God of Cricket!-Chapter 38 - 1 Year Later

Chapter 38: 1 Year Later

[COMMENTATOR]

’Magical scenes here at the Eden Gardens! They’ve done it! Mumbai U19 are your Cooch Behar Trophy Champions! None would’ve guessed this ending after the first innings collapse.

They came, they saw it through, and now they reap the rewards for their hard work. A historic double for Mumbai cricket!’

Aryan collapsed on the turf, his limbs heavy as lead. He had exhausted himself completely in this four-day match.

The final between Mumbai U19 and Tamil Nadu U19 had ended in a thrilling 3-wicket win for Mumbai on the final day.

Winning the Vinoo Mankad Trophy (One Day) last season had qualified them for the Elite Group A of the Cooch Behar Trophy (Multi-day format).

They entered the tournament with skepticism as their group was branded the "Group of Death". They had drawn the likes of Delhi U19, Punjab U19, and Hyderabad U19.

The format was brutal; only the top team from the group would qualify directly for the semi-finals.

Mumbai U19’s first match was against Punjab U19. It was a gritty affair on a green top in Mohali. They won by a narrow margin of 20 runs. The match was tough, but Aryan made a crucial 40 runs in the second innings and took 3 wickets to break the partnership.

The second match, however, was shocking. Mumbai U19 played against the heavyweights, Delhi U19. The match ended in a surprising innings victory for Mumbai U19.

Aryan scored a massive Double Century (210) and took a 5-wicket haul in that game.

Aryan had caught national attention as he was on the forefront of every sports page: "The 15-Year-Old Who Tamed Delhi."

The third match ended in a draw against Hyderabad U19. The match was, however, exciting as it was full of attacking cricket, with Aryan trying to force a result on a dead pitch.

The return leg matches saw Mumbai dominate.

The fourth match against Hyderabad was different. Mumbai won by 10 wickets. Aryan got the Player of the Match award as he took 8 wickets in the match. He was now leading the wicket-taking charts.

The 5th match against Punjab was a stalemate until Aryan, bowling the 80th over of the day with the second new ball, produced a spell of reverse swing that decimated the Punjab tail, winning it for his team.

Mumbai U19 were leading the table. Followed closely by Delhi.

The last group match between Mumbai U19 and Delhi U19 was exciting, to say the least. Full of sledging and high-quality cricket, the match ended in a draw, but Mumbai took the first-innings lead points.

Aryan had once again shown his class, scoring a century in the first innings to secure the lead. Delhi U19s were devastated as they walked off the pitch. Only one team could qualify from the group, and it seemed it wasn’t meant to be for them this year.

In the knockouts, Mumbai U19 faced Baroda U19 in the semis.

Mumbai U19 def. Baroda U19 by an innings and 50 runs.

The shock of the knockouts was Tamil Nadu U19 defeating Karnataka U19 in a high-scoring thriller.

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The Final: Mumbai U19 vs Tamil Nadu U19

The match against Tamil Nadu was a grueling match for the team. They started the match on the back foot when they conceded 400 runs in the first innings.

A stroke of genius by Aryan with the bat (135 runs) brought Mumbai back within contention, reducing the deficit.

The match continued like this for days. In the second innings, Tamil Nadu set a target of 320 to chase on Day 4.

In the final session, Aryan sent a lofted drive from outside off-stump which was dropped by the Tamil Nadu captain.

The match went into the final hour.

In the 85th over, a cut shot from Aryan was deflected off the keeper’s pads for four byes.

The scenes were amazing as Mumbai U19 won the Cooch Behar Trophy for the first time in a decade.

[Present]

And in the present moment, they were celebrating their final win against Tamil Nadu at Eden Gardens.

Mumbai U19 had lost a few players like Vikram and Harsh who were called up to the U23 squad mid-season, but they were still able to hold their own against the top associations across India.

Aryan heard a ’ding’ sound and couldn’t help but smile.

"Ding."

[Host has won the Cooch Behar Trophy Final]

Rewards:

Senior Team Call-up (Ranji Trophy Squad)

30 Stat Points

1 Trait and One Skill Shot

5/5 Star Weak Zone Proficiency (Maxed)

Aryan smiled at the screen before being woken up from his stupor by Suresh, who had broken through the U16 level after Aryan and had performed spectacularly as the new wicketkeeper.

Aryan saw that the podium was almost set up. He walked up to the other players and celebrated with them.

Aryan looked around as he thought, "I’ll probably be stepping into the real world of professional cricket after this."

The BCCI officials came to the stage and started with the individual awards.

They announced the Player of the Tournament and it was none other than Aryan, who had also won the Man of the Match in the final with his century and 6 wickets.

