It was match day, and they couldn't meet each other after that off day, as both were busy with their own schedules, with practice and everything else.
Virat noticed Rohit behaving weirdly in practice yesterday. The teams were practicing together, and Rohit didn't even glance at him when he tried to meet him after practice.
"Biscuit, pay attention! You would have tripped now," said AB, holding him as he was about to trip over something.
"Thanks."
"Go for the toss, Skip," AB teased him, and he went. Rohit did not even look at him.
Rohit shook his hand, and Virat hugged him. "What's wrong? Please talk to me," he whispered while hugging him.
"Stop sticking to everyone. I don't like it," Rohit said with a tight-lipped smile and left from there.
Virat was still confused.
"Ugh! Why am I acting like this? He was so eager to talk, and his eyes... What's wrong with me? AB is just his friend," Rohit cursed himself.
He turned and saw Virat was already doing some warm-up drills. He just made a mental note to apologize to him later.
RCB was bowling first. Rohit was on strike, but he was losing partners, and on top of that, he was distracted by the celebrations of Virat and AB. They were clinging to each other, and he was feeling jealous seeing someone else hugging his Vi.
This made him lose focus, and the ball went up high in the sky. He knew this was it, as Virat was under it.
Rohit began walking back to the dugout when a collective gasp erupted from the crowd.
"The captain has dropped the captain!" the commentator exclaimed. "Virat Kohli has dropped the catch— it could be the match!"
Rohit glanced at the field; Virat was on his knees, his face pressed against the ground, clutching his hand to his chest.
"He's hurt," he heard someone say again.
Rohit went near him. It wasn't odd, as they were teammates, and no one would object.
"Ahh," Rohit heard Virat's painful groan.
"Virat?" Rohit called out, but Virat couldn't look at him. If he did, he might just hug him and cry out from the pain he was feeling.
Virat got up, putting on a brave face, though his eyes still reflected the pain. As he stood, Rohit noticed blood oozing out of his palm.
The physio took him off the ground. Rohit wanted nothing more than to leave the match and be with him, but he couldn't.
The team scored 180, thanks to Rohit. He went to the dugout and sat there, looking over at RCB's dugout, only to see Virat resting his head on the seat with his eyes closed while the physio applied an ice pack to reduce the swelling.
Rohit's eyes grew moist, seeing Virat's painful expression and the blood. That image of him would never leave his mind.
"I hope you don't come out to bat, Vi," Rohit thought before joining his team's huddle.
"Oh my, he has some determination, man," Rohit heard Pollard say, only to see Virat walking out with an injured hand to open with Chris.
"Idiot, idiot," Rohit mumbled under his breath.
Later, he found himself saying, "You're just unbelievable, Vi," when Virat scored a century and chased the target in just 15 overs.
There were so many moments during the innings when Rohit wanted to hold his hand and comfort him through the pain.
