Cricket Ascend System

Chapter 17: Fame In The Gully

By Monday morning—

everyone in Shastri Market knew about the chase.

Not just the boys.

Everyone.

The chai stall uncle.

The pani puri vendor.

The auto drivers.

Even the stationery shop owner who hated cricket because balls kept hitting his shutter.

"Did you hear? Sahil scored ninety."

"Ninety not out."

"Against Rajendra Colony boys."

"They needed eleven in the last over."

"He hit eight sixes."

"Arre one edge also went for four somehow."

That last part spread the fastest.

Because honestly—

people still couldn’t understand how Sahil’s mishits traveled so far.

For Sahil though—

the strangest part wasn’t the praise.

It was school.

Usually nobody cared about his cricket stories there.

Now suddenly—

boys from other sections stopped him in corridors.

"Bro did you really hit Harshit onto Sharma roof?"

"How many balls?"

"Can you bowl fast too?"

One junior even asked for batting tips.

Batting tips.

From Sahil Choudhary.

That almost felt illegal somehow.

But fame brought something else too.

Pressure.

Because now every evening match felt like an expectation.

If Sahil failed—

people noticed immediately.

That evening, Riverside Gully looked more crowded than usual.

Not because of a tournament.

Because people wanted entertainment.

They wanted sixes.

They wanted Sahil innings.

And honestly?

That scared Sahil slightly.

Because the system had already shown him the truth.

He still wasn’t stable.

Not consistent. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

Not reliable yet.

The blue screen appeared while he stretched near the scooter boundary.

DAILY TASKS UPDATED

2500 Shadow Swings

Reward: +1 Control

100 Front-Foot Drives

Reward: Minor Timing Growth

Sprint Running — 20 Repeats

Reward: +1 Stamina

Play 40 Balls Without Wild Swing Error

Reward: +1 Match Temperament

Difficulty Increased.

Sahil stared blankly.

The requirements were becoming ridiculous already.

Earlier 1000 swings gave huge improvement.

Now more than double effort—

for smaller rewards.

SYSTEM NOTICE

As host skill increases, progression speed decreases.

High-level improvement requires greater repetition quality.

"Basically torture," Sahil muttered quietly.

Evening Match

Shastri Strikers vs Azad Nagar Tigers

Target: 168

15 Overs

"168?!" Bunty shouted instantly.

"Are we playing cricket or IPL?"

The Tigers laughed loudly.

Because honestly—

their batting lineup looked terrifying recently.

Sameer Malik.

Danish Khan.

Imran Sheikh.

All in form.

And once again—

they batted brilliantly.

Azad Nagar Tigers — 167/7 (15 Overs)

Sameer Malik — 58 (39)

Danish Khan — 31 (18)

Imran Sheikh — 24 (16)

Sameer’s batting looked especially annoying today.

Not explosive like Sahil.

Just... mature.

He manipulated field gaps constantly.

Never rushed.

Never lost shape.

Watching him felt educational honestly.

The chase began badly again.

Of course it did.

Rohan got bowled trying fancy shots.

Vijay survived only six balls.

Arjun smashed two boundaries then holed out.

Shastri Sktrikers— 48/3 (5 Overs)

Required: 120 Runs from 60 Balls

When Sahil walked in—

the crowd reaction genuinely sounded different now.

Louder.

Excited.

Expectant.

Kids literally moved closer to the boundary for better views.

Someone shouted:

"Today hundred maarna!"

The idea itself sounded absurd.

Yet for the first time—

not impossible.

Sameer took the ball personally.

Because this rivalry had changed now.

Earlier he mocked Sahil.

Now—

he respected him enough to target him seriously.

First ball.

Faster outside off.

Sahil defended calmly.

No wild swing.

The crowd groaned dramatically.

"Arre maar na!"

Sahil ignored them.

Because now he understood something important:

Crowds wanted entertainment.

Batters needed survival.

Second ball.

Slightly shorter.

Sahil pulled hard.

Mishit.

The ball flew high toward deep square.

Two fielders underneath.

Catch chance.

DROP.

Again.

The entire lane exploded laughing instantly.

Even Sameer started smiling helplessly now.

"What is this luck?!"

Sahil scratched his head awkwardly.

Because honestly—

he couldn’t defend that one either.

SHOT ANALYSIS COMPLETE

Connection Quality: 23%

Timing: 18%

Result Cause: ✔ Unusually high bat acceleration ✔ Fielding pressure error

Critical Issue: Host still attempting aggressive release shots too early in innings.

That last line stayed in Sahil’s mind.

Too early in innings.

Meaning—

he still treated every ball like a finishing moment.

Next over—

he changed approach completely.

Singles.

Twos.

One clean cover drive.

No six attempts.

The crowd became quieter.

Slightly disappointed honestly.

But Ravi smiled from the other end.

Because he understood what Sahil was trying to do.

Build properly first.

Explode later.

And slowly—

for the first time—

Sahil began controlling the pace of an innings instead of chasing it.