Cricket Ascend System

Chapter 32: Double Life

Chapter 29 — Double Life

Sahil’s life slowly split into two different worlds.

Morning—

school cricket.

Evening—

street cricket.

And both demanded completely different versions of him.

At school—

he was still unfinished.

Raw.

A dangerous hitter with technical flaws.

Coaches corrected him constantly.

Senior players tested him.

Leather-ball cricket exposed weaknesses immediately.

But in Riverside Gully?

He had become a monster.

Kids copied his batting stance now.

Younger boys attempted wild pull shots shouting:

"SAHIL SHOT!"

Even opponents discussed bowling plans around him before matches started.

But strangely—

school cricket mattered more now.

Because that was where real improvement happened.

The next week—

Coach Verma finally announced the final school selection match.

School Selection Match

Senior XI vs Trial XI

Format: 20 Overs

Selection Basis: Final squad confirmation

The moment the announcement came—

pressure exploded across school nets instantly.

Everyone trained harder.

Even casual players became serious.

Because selection meant official tournaments.

District exposure.

Recognition.

And for Sahil?

It meant entry into real cricket.

That evening during Riverside practice—

Sahil looked distracted repeatedly.

Mistimed shots.

Late reactions.

Even Ravi noticed.

"Thinking about school match?"

Sahil nodded quietly.

Because unlike gully cricket—

failure there actually mattered.

The system appeared later that night during shadow practice.

ADVANCED MISSION — MATCH TEMPERAMENT

Objective: Play full innings without reckless aerial dismissal.

Progress: 0% ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com

Reward: +3 Mental Toughness

Sahil stared at that mission carefully.

Because honestly—

this task looked harder than endurance training.

Much harder.

Not getting out recklessly meant controlling instincts.

And Sahil’s instincts screamed one thing during pressure:

HIT HARD.

The next morning—

school nets felt more intense than usual.

Coach Verma divided players quickly.

Kabir captained one side.

Senior bowler Aman took the other.

Then Coach Verma looked toward Sahil.

"You’ll bat middle order."

Middle order.

Not opener.

Not tailender.

That meant responsibility.

Finisher role.

Exactly what the system predicted earlier.

Practice started immediately.

And today—

the bowlers targeted Sahil aggressively.

Short balls.

Wide yorkers.

Slower deliveries.

Everything designed specifically against him.

First few minutes went badly.

One mistimed pull.

One ugly edge.

One missed yorker completely.

NET SESSION REVIEW

Host overcommitting during early acceleration attempts.

Recommendation: Delay power activation.

Sahil exhaled slowly.

Still rushing.

Still forcing impact too early.

Then Kabir walked toward him between deliveries.

"Stop trying to hit six every ball."

"I’m not."

"You literally are."

Annoyingly—

Kabir was right.

Next delivery.

Good length outside off.

Instead of swinging hard—

Sahil defended softly.

Clean.

Balanced.

Then another.

Single toward point.

Then controlled drive through cover.

FOUR.

Much cleaner.

Much calmer.

Kabir nodded slightly from nearby.

"There. That’s better."

That tiny approval oddly felt satisfying.

Because Kabir almost never praised anyone casually.

The session continued for over an hour.

And slowly—

Sahil noticed something important.

He was improving faster at school now because of Riverside.

And dominating Riverside because of school.

Both worlds were feeding each other.

Street cricket improved fearlessness.

School cricket improved structure.

Together—

they were shaping his game rapidly.

By evening—

Riverside hosted another packed match again.

And as Sahil walked in with bat resting on shoulder—

people moved automatically to make space.

Respectfully.

Naturally.

Not because he was strongest.

Not yet.

But because everyone in Riverside now believed one thing.

If Sahil stayed till the end—

no target felt safe anymore.