Grit: Overcoming financial hardship, inferior gear, injuries, and devastating losses through sheer hard work.
- True Leadership: Contrasting Pranab’s ego-driven talent with Ranbir’s encouraging, team-first mentality.
- Friendship and Loyalty: How belief in one another creates unbreakable bonds, even when facing intimidating opponents.
4. How do the Bengal Boys compare to their rival teams?
While opponents like the Thunderbolts and Universal Warriors have expensive boots, futuristic gear, and taller players, the Bengal Boys play with mismatched socks, low-quality shoes, and no shin guards. Despite these obstacles, their relentless training and teamwork allow them to bridge the gap.
5. What is the climax of the story?
In the high-stakes final match against the Universal Warriors (and their former teammate Pranab), the Bengal Boys pull off an intense comeback after trailing early. Fueled by determination and Ranbir’s equalizing goal, they prove that heart and passion matter more than money or fame.
6. Who wrote “The Underdogs”?
The story was written by Prayon Sarkar, a young author from Kolkata and student at DPS Megacity, who began creating stories at the age of 4.
7.Where can you buy the books?
You can buy the books at Bookosmia.com and Amazon.in
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