One good IPL match made you exciting.
Two made you visible.
By the third—
Teams started planning.
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## 🏟️ IPL MATCH 2 – RCB vs DELHI DAREDEVILS
**Venue:** Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
**Pitch:** Slower, abrasive
**Opposition Plan:** Cut off pace, force risk
Aarav knew before the toss.
The field placements said everything.
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## 🧠 SYSTEM LIVE BOOT – OPPOSITION ADAPTATION DETECTED
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**Threat Analysis:**
➡ Slower balls early
➡ Deep point + deep cover
➡ Short midwicket in play
**Objective Update:**
➡ Rotation over domination
➡ Make bowlers impatient
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## 🏏 EARLY PHASE – RESTRICTION
**Score at Entry:** 21/1
**Over:** 4
The ball didn't come on.
No free drives.
No easy pulls.
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### BALL-BY-BALL SNAPSHOT (INITIAL 12 BALLS)
- 6 dots
- 4 singles
- 1 forced two
Crowd restless.
Aarav wasn't.
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## 😄 MID-PITCH MOMENT
Misbah murmured,
"They think you'll swing."
Aarav replied,
"Let them wait."
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## 🔄 TEMPLATE SWITCH – CONTROL MODE
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- Soft hands into gaps
- Late dabs past point
- Inside edges accepted
The scoreboard moved.
Slowly.
Safely.
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## 📊 INNINGS SUMMARY – MATCH 2
**Aarav Malhotra:**
- Runs: **41**
- Balls: **36**
- Strike Rate: Controlled
RCB posted **168/7**
Won by **12 runs**.
Not flashy.
But decisive.
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## 🧠 SYSTEM UPDATE
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✔ Pressure Handling: CONFIRMED
✔ Ego Suppression: ACTIVE
**Next Test:**
➡ Back-to-back matches
➡ Fatigue + Expectations
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## 🏟️ IPL MATCH 3 – RCB vs CHENNAI SUPER KINGS
**Venue:** Chennai
**Opposition Core:**
➡ Muralitharan
➡ Albie Morkel
Spin.
Crowd.
Heat.
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## 🧠 PRE-MATCH ADJUSTMENT
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**Spin Density:** HIGH
**Boundary Size:** LARGE
**Key Instruction (Dravid):**
"Take Murali deep."
Aarav nodded.
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## 🏏 SPIN TRIAL BY FIRE
Murali tossed it up early.
A test.
Aarav didn't charge.
He waited.
Late bat.
Soft hands.
Single.
Single.
Two.
The crowd quietened.
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## 🔥 MOMENT OF AUTHORITY
Overpitched from Murali.
Aarav stepped out—not hard.
Lofted straight.
**SIX.**
Kallis whistled from the non-striker's end.
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## 📊 INNINGS SUMMARY – MATCH 3
**Aarav Malhotra:**
- Runs: **54**
- Balls: **40**
- Fours: 5
- Sixes: 2
RCB chased **171** successfully.
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## 🧠 LEAGUE PHASE STATUS – AFTER 3 MATCHES
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Matches: 3
Runs: 157
Average: 52.33
✔ Different pitches
✔ Different attacks
✔ Same output
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## 📺 COMMENTARY SHIFT
"He's not reacting to the format," one analyst said.
"He's controlling it," another replied.
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## 🧭 END-OF-CHAPTER STATUS
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✔ IPL ADJUSTMENT PHASE: COMPLETE
✔ BOWLER TARGETING: INCOMING
**NEXT CHAPTER:**
➡ Teams bowl short + wide
➡ Aarav counterpunches
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The IPL had stopped testing his talent.
Now it was testing his **repeatability**.
And that—
Was where careers were made.
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