The semifinal began before NITK was involved.
Rudra sat on the concrete steps of the stadium, school cap pulled low, a steel bottle resting beside him. The sun hadn't reached its peak yet, but the air already felt tense—like the ground itself knew what was coming.
FTS Sports School vs SAM Public School.
This wasn't a contest people expected to be close.
And it wasn't.
First Innings — Controlled Destruction
FTS batted first.
Their openers walked in without rush.
Sameer Malik took guard, loosened his shoulders, and never once looked at the field.
At the other end, Irfan Qureshi smiled between deliveries, calling singles before the ball even reached the bat.
Rudra watched carefully.
Sameer didn't swing hard.
He swung late.
Every shot pierced the field, not lifted over it.
Irfan rotated relentlessly—ones, twos, constant pressure.
Batting Pattern Recognition Logged
The bowlers tried pace.
Sameer waited.
They tried spin.
Irfan stepped out early, killing drift.
The scoreboard climbed without drama.
Middle Overs — No Mercy, No Panic
When the openers fell, the tempo didn't drop.
Varun Khanna walked in next.
No flourish.
No glance at the crowd.
He took five balls to settle.
Then began working the gaps—square, third man, deep cover.
Nothing extravagant.
Just precision.
Rudra's eyes narrowed.
This was different.
Varun didn't dominate the bowler.
He dominated time.
Tactical Awareness
Lv 02 (38 / 100 EXP) → (44 / 100 EXP)
FTS crossed a score that would've broken most teams.
Still, no celebration.
Just bats placed neatly. Gloves adjusted.
Second Innings — Pressure Without Collapse
SAM began their chase.
They lost an early wicket.
Then another.
Their captain tried to attack, failed.
Fielders closed in.
Boundaries vanished.
Rudra noticed something unsettling.
FTS didn't need miracles.
They didn't dive unnecessarily.
They didn't shout.
They didn't rush.
They let pressure rot the innings from inside.
Competitive Awareness
Lv 01 (9 / 100 EXP) → (17 / 100 EXP)
Varun bowled briefly—just two overs.
Economical. Surgical.
A single wicket. Enough.
End of Match
FTS won by a margin too large to argue with.
Sameer was named MVP.
Varun didn't react.
He simply shook hands and walked off.
As FTS passed the NITK section, Varun's eyes met Rudra's.
Just for a second.
No smile this time.
Just acknowledgement.
Not of talent.
Of threat.
Reflection
That evening, Rudra replayed the match in his head.
FTS didn't win by aggression.
They won by removing options.
No loose balls.
No panic.
No wasted movements.
He understood now.
This was the standard he would be measured against.
Focus
Lv 06 (74 / 100 EXP) → (79 / 100 EXP)
Not because he played.
But because he learned.
Rudra lay back, staring at the ceiling.
The semifinal wasn't just about skill.
It was about whether his numbers could survive this level of calm.
And for the first time since the tournament began,
he felt something close to urgency.
Not fear.
A deadline.
Technique Without Strength
The nets were quiet that morning.
Not empty—just restrained.
The kind of silence that settled when players stopped talking and started measuring themselves.
Rudra arrived early, kit slung over one shoulder. The pitch under the practice nets was harder than usual, the kind that rewarded clean contact and punished hesitation.
Coach Prakash stood with his arms folded.
"Fast bowlers today," he said. "No throwdowns."
That was enough warning.
Facing Pace
The first bowler was Naveen Rao, tall for his age, awkward action, sharp off the surface.
The ball came quicker than Rudra expected.
Not unplayable.
Just… heavier.
He leaned into the first drive—perfect alignment, full face of the bat.
The timing felt clean.
The ball reached the fielder on the bounce.
No power.
Batting Timing
Lv 01 (49 / 100 EXP) → (52 / 100 EXP)
Correct shot.
Correct execution.
Insufficient output.
Rudra noted it without frustration.
Repeated Truth
Ball after ball, the pattern repeated.
Straight drive—fielded.
Cover drive—stopped inside the circle.
Late cut—single.
The system stayed honest.
No extra EXP for beauty.
Only for effectiveness.
Shot Selection
Lv 01 (28 / 100 EXP) → (31 / 100 EXP)
Naveen smiled faintly after one delivery.
"Good shots," he said. "You don't hurt us."
Rudra nodded.
"That's fair."
Short Ball Test
Next came Harish Kulkarni, shorter, quicker, liked the bouncer.
The first short ball climbed awkwardly.
Rudra swayed away—clean.
Second one came again.
He rolled his wrists, dropped it at his feet.
Safe.
But passive.
Reflex
Lv 05 (13 / 100 EXP) → (18 / 100 EXP)
Still, the boundary didn't come.
Understanding the Gap
Between balls, Rudra stood still, bat resting against his pad.
The adult part of his mind understood instantly.
Technique has reached its current ceiling.
Power hadn't caught up yet.
Muscle. Mass. Leverage.
Things time had to earn.
No shortcut. No hack.
The system reflected it plainly.
Strength
Lv 02 (18 / 100 EXP) — unchanged
No punishment.
No pity.
Just truth.
Coach's Words
Coach Prakash called a break.
He walked over, eyes sharp but calm.
"You play like someone older," he said. "That's good."
Then, after a pause:
"But your body isn't."
Rudra met his gaze.
"I know."
Prakash nodded, satisfied.
"Then don't force what isn't ready. Survive. Rotate. Field well. Your time will come."
End of Session
Rudra finished with a final over—no boundaries, but no mistakes.
He walked out of the net breathing evenly.
Overall EXP
+46 (practice accumulation)
That evening, he wrote one line in his notebook:
Power is borrowed. Timing is earned.
He closed the book.
The numbers hadn't jumped.
But the ceiling had become visible.
And once you saw a ceiling, you could plan how to break it—
patiently, legally, honestly.