The biggest change in Sahil’s cricket wasn’t the sixes anymore.

It was his patience.

A few weeks ago, he tried attacking almost every ball.

Now he actually thought during innings.

Sometimes he left wide balls.

Sometimes he rotated strike.

Sometimes he waited two or three overs before attacking.

And honestly—

that scared bowlers more.

The system rewards also became much harsher now.

DAILY TASKS

3000 Shadow Swings

Reward: +1 Control

300 Throwdowns

Reward: Minor Timing Growth

5 km Sprint Intervals

Reward: +1 Stamina

Maintain proper shape for 50 balls in matches

Reward: +1 Match Temperament

The effort required kept increasing.

But Sahil understood why.

His easy beginner growth phase was ending.

Now real improvement started.

Meanwhile, Riverside Gully had completely accepted Sahil as their best batter.

Whenever teams were selected—

he got picked first now.

Even older players wanted him on their side.

That alone felt unreal.

But the system still remained strict.

Every innings—

every mistake—

got analyzed.

Even after good performances.

One evening match against Patel Colony, Sahil scored 61 off 32 balls.

The crowd celebrated loudly.

The system did not.

MATCH REVIEW

Strengths: ✔ Better strike rotation ✔ Improved pace-ball reaction ✔ Cleaner leg-side hitting

Weaknesses: ✘ Front shoulder opening early against spin ✘ Overcommitment during lofted drives ✘ Stamina drop after long partnerships

It annoyed Sahil sometimes honestly.

Couldn’t the system praise him normally for once?

But deep down—

he knew this constant criticism was helping.

Over the next month, Sahil’s game slowly evolved.

His sixes became cleaner.

His mistimed shots reduced slightly.

And most importantly—

he stopped panicking after dot balls.

That alone changed everything.

CURRENT STATS

Batting: Control — 17

Timing — 19

Power — 70

Fielding: Agility — 10

Catching — 9

Stamina — 15

Mental Toughness — 16

Power still remained his biggest weapon by far.

Even now, badly connected shots sometimes cleared boundaries.

But gradually—

timing started catching up.

People noticed too.

"Sahil plays straighter now."

"He’s reading slower balls better."

"Earlier he only slogged."

"Now he builds innings."

Even Sameer Malik admitted it once while drinking cold drinks after a match.

"You’re becoming annoying to bowl against."

Coming from Sameer—

that was basically respect.

But not everything improved smoothly.

Sahil still struggled badly against disciplined spin bowling.

Especially left-arm spinners.

Whenever the ball slowed and turned away—

he became impatient again.

The system highlighted that weakness repeatedly.

CRITICAL WEAKNESS DETECTED

Host struggles against pace variation after boundary drought.

Emotional aggression increases risky shot selection.

Sahil hated how accurate that sounded.

Because it was true.

If boundaries stopped coming—

he became restless.

So he started training differently.

Not just hitting.

Waiting.

Watching.

Playing long practice sessions without attacking.

At first it felt boring.

Painfully boring.

But slowly—

his control improved.

And without realizing it—

Sahil Choudhary stopped looking like a random gully power hitter.

Now—

he was starting to look like an actual batter.