The grey London skies over Lord's Cricket Ground had cleared just enough to allow a pale, watery sun to illuminate the hallowed turf. It was June 14, 2009. A Sunday. The Super 8s clash between the hosts, England, and the defending champions, India.
The atmosphere was a sonic war. The Barmy Army, fueled by warm beer and patriotism, was chanting from the Tavern Stand. The Bharat Army, armed with dhol drums and tricolors, was roaring from the Compton Stand. It was a home game for England, but in London, India never truly played "away."
Up in the commentary box, the glass window vibrated with the noise.
"Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the Home of Cricket!" David 'Bumble' Lloyd's enthusiastic Lancashire burr kicked off the broadcast. "It's the big one! England versus India. The hosts versus the holders. The atmosphere is absolutely crackling! It's a full house, not a spare seat in the house, and the noise is deafening!"
"Absolutely, Bumble," Nasser Hussain joined in, his voice sharp and analytical. "This is a must-win for England. They've looked shaky. India, on the other hand, just chased down 180 against the West Indies right here two days ago. They are confident. They have momentum."
The Toss
MS Dhoni and Paul Collingwood walked out to the middle, both looking grim. The pitch had a tinge of green, likely to offer early assistance before flattening out.
Collingwood flipped the coin.
"Tails," Dhoni called.
It was Tails.
"We'll bowl first," Dhoni said, his voice calm amidst the roar. "There's a bit of moisture. We want to use the conditions early on."
"No surprises there," Ravi Shastri said from the boundary edge. "Dhoni backs his chasers. And with the form his batting lineup is in, why wouldn't he?"
The First Innings
The Indian team huddled.
"Zak, Sid," Dhoni said, tossing the white Duke ball between his hands. "You know the drill. Test match lengths. Make them drive."
Over 1: Siddanth Deva took the new ball.
He marked his run-up. He didn't need to bowl 150kph today. The Duke ball would do the work if he respected it.
He ran in. 142kph. Outswinger.
Ravi Bopara, opening for England, let it go.
Siddanth bowled six deliveries on a perfect fourth-stump line.
3 run.
Over 2: Zaheer Khan.
Zak was a master in these conditions. He brought the ball back into the left-handed Luke Wright.
Ball 2: A perfect inswinger. Wright's feet were stuck in cement. He played down the wrong line.
Thud. The pad.
The umpire's finger went up instantly.
WICKET 1: L. Wright lbw b. Khan 1.
"Beautiful bowling!" Hussain cried. "Zaheer Khan is a wizard in England! Late swing, perfectly pitched. England is under pressure immediately!"
Over 3: Siddanth again.
Kevin Pietersen (KP) walked in. The crowd roared.
KP stood tall, that high backlift intimidating bowlers worldwide.
Siddanth wasn't intimidated. He wanted to bowl a bouncer. But his mind said No. Patience.
He bowled a heavy ball, back of a length, nipping in.
KP tried to force it through mid-wicket but was cramped. Inside edge onto the pad.
Siddanth conceded just 4 runs.
Over 4: Zaheer Khan.
He kept it tight.
By the end of the 4th over, the score was astonishing.
England: 18 for 1.
"They are being suffocated!" Shastri noted. "18 runs in 4 overs in a T20? That is unheard of! Deva and Khan are bowling in tandem like a dream. No boundaries conceded!"
With the openers shackled, Pietersen and Bopara decided to consolidate. They stopped trying to hit out and started rotating the strike.
The Indian spinners—Harbhajan and Ojha—came on. KP used his reach to sweep and drive. Bopara found the gaps.
They built a partnership. The score moved to 70 for 1 in 9 overs. The danger signs were flashing. KP was looking ominous on 35.
Over 10: Ravindra Jadeja came into the attack.
"Dhoni turns to the 'Rockstar'," Bumble said. "Jadeja bowls darts. Very hard to get away."
Bopara, frustrated by the lack of boundaries, saw the flight. He stepped out, trying to launch Jadeja over long-on.
Jadeja fired it in flat.
Bopara missed the flight completely.
Clack.
The stumps were messed up.
WICKET 2: R. Bopara b. Jadeja 30.
"Bowled him!" Shastri shouted. "Jadeja breaks the stand! Bopara tried to manufacture a shot that wasn't there. England's momentum is checked again!"
With Bopara gone, the pressure mounted on KP. He tried to take on Harbhajan and was caught at deep mid-wicket by Rohit Sharma.
WICKET 3: KP Out.
England began to slide.
Owais Shah run out. Paul Collingwood caught behind off Yusuf Pathan.
The score was 135 for 6 in 17 overs.