Aryan had tied with a batsman from Delhi for the Top Scorer award but ultimately it was given to Aryan since he had a better average and more wickets.

After the individual awards were given, Aryan received another set of notifications which he decided to check once they were on the flight back to Mumbai.

Aryan had been made Vice-Captain ever since Vikram left. And now, as Prithvi (Captain) lifted the trophy, Aryan stood right beside him, screaming in joy.

"Ganpati Bappa Morya!"

This resounding chant was heard as the Mumbai U19 players danced.

Aryan, who was celebrating, heard his name and turned towards Coach Kulkarni who was smiling at him.

"Well done Aryan, and thank you for improving my coaching resume," Coach Kulkarni said when Aryan was near.

"And although we have a break now, I hope the kids who are coming in next year perform as good as your batch."

"Oh, and the new Senior Team Coach wants you in the team after we get back," Kulkarni said, bringing Aryan out of his thoughts.

Coach Kulkarni smiled at the kid in front of him before walking off.

Aryan remembered the coaching change in the Mumbai Ranji setup in February.

He had been excited to play under the previous coach, but a string of bad results got him sacked. The new coach appointed was Praveen Amre, a Mumbai legend known for his technical acumen.

Aryan searched for Praveen Amre after picking up his phone. He was a batsman who scored a century on his Test debut in South Africa. Although Aryan was an all-rounder, he knew the coach could still help him with his batting technique against pace.

"Finally. It’s my turn," Aryan thought as he looked into the Kolkata night sky.

On the Flight to Mumbai

The plane back home was mostly quiet as the players were tired. The match had taken its toll on them and the celebrations afterwards didn’t help in that regard.

Aryan, who was still brimming with energy from the conditioning and recovery elixirs he drank, sat on his seat and the holographic image was in front of him.

[PLAYER INFO]

NAME: ARYAN SHARMA

AGE: 15

HEIGHT: 1.84m (6’1")

PROFESSION: CRICKETER

STATUS: YOUTH PROSPECT

TEAM: Mumbai U19 / Mumbai Senior Team (Pending)

SYSTEM EVALUATION: A Gem of a Player

PLAYER RATING: 76/100

POSITION: Fast-Bowling All-Rounder

POTENTIAL: 91

LEGEND POINTS: 122,800/507,000 to LV 5

SIMULATION POINTS: 300

STAT POINTS: 48

[STATS]

Speed: 80

Footwork: 77

Spatial Awareness: 75

Technique: 77

Batting: 75

Bowling: 78

Physical Strength: 75

Fielding: 65

Weak Zone Proficiency: 5 stars (Max)

Shot Creativity: 5 stars

[SKILLS POSSESSED]

Cover Drive: 92% Completion

Helicopter Shot: 82% Completion

Switch Hit: 84% Completion

Reverse Paddle: 85% Completion

Doosra (Knuckleball var.): 60% Completion

Dilscoop: 50% Completion

[TRAITS]

Improviser: Equipped

Gap Piercer: Equipped

Blitz: Equipped

Sniper: Equipped

Speedster: Equipped

Aryan looked at his stats and reflected over how much he’d grown over a year.

The System had stopped giving him stat points for daily tasks. It seemed the System didn’t want Aryan to grow exponentially by hogging up status points in the U19 level. Now the only ways he could earn stat points were after matchdays (1 point) and by winning awards.

Aryan was looking at the notifications he had received on the pitch.

Aryan first redeemed the rewards for winning the Cooch Behar Trophy. The 30 stat point reward had increased Aryan’s stat points pool to 78.

Aryan then decided to redeem his Trait and Skill Shot.

[Traits Available]

360° Player (Acrobatic Finishing): Enables host to score in flexible and unnatural positions (AB de Villiers style).

Knuckleball Specialist: Helps host to learn and master the Knuckleball delivery.

Carrom Ball: Enables host to bowl the carrom ball accurately.

Power Hitter: Adds sheer power to host’s finishing.

The Wall: 15% increase in Defensive stats.

Aryan looked at the multiple options in front of him. As a fast bowler, the Knuckleball Specialist was tempting, but as a modern batsman, being a 360° Player was invaluable.

However, he realized that to survive in the Ranji Trophy and the upcoming IPL era, he needed a lethal weapon in bowling.

He chose the Knuckleball Specialist trait. He would have loved the batting trait, but he felt that a deceptive slower ball would be helpful in his role as a death bowler.

Aryan after choosing his trait opened the other notifications.

