Iqbal (Shreyas Talpade), an 18-year-old deaf and mute village boy, wants to make it to the Indian cricket team. Dampened by power play, he finds support from his family and village drunkard Mohit (Naseeruddin Shah).

Brilliantly penned, the script balances the languid pace of village life and the speed of fast bowling.

Extracting great performances from his largely unknown cast ? Shreyas Talpade, Yateen Karyekar, Pratiksha Lonkar, Shweta Prasad ? Kukunoor makes the linear storyline engrossing and believable.

Veterans Naseeruddin Shah and Girish Karnad make the characters their own. Watch out for the confrontation sequence.

The camerawork by Sudeep Chatterjee is a visual treat, using different shades of green to underline the different sequences.

Salim-Sulaiman?s background score becomes Iqbal?s voice and the couple of songs effectively contribute to the scheme of things.

First weekend watch: 75 % at INOX (Forum), 60 % at INOX (City Centre), 45 % at 89 Cinemas (Swabhumi)

Last word: Give Team India a break ? root for Iqbal Khan rather than Zaheer Khan, and you wouldn?t mind an action replay!