The excitement from his debut slowly faded over the next few days.

The highlight clips were still circulating around local cricket pages.

Students still occasionally called him "match winner."

The crowd chants from the district stadium still replayed inside his head from time to time.

But cricket had a cruel habit.

It never cared about yesterday.

Only the next match.

Only the next weakness.

Only the next challenge.

And today—

the next weakness had arrived.

---

The Kangra District Under-19 squad assembled at the stadium early in the morning.

The weather was pleasant.

The outfield looked freshly cut.

Players stretched near the boundary rope.

Fast bowlers loosened their shoulders.

Batters discussed previous matches.

Everything seemed normal.

Until the head coach blew his whistle.

"Everyone. Center."

Immediately, the players gathered.

The coach stood with a tablet in his hands.

That alone made several players nervous.

Video review sessions usually meant one thing.

Someone was about to get exposed.

---

The coach began reviewing the previous match.

Fielding mistakes.

Bowling plans.

Partnerships.

Decision making.

Several players received praise.

Several players received criticism.

Then his eyes landed on Sahil.

"Sahil."

"Yes, sir."

"Good innings."

A few players nodded.

Kabir grinned.

Even Aryan looked mildly impressed.

The coach continued.

"But."

Immediately, Sahil knew trouble was coming.

Whenever a coach used that word—

nothing good followed.

"Your running between wickets is poor."

The statement caught him completely off guard.

"What?"

Several players exchanged glances.

The coach folded his arms.

"You heard me."

Sahil frowned.

"My running was fine."

The moment those words left his mouth—

half the squad laughed.

Even Aryan smirked.

The coach simply turned on the tablet.

"Let’s see."

---

The footage from the Mandi match appeared.

The players gathered around.

The video replayed several moments from Sahil’s innings.

At first everything looked normal.

Singles.

Boundaries.

Strike rotation.

Then the coach paused the footage.

A ball rolled toward deep extra cover.

There was an easy second run available.

Sahil had settled for one.

Pause.

"There."

The footage continued.

Another shot into the gap.

Another possible double.

Only one taken.

Pause.

"There."

Then a third example.

Pause.

"There."

Silence.

The coach looked at him.

"How many doubles?"

Sahil reluctantly answered.

"Three."

The coach nodded.

"Minimum."

Then he pointed at the paused screen.

"District cricket isn’t only won through boundaries."

Nobody spoke.

Because every player knew he was right.

---

The coach walked toward the pitch.

"At school level, power covers weaknesses."

"At district level, weaknesses get exposed."

Then he pointed toward the screen again.

"You hit sixes."

"You finished the chase."

"You won the match."

The coach paused.

"Now imagine if those three missed doubles had been completed."

Sahil remained silent.

The answer was obvious.

Six additional runs.

Without hitting a boundary.

Without taking a risk.

Without giving a chance.

The coach folded his arms.

"Good batsmen score runs."

"Smart batsmen steal runs."

The words stayed in Sahil’s mind.

---

The familiar blue screen suddenly appeared.

---

NEW TRAINING MISSION

QUICK RUNNING TRAINING

Objective

Complete 100 Quick Doubles During Practice

Conditions

✔ Sprint first run

✔ Fast turning technique

✔ Maintain balance

✔ Complete doubles successfully

---

Progress

0 / 100

---

The screen faded.

Sahil’s eyes narrowed slightly.

A new mastery.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

---

The coach clapped his hands.

"No batting today."

The entire squad groaned.

"No bowling today."

More groans followed.

The coach smiled.

"Running."

Immediate suffering.

---

Cones were placed twenty-two yards apart.

Exactly the length of a cricket pitch.

The drill looked simple.

Run.

Turn.

Run back.

Repeat.

Simple.

Unfortunately—

simple didn’t mean easy.

---

The whistle blew.

"GO!"

Players exploded forward.

Sahil sprinted hard.

Reached the opposite crease.

Attempted a quick turn.

Lost momentum.

Stumbled slightly.

Recovered.

Returned.

The coach immediately pointed.

"There."

Sahil sighed.

"What now?"

"That’s exactly the problem."

Several teammates laughed.

---

Aryan demonstrated next.

His movements looked smooth.

Efficient.

Sharp.

Every turn happened naturally.

No wasted steps.

No hesitation.

No loss of momentum.

