Cricket Ascend System

Chapter 8: Danish Khan to Bowl

Danish cracked his neck once before taking the ball.

Unlike Sameer, Danish wasn’t strategic.

He was aggressive.

Fastest bowler in Riverside Gully.

Short temper.

Short run-up.

And extremely dangerous once irritated.

Right now—

he looked furious.

Match Situation

Shastri Strikers — 94/7 (12 Overs)

Required: 56 Runs from 18 Balls

Current Batters:

Sahil Choudhary — 56 (16)

Keshav — 5 (10)

The field spread wider now.

Long-on pushed deeper.

Deep square leg almost near the tea stall.

Three boys volunteered to stand outside Sharma Electronics because balls kept flying there.

Nobody laughed at Sahil anymore.

Now they were nervous.

Danish began his run-up.

Fast.

Aggressive.

First ball—

SHORT.

Very short.

A proper body-line delivery.

Sahil reacted late instinctively.

HOOK.

The connection sounded horrible.

Top edge.

The ball flew almost straight upward.

Everybody looked skyward instantly.

For one terrifying second—

it seemed catchable.

Then the ball kept carrying.

And carrying.

Until finally—

THUD!

It smashed into the second-floor water tank.

SIX.

The entire gully exploded.

"No way!"

"Even THAT went?!"

"How strong is he?!"

Danish stared in disbelief.

Because Sahil barely connected properly.

Yet the ball still disappeared.

SHOT ANALYSIS COMPLETE

Connection Quality: 9%

Timing: 11%

Shot Selection: Risky

Positive: ✔ Elite raw bat speed ✔ Exceptional forearm strength

Weaknesses: ✘ Eyes closed during hook attempt ✘ Poor balance under short-ball pressure ✘ Panic reaction still present

Critical Note: Host currently relying excessively on natural power.

Sahil exhaled slowly.

Even the system sounded concerned now.

Because at higher levels—

shots like these wouldn’t survive.

But here?

In Riverside Gully?

Power changed everything.

Score Update

Shastri Strikers — 100/7

Required: 50 Runs from 17 Balls

Sahil Choudhary — 62 (17)

Second ball.

Danish charged in harder now.

Yorker attempt.

Low full toss instead.

Sahil swung brutally.

CRACK!

The ball screamed down the ground.

Straight back past the bowler.

FOUR.

Danish instinctively pulled his hand away.

Too late.

The ball nearly smashed his fingers.

"Arre sambhal!"

"Rocket maara!"

"That almost broke his hand!"

Now fear had entered the Tigers’ faces.

Not fear of losing.

Fear of Sahil’s hitting.

SHOT ANALYSIS COMPLETE

Connection Quality: 74%

Timing: 69%

Positive: ✔ Faster pickup against pace ✔ Better weight transfer ✔ Improved swing alignment

Weaknesses: ✘ Front shoulder opening early

Bowler Analysis: Pace bowler losing yorker execution under pressure.

Danish glared at Sahil angrily.

"Edge pe six."

"Miss-hit pe six."

"Ab straight bhi?"

Sahil said nothing.

Because honestly—

he still didn’t trust himself either.

Third ball.

Slower delivery.

Sahil swung too early.

MISS.

The ball crashed into wicketkeeper Imran’s gloves.

Huge appeal.

"OUT!"

But the makeshift umpire uncle shook his head lazily.

"Bat nahi laga."

Dot ball.

Azad Nagar celebrated hard anyway.

Finally.

A mistake.

SHOT ANALYSIS COMPLETE

Weaknesses: ✘ Overcommitted too early ✘ Reading slower balls late ✘ Bat lagging behind eyes

Learning Suggestion: Observe wrist position during release.

Sahil narrowed his eyes slightly.

Wrist position.

So that’s how Danish disguised slower balls.

The system wasn’t spoon-feeding answers.

It was forcing understanding.

Fourth ball.

Same action.

Same run-up.

But this time—

Sahil watched Danish’s wrist carefully.

Slightly angled.

Slower ball again. ƒrēewebnovel.com

Sahil delayed his swing.

THUD!

The ball launched high over wide long-on.

SIX.

Absolute chaos erupted.

"HE READ IT!"

"He actually read the slower ball!"

Even Sameer’s expression darkened instantly.

Because that wasn’t power anymore.

That was adaptation.

SHOT ANALYSIS COMPLETE

Connection Quality: 68%

Timing: 73%

Positive: ✔ Successfully identified slower delivery ✔ Better patience before swing ✔ Improved reaction discipline

Major Growth Detected: Host adapting during live match conditions.

Sahil’s heartbeat thundered.

He could actually feel it now.

The improvement.

The difference.

Every mistake was becoming data.

Every shot—

a lesson.

Score Update

Shastri Strikers — 110/7

Required: 40 Runs from 14 Balls

Sahil Choudhary — 72 (21)

Strike Rate: 327.27

The impossible chase was becoming real.

And Riverside Gully had completely changed sides now.

The same people mocking Sahil earlier were screaming his name.

"SAHIL!"

"Maar aur!"

"Finish this!"

Even balcony aunties started clapping after boundaries.

At the non-striker’s end, Keshav finally spoke quietly.

"You know..."

