Everything changed once the tournament officially started.

Practice cricket ended.

Now every run mattered.

Every wicket mattered.

Every mistake stayed recorded permanently.

INTER-SCHOOL PREMIER CUP — SEASON 12

Official Format: T20

Teams: 20 Schools

Structure: International league-style format

Tournament System

Each group contains 5 schools.

Every team plays: 8 League Matches

Format: Home & Away Style Group Fixtures

(Each team plays every group opponent twice.)

Qualification Rules

Top 2 teams from each group qualify for: Quarterfinals

Then: Quarterfinals → Semifinals → Final

Important Tournament Notice

District cricket scouts will attend:

✔ Quarterfinals

✔ Semifinals

✔ Final

Purpose: Selection monitoring for District Under-19 Trials.

The moment that notice spread—

pressure inside school camps exploded instantly.

Because now—

this tournament wasn’t just about trophies.

It could directly affect cricket careers.

TOURNAMENT GROUPS GROUP A Shastri Senior Secondary School DAV Sector 8 Green Valley Academy National Model School Crescent Academy GROUP B St. Xavier’s School Sunrise Academy Modern Public Academy Riverdale School Scholars International GROUP C Army Public School Bright Future Academy City Public School Horizon International Royal Scholars School GROUP D Elite Commerce School Pinnacle Academy Lakewood School Future Heights Academy Cambridge Senior School

Tournament fixtures immediately became school gossip everywhere.

Students discussed predictions during lunch breaks.

Teachers asked cricket scores before class.

Even Riverside boys started following Shastri School officially now.

And honestly—

Sahil felt excited.

Not nervous.

Excited.

Because this was the first time his cricket would truly matter outside practice circles.

That evening—

the system activated again while Sahil trained alone.

This time—

the entire interface expanded sharply across his vision.

Bright blue.

Detailed.

Like a professional player dashboard.

OFFICIAL TOURNAMENT STATUS

Competition Level: HIGH SCHOOL ELITE

Tournament Tracking: ACTIVE

Official Statistics: ACTIVE

Achievement Pathways: ACTIVE

Scout Observation Risk: LOCKED UNTIL QUARTERFINALS

Then his full status appeared.

PLAYER STATUS WINDOW SAHIL CHOUDHARY

Age: 17

School: Shastri Senior Secondary School

Primary Role: POWER HITTER

Secondary Role: FINISHER

Current Tournament Reputation: Dangerous Middle-Order Batter

CORE BATTING STATS

Power: 70

Timing: 51

Control: 31

Defense: 16

Mental Toughness: 21

PHYSICAL STATS

Endurance: 27

Agility: 14

Recovery: 11 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

ACTIVE SPECIALIZED SKILL PULL SHOT

Current Mastery: BEGINNER MASTERY

EXP: 17 / 100

Pull Shot Benefits

✔ Better control against short balls

✔ Increased leg-side boundary conversion

✔ Faster bat acceleration horizontally

Current Weakness

✘ Hook variation unstable

✘ Top-edge risk under pressure

Then mission progress appeared underneath.

ACTIVE LONG-TERM MISSIONS PERFECT TIMING PATHWAY

Objective: 1,000 Perfect Timed Connections

Current Progress: 118 / 1000

Completion Rate: 11.8%

Reward: +20 Timing

CONTROLLED VIOLENCE

Objective: 300 Technically Controlled Pull Shots

Progress: 74 / 300

Reward: Pull Shot EXP

TOURNAMENT PUNISHER

Objective: 25 Pull-Shot Boundaries in Official Matches

Current Progress: 0 / 25

Reward: +2 Power

SIX-HITTER PATHWAY

⚠ OFFICIAL TOURNAMENT SIXES ONLY COUNT

Current Total: 0

Next Milestone: 100 Official Tournament Sixes

Reward: UNKNOWN

The system finally displayed one last section.

CURRENT PLAYER ANALYSIS

Street Cricket: DOMINANT

School Practice Circuit: HIGH-LEVEL MATCH WINNER

Official Tournament Level: UNPROVEN

District-Level Projection: RAW HIGH POTENTIAL

That word stayed in Sahil’s head afterward.

Unproven.

Because despite all his practice-match numbers—

official tournaments created different pressure.

Commentary.

Crowds.

Records.

Expectations.

And yes—

this tournament even had live commentary for major grounds.

Senior students with microphones.

Local sports volunteers.

Basic score broadcasting through speakers.

Which meant every big shot sounded louder.

Every failure sounded worse.

ROUND 1 FIXTURE

Shastri School vs Crescent Academy

Venue: Central School Ground

The team bus ride felt different from practice-match days.

Quieter.

Focused.

Ravi Mehta sat beside Sahil cleaning gloves carefully.

"You think they’ll bowl short immediately?"

Sahil shrugged slightly.

"Probably."

Ravi smirked.

"Good. More pull shots."

Ravi’s role had grown massively in the squad too.

Not superstar level like Sahil or Kabir.

But reliable.

Flexible.

Useful under pressure.

Exactly the kind of player winning teams needed.

When the team reached the venue—

Sahil noticed tournament atmosphere instantly.

Boundary ropes.

Commentary speakers.

Official scorers.

Crowd sections.

Printed playing XIs.

And for the first time—

he heard his name through commentary speakers.

"Player to watch today— Sahil Choudhary from Shastri School. Explosive middle-order batter with outstanding strike rate during practice circuit."

Honestly?

That felt unreal.