Page 114 - English Class 07

and stung, he wriggled off pitch and moved rapidly down the river bank and into the water.
There was a mighty splash as he dived for cover.
When the grown-ups arrived, no one
mentioned the crocodile, just in
case the adults decided to call the
match off.
wriggled : moved away by twisting and turning his body
sulking : looking angry
After inspecting the wicket which
Nakoo had left in fair condition,
Sheroo and Ranji tossed a coin. Ranji
called ‘Heads!’ but it came up tails.
Sheroo chose to bat first.
The tall Delhi player came out to
open the inning with little Mani,
who was bowled for a duck in the
third over. But, the tall fellow
showed no signs of getting out. He
hit two more boundaries and then
swung one, hard and high towards
the river.
Nakoo, who had been sulking in the
shallows, saw the ball coming
towards him. He opened his jaws
wide and with a satisfying ‘clunk!’
the ball lodged between his back
teeth. Nakoo got his teeth deep
into the cricket ball and chewed.
Revenge was sweet. And the ball
tasted good too. The combination of
leather and cork was just right.
Nakoo decided that he would snap
up any other balls that came his way.
The bank manager produced a new
ball, and insisted that he would bowl
with it. The match continued, and
the score mounted steadily. Nathu’s
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