In a small house somewhere in the city…
The man recollected his thoughts, visibly confused. The match did not play out as it was meant to be. Wickets that weren't supposed to be lost were lost. Half centuries that weren't supposed to be scored were scored. That Ali kid… he isn't even supposed to be in the green house team! Was the timeline changing due to the influence of the system users? I'll think about that later. For now, let's think about the final. I have to make the red house win… or else that system user will become a leader of the school team and expose me as well! Asset system, give me a list of all my assets..
[Understood, sir. Here are your current assets.]
1. Coach Shastri
Market Value: -10%
2. Blue house school cricket team
Market Value: +73%
3. Ashwandeep International School
Market Value: +23%
4. Alari Penthouse
Market Value: +256%
5. Nissan Skyline GTR
Market Value: +31.34%
Not bad, not bad at all.. mark Siddarth Reddy, Hari Thootuakam and Partamesh Shet as assets, and activate asset protection mechanism.
Meanwhile, at Ali's house, Ali was enjoying his mother's specially made biriyani. His mother asked him, "How was your match? Did it go well?" Ali responded with, "We won it, mom. I almost lost. But, because we didn't give up, or stop believing, we got the win."
"That's great Ali!" His mom was happy to see his son succeed, no matter the type of success. His father however, wasn't happy, as his son had missed the optional exam conference, and said, "You should have went for the exam instead, you aren't doing well in English. The school team selection is there even in the 10th grade." Ali however, wanted to join the state cricket team as early as possible and so, did not care about some exam. His dad continued, "However, I saw that shot you hit into the tent, against that Chinnar Rai kid. The video is going viral in the parents group chat. But remember, cricket is a hobby, not a job."
Ali then remembered. He had two things to do. First, the analysis of the Red Team. The Red House vs Yellow House went as well as anyone would expect- a complete domination of the Yellow House team, courtesy of Siddarth, his deputy Hari and the umpire. The yellow house was completely ransacked of all of its good players, meaning that the Red House and its super team were able to easily finish them off, with Hari, Siddarth and Partamesh all scoring half centuries, making a target of 203. The Yellow House players were all bundled out for 73 runs, courtesy of Chirag taking five wickets in a row, however, at least 2 of the wickets were wrong lbw calls by the umpire, and many types of manipulation were noticed.
"Alright, system analyze Red House." Said Ali.
[Green House vs Red House | Ashwandeep Four Houses Final]
Key players:
Siddarth Reddy (C)
A captain who is a decent no 6 batsman and can bowl pace, played as a opener against yellow house, is dependent on biased umpiring.
Hari Thootuakum
Siddarth's deputy, highly capable No 3 known for his aggressive batting skill.
Chirag Bhangra
Fast bowler known to be used in the power play, guarantees at least one wicket per match.
Mohammad Dalal
Plays at No 4 and is capable of both anchoring and playing aggressively depending on the situation. May also have a psychological effect on the user.
Win Chance:
Red House: 87%
Green House: 13%
Note: Umpiring calls are biased against the user's team, be warned.
Of course. It was the vice principal's son. The one who always used his father's power to succeed in the school. But when he tried to do well in the school team as the captain in Ali's past life, he completely flopped, losing all of the district qualifier matches, and every match of the losers bracket. The worst loss of them all was against Excellence School and PU College, who were supposed to be a college for NEET and JEE preparation, not a cricket tournament specialising school. Their openers, Anzal Hussein and Akib Hakeem both scored centuries against them, while their bowlers Aditya N and Kamlesh both took hat-tricks, causing a complete collapse of the cricketing reputation of Ashwandeep PU College.
But Ali? He worked hard and transferred schools to St Alphonso School and PU college, where cricket was given importance over the vice principal's needs, spots in the district team qualifiers over money, and students over packages.
Meanwhile at Chinnar Rai's house, Pratyush Rai was extremely angry. "I trusted that you will get into the school team, not get out of the inter house tournament so early! I had to beg in front of the thasildhar just to contact the members of the district board! And you do this to me, get sent away by that Ali boy, right in front of my rich brothers! What will they think of me after seeing your failure!" Chinnar Rai countered with, "Dad, the team will be selected based on the performance in the tournament, not on the winners of the tournament! Don't worry, I will get selected!"
"Life isn't sports! It's in hard work and providing food on the table! You have to understand!" His father scolded.
"But dad, your reputation isn't determined by your brothers. It's determined by whether you give me a chance! I can do it. Give me a chance!" Rai begged.
Prathyush, seeing the determination in his son's eyes, remembered his past. The arguments he had with his father, the trials in the football academies. How cruel was it, when he found out, in India, only money let you into Indian football.
He had the will to fight on, the dream to return the title of "the Brazil of Asia" to India. But, when the tinkling of coins was heard, the birds of opportunity flew away. And so, he had completely lost any further chance to ever do what he wanted, which was a complete shame as he had given everything to football, his further education and even the last bit of his father's retirement fund. He didn't want to see his son do the same. But, he saw something. Maybe this time, the same thing wouldn't happen. Maybe this time, his son's talent will break through and show it's light.
"Alright. I won't change your school. But if your name isn't on the school team list, I'm changing your school so that I can save some money in your scholarship."
"Thank you, dad." Said Chinnar Rai.
Ali thought to himself, as the rotor of the fan made loud noises. "I can't lose to Siddarth or his father's influence. If it happens, my ticket to the district cricket team will disappear! Not only that, so many talented players are here, they will all lose their chances due to Sahwit. If I lose here, all of them will disappear along with me."
Ali took the phone and called Manish. "Hello?" Came the voice from the other side of the phone. "Let's discuss a strategy for tomorrow's game." Ali said. "Don't you mean show?" Said Manish.
They discussed for hours on end, ready to, abeit unknowingly, save the reputation of the college.
TO BE CONTINUED