What was the score before the last raid?

The kabaddi final between Rampur and Kheri was level, twenty-eight points each, with one raid left. Rampur's raider was Gurpreet, the fastest boy in the district, and the whole village was on the edge of the field, shouting his name.

Gurpreet crossed the line, chanting "kabaddi, kabaddi" under his breath, and darted towards the Kheri defenders. One of them dived for his ankle. Gurpreet twisted, touched another player's shoulder with his fingertips and sprinted back to his own half. The referee raised his arm: one point to Rampur. The village roared.

But Gurpreet did not raise his arms. He was looking at his own foot. As he twisted, he had felt it touch the outside line, the line that put a raider out. The referee had not seen it. Nobody had seen it, except perhaps the Kheri boy who had dived.

For a moment Gurpreet stood still while his team ran towards him. Then he walked to the referee and said something. The referee frowned, spoke to the line judge, and lowered his arm.

The point was taken away. In the extra raid, Kheri scored and won.

The Rampur crowd was silent on the long walk home. Some of the older men would not look at Gurpreet. But the Kheri boy who had dived for his ankle came across the field afterwards, shook his hand and did not let go for a long moment. And the next season, when the district team was chosen, the selector, who had been watching from the crowd that day, picked Gurpreet first.