The Death: Siddanth Returns
Dhoni threw the ball back to Siddanth for the 18th over.
"Close it out, Sid. Yorkers."
Siddanth ran in. James Foster, the wicketkeeper, was on strike. He was a cheeky player, looking for scoops.
Ball 1: 151kph. Wide yorker. Foster missed.
Ball 2: 149kph. Into the blockhole. Foster dug it out for a single.
Ball 3: Mascarenhas on strike. 110kph Slower Ball. Mascarenhas swung early, missed. Dot.
Ball 4: James Foster back on strike.
Siddanth saw Foster shuffle, trying to play the paddle scoop.
Siddanth didn't follow him. He aimed for the leg stump.
150kph.
Foster missed the scoop. The ball smashed into his back leg, right in front of the stumps.
"HOWZAT!"
The umpire didn't hesitate.
WICKET 4: J. Foster lbw b. Deva 8.
"Plumb!" Hussain said definitively. "You cannot play those fancy shots to extreme pace if you don't connect! Deva was too quick and too straight. That's a crucial wicket."
Siddanth finished his spell.
4 overs, 19 runs, 1 wicket.
Economy: 4.75.
England scrambled a few runs in the last over off Zaheer.
England Total: 153 for 7.
"153 is competitive," Bumble summarized at the break. "But with the way India chased against West Indies, England will feel they are 20 runs short. Siddanth Deva was the pick of the bowlers again. Just 19 runs!"
The Second Innings
154 to win. The lights were on at Lord's. The clouds had gathered again.
Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma walked out. Rohit, continuing to open in Sehwag's absence, looked determined.
The Start
Ryan Sidebottom, looking like a heavy metal guitarist with his long curly hair, took the new ball. He swung it.
Gambhir struggled. He played and missed twice.
Over 4:
Gambhir tried to force a length ball through covers. The ball stopped on him a bit. He chipped it straight to mid-off.
WICKET 1: G. Gambhir c. Anderson b. Sidebottom 12.
India: 20 for 1.
"And England strikes early!" Hussain cheered. "Gambhir gone! Now, who comes in? It's the man of the tournament so far. Siddanth Deva."
Siddanth walked out. The crowd chanted his name. "SID-DU! SID-DU!"
He took guard. He met Rohit in the middle.
"Pitch is a bit two-paced, Sid," Rohit said. "Ball is stopping."
"Understood," Siddanth said. "We play straight."
Siddanth started cautiously. He respected Sidebottom and James Anderson.
He played with Sleight of Hand, dropping the ball into the off-side for quick singles.
Rohit, however, was in the mood.
He pulled Stuart Broad for a massive six over square leg. He drove Anderson down the ground.
Siddanth was happy to play second fiddle. He rotated the strike, giving Rohit the lead.
They put on 50 runs quickly.
India: 70 for 1 in 8 overs.
Over 9:
Graeme Swann, the off-spinner, came on.
Rohit tried to sweep him. He got a top edge. The ball ballooned to short fine leg.
WICKET 2: R. Sharma c. Foster b. Swann 35.
India: 89 for 2.
Siddanth was on 30 runs.
Suresh Raina walked in. He looked jittery.
He faced two balls. On the third, Stuart Broad bowled a bouncer. Raina took his eyes off it. It hit the glove and popped to the keeper.
WICKET 3: S. Raina c. Foster b. Broad 2.
India: 91 for 3.
Ravindra Jadeja walked out. He was young, inexperienced at this level.
Siddanth met him halfway.
"Jaddu," Siddanth said, gripping Jadeja's shoulder. "Listen to me. No heroics. No big shots. The ball is gripping. If we lose another wicket now, we panic. Just play calm. Singles. Twos. Stay with me."
Jadeja nodded, his eyes wide behind his sunglasses. "Okay, Sid. Calm."
What followed was a frustrating, but necessary, period of play.
Jadeja struggled to time the ball. He swung and missed. He mistimed drives.
The crowd groaned. The run rate climbed.
But Siddanth kept talking to him. "It's okay. Stay there. Don't throw it away."
Siddanth took the pressure. When he got the strike, he found the boundary.
He cut Swann for four. He drove Broad for four.
He moved to 40. Then 45.
Jadeja played a gritty, ugly innings. He scored 25 runs off 35 balls. It wasn't pretty, but it stopped the collapse. It tired the bowlers.
In the 16th over, Jadeja finally tried to hit out and was caught at long-on.
WICKET 4: R. Jadeja out.
India: 125 for 4.
Equation: 29 runs needed off 24 balls.
Siddanth was on 48.
Yuvraj Singh walked in. The finisher.
"This is perfectly poised," Shastri said. "29 off 24. Deva is the