The difference became obvious immediately.

Aryan wasn’t necessarily faster.

He was cleaner.

And clean movement created speed.

---

The drills continued.

Run.

Turn.

Sprint.

Repeat.

Again.

Again.

Again.

The first thirty minutes weren’t too bad.

After an hour—

everything changed.

His lungs burned.

His calves tightened.

Sweat soaked his shirt.

Every sprint felt harder than the previous one.

---

Kabir jogged beside him.

"Dying?"

"Yes."

"Good."

"Shut up."

Kabir laughed.

"Coach says pain builds character."

"Coach doesn’t have to run."

That earned another round of laughter.

---

The next drill focused on reactions.

Players stood at one crease.

The coach pointed randomly.

Left.

Right.

Forward.

Back.

Players had to react instantly.

No thinking.

No hesitation.

Just movement.

Initially—

Sahil struggled.

His reactions remained slow.

Not dramatically slow.

Just delayed.

A fraction of a second.

Enough to matter.

The coach noticed immediately.

"Stop thinking."

"What?"

"React."

Simple advice.

Hard execution.

---

The session continued for hours.

By the end of the day—

Sahil felt completely exhausted.

The blue screen appeared.

---

QUICK RUNNING TRAINING

Progress: 13 / 100

---

Only thirteen.

Sahil nearly cursed.

This mission was going to take forever.

---

The next few days followed the same pattern.

Morning.

Running drills.

Turning drills.

Reaction drills.

Simulation drills.

Partner running drills.

Everything focused on quick doubles.

---

Day Two

Progress: 28 / 100

---

Day Three

Progress: 44 / 100

---

Day Four

Progress: 59 / 100

---

Gradually—

things started changing.

His first step became quicker.

His turns became sharper.

His acceleration improved.

His awareness improved.

The improvements weren’t dramatic.

But they existed.

And cricket often rewarded small improvements.

---

The breakthrough arrived on Day Five.

During a simulation match.

Sahil pushed a ball toward deep cover.

Without thinking—

he called.

"TWO!"

He exploded forward.

Touched the crease.

Pivoted instantly.

Accelerated back.

Completed the second run comfortably.

The coach nodded.

For the first time during the entire week.

"Good."

Just one word.

Yet it felt surprisingly satisfying.

---

The progress continued.

---

Day Six

Progress: 83 / 100

---

The finish line finally appeared.

And suddenly—

Sahil wanted it badly.

Not because of the reward.

Because he hated unfinished missions.

---

Day Seven

The final session arrived.

The squad participated in competitive running drills.

The atmosphere felt energetic.

Players challenged each other.

Mocked each other.

Raced each other.

Exactly how cricketers behaved.

---

The progress climbed.

89.

90.

91.

92.

93.

---

One more.

Just one.

---

The final drill began.

A ball rolled into the gap at deep extra cover.

Without hesitation—

Sahil reacted.

"TWO!"

He sprinted.

Touched the crease.

Executed a perfect turn.

Exploded back.

Crossed comfortably.

Complete.

---

The blue screen appeared immediately.

---

TRAINING MISSION COMPLETE

QUICK RUNNING TRAINING

Progress

100 / 100

---

REWARD UNLOCKED

QUICK RUNNING MASTERY

Current Rank

BASIC MASTERY

Current EXP

1 / 500

---

Passive Effects

✔ +15 Speed

✔ +10 Acceleration

✔ Faster First-Step Explosion

✔ Improved Turning Efficiency

✔ Better Double-Running Awareness

✔ Reduced Hesitation Between Wickets

---

Evaluation

Running Between Wickets

POOR → AVERAGE

Significant Improvement Detected

Continue Development

---

The screen slowly faded.

For several moments, Sahil simply stood there.

Breathing heavily.

Sweat dripping from his face.

Legs aching.

Chest burning.

Yet a smile slowly appeared.

Because this reward felt different.

Nobody would upload highlights of running drills.

Nobody would make reels about turning technique.

Nobody would chant his name because of quick doubles.

But deep down—

he understood something important.

Champions weren’t built only through sixes.

They were built through details.

The details nobody noticed.

The details nobody celebrated.

The details that quietly won matches.

Today—

he had improved one of them.

And somewhere in the future—

when a match came down to a single run—

this week of suffering might make all the difference.