"I thought we lost already."

Sahil looked toward the scoreboard painted roughly on cardboard.

40 needed.

14 balls.

Still difficult.

Still dangerous.

But no longer impossible.

For the first time in his life—

people believed he could win them a match.

Danish wiped sweat from his forehead aggressively.

The lane had become too loud now.

Every boundary from Sahil felt like an explosion.

Every miss felt like collective panic.

And somehow—

the boy everyone mocked an hour ago had become the center of Riverside Gully.

Over 13 Continued

Fifth Ball

Danish changed angles now.

Around the wicket.

Fast yorker targeting leg stump.

Sahil reacted slightly late.

The bat came down awkwardly.

THICK INSIDE EDGE.

The ball flew fine behind the wicketkeeper.

FOUR.

The Tigers players nearly lost their minds.

"Bhai WHAT IS THIS?!"

"How is every bad shot still running away?!"

Danish kicked the cement in frustration.

Meanwhile the crowd laughed uncontrollably.

Because even luck itself seemed to support Sahil today.

SHOT ANALYSIS COMPLETE

Connection Quality: 13%

Timing: 16%

Positive: ✔ Bat speed preserved under yorker pressure

Weaknesses: ✘ Late downswing ✘ Closed bat face ✘ Front leg trapped

Result Cause: Extreme hand acceleration.

Current Technical Dependence on Power: HIGH

Sahil inhaled deeply.

The system kept repeating the same thing in different ways.

Power was saving him.

Not technique.

Not yet.

Last Ball of the Over

Danish slowed everything down suddenly.

Very slow delivery.

Almost floating.

Sahil’s eyes widened.

Too early.

He’d already committed.

His swing started before the ball even reached him.

Panic.

Adjustment.

Desperation.

Yet somehow—

the bat still connected.

HIGH.

VERY HIGH.

The ball disappeared upward above balcony height.

Everyone froze.

Terrace hit means OUT.

The ball kept rising...

Rising...

Then finally—

LANDING JUST SHORT OF THE TERRACE EDGE.

BOUNCE.

SIX.

The lane detonated.

"NOOOOO WAYYYYY!"

"He almost got out!"

"But still SIX!"

Danish looked ready to murder someone.

End of Over 13

Shastri Strikers — 120/7

Required: 30 Runs from 12 Balls

Sahil Choudhary — 82 (23)

Keshav — 5(10)

Eighty-two.

In Riverside Gully, that was monstrous.

Especially while chasing 150.

Especially from someone like Sahil.

Children screamed while chasing balls.

Shopkeepers fully abandoned work now.

Even passing bikers had stopped near the lane to watch.

The atmosphere no longer felt like street cricket.

It felt like a stadium.

Ravi stared at the scoreboard silently.

37/7.

That’s where they were.

The match had been dead.

Finished.

And somehow—

Sahil dragged them back alone.

Sameer gathered his team quickly.

"No panic."

"We still control this."

But honestly?

Even he no longer fully believed it.

Because momentum had completely shifted.

And momentum in gully cricket was terrifying.

Once crowds got involved—

pressure doubled instantly.

Over 14 — Sameer Malik

Of course Sameer took responsibility himself.

Best player.

Best bowler.

Best brain.

If anyone could stop Sahil—

it was him.

The field became defensive again.

Deep midwicket.

Long-on.

Long-off.

Deep cover.

Every boundary rider pushed back.

Sameer wasn’t hunting wickets anymore.

He was hunting mistakes.

First Ball

Fast.

Wide yorker.

Perfect execution.

Sahil stretched fully—

EDGE.

The ball flew over short third man again.

FOUR.

The crowd absolutely lost control.

Sameer closed his eyes briefly.

Even he started laughing helplessly now.

"This guy..."

SHOT ANALYSIS COMPLETE

Connection Quality: 15%

Timing: 21%

Weaknesses: ✘ Reaching too far ✘ Loss of body balance

Positive: ✔ Faster bat recovery ✔ Improved reaction speed

Critical Note: Host surviving due to extreme power margin over current competition level.

That last line stayed in Sahil’s mind.

Current competition level.

Meaning...

later opponents would be stronger.

Much stronger.

Score Update

Shastri Strikers — 124/7

Required: 26 Runs from 11 Balls

Second Ball

Sameer slowed it heavily.

Sahil waited this time.

Not fully.

But better.

Swing.

CRACK.

Straight.

Back over the bowler.

SIX.

Not lucky.

Not edged.

Middle.

Pure violence.

The ball slammed against the shutter near Gupta Medical.

People screamed instantly.

Even Sameer turned around slowly to watch where it landed.

SHOT ANALYSIS COMPLETE

Connection Quality: 93%

Timing: 88%

Balance: Stable

Bat Path: Excellent

Positive: ✔ Proper weight transfer ✔ Controlled downswing ✔ Correct swing timing

Major Improvement Detected.

For a moment—

everything around Sahil disappeared.

Noise.

People.

Pressure.

All gone.

That shot felt...

easy.

Like his body naturally understood cricket for a second.

At non-striker’s end, Keshav looked genuinely shaken now.

"Bro..."

"What happened to you today?"

Sahil couldn’t answer.

Because honestly—

he wanted to know too.