[Congratulations to Host for becoming the MVP of the Tournament]

Reward:

10 Stat Points

1 Recovery Elixir

[Congratulations to Host for becoming Top Scorer/Wicket Taker]

Rewards:

+500 Simulation Points

Aryan stared at the second message and smiled. His stat point total was now 88. He now looked at the Simulation Points and a wide smile appeared on his face.

This was part of the upgrade the Level 5 System brought him.

Aryan could now train his Cover Drive Hits and Yorkers—and simulate matches with opponents he had played before in a Virtual Reality space. It also had a tactical aspect where it would explain any cricket tactic (like DLS method or field placements) Aryan didn’t understand.

It came at a hefty price though as it cost 50 simulation points per hour and the System hardly gave Aryan any simulation points.

Aryan decided to upgrade his stats before going to the Senior Team. He had held off on upgrading for two months and now that he was going to the Ranji team, he felt he needed to make his presence felt immediately.

Aryan opened the stats tab.

[STATS]

Speed: 80

Footwork: 77

Spatial Awareness: 75

Technique: 77

Batting: 75

Bowling: 78

Physical Strength: 75

Fielding: 65

Aryan already had [48] stats points and the rewards also gave him an extra 40 stat points making it [88] stat points in total.

Aryan first opened his Spatial Awareness Attribute.

Spatial Awareness: 75

Vision: 77

Positioning: 73

Aryan added [3] stat points to his Vision and [7] to his Positioning.

Spatial Awareness: 80

Vision: 77 > 80

Positioning: 73 > 80

Aryan moved on to his Batting Attribute.

Batting: 77 (Average)

Finishing: 78

Range Hitting: 77

Timing: 77

Placement: 77

Aryan added [4] stat points to Finishing and [3] each to Range Hitting, Timing, and Placement.

Batting: 81

Finishing: 78 > 82

Range Hitting: 77 > 80

Timing: 77 > 80

Placement: 77 > 80

Aryan moved onto his Bowling stats.

Bowling: 78

Line & Length: 82

Swing: 80

Variations: 78

Aryan once more added 3 stat points to his Line & Length, 5 to his Swing, and 7 stats points to his Variations, bringing his Bowling attribute to 85.

Bowling: 85

Line & Length: 85

Swing: 85

Variations: 85

Aryan stopped with his upgrade and thought for some time.

"I will be playing professional cricket in India’s premier first-class league, and soon the IPL. I need to have some stats that will help me with my breakthrough ability—Raw Pace."

Aryan, who had decided to do a bit of targeted upgrading, opened his Speed stat.

He looked at his Sprint Speed and Run-Up Speed which were both rated 80.

He stared for some time before adding 10 stat points to each of them.

Speed: 80 > 90

Sprint Speed: 80 > 90

Run-Up Speed: 80 > 90

(Note: 90 Speed implies bowling speeds of 145kmph+ and running like Dhoni).

Just then Aryan heard the System’s voice.

[Host seems to be doing targeted upgrading. Host must also upgrade his Body Strength to at least 80 to prevent the situation where the body can’t handle your abilities (e.g., Stress Fractures).]

Aryan hearing this information opened his Physical Strength attribute.

Aryan added 3 stat points to both Stamina and Core Strength and added 9 to Shoulder Power (Shot Power equivalent).

Physical Strength: 75 > 80

Stamina: 77 > 80

Core Strength: 77 > 80

Shoulder Power: 71 > 80

Aryan had 19 stat points left and decided to use them all on his Technique , giving 8 stat points each to the two stats.

Technique: 78 > 86

Batting Technique: 78 > 86

Bowling Technique: 78 > 86

Aryan saw his Player Information and was satisfied now that his points had been exhausted.

[PLAYER INFO]

NAME: ARYAN SHARMA

AGE: 15

HEIGHT: 1.84m (6’1")

PROFESSION: CRICKETER

STATUS: YOUTH PROSPECT / SENIOR SQUAD MEMBER

SYSTEM EVALUATION: A Gem of a Player

PLAYER RATING: 80.5/100

POSITION: Fast-Bowling All-Rounder

POTENTIAL: 90

LEGEND POINTS: 122,800/507,000 to LV 5

SIMULATION POINTS: 900

STAT POINTS: 0

[STATS]

Speed: 90

Footwork: 77

Spatial Awareness: 80

Technique: 86

Batting: 81

Bowling: 85

Physical Strength: 80

Fielding: 65

"Ding" [Host OVR is now 80]

Aryan remembered that the player with the highest rating in Mumbai (Wasim Jaffer) had an OVR of 82.

And he was now almost there at 80.5. Aryan smiled at his progress before closing his System interface.

He laid back in his seat and drifted into sleep as the plane began its descent into Mumbai.

(To be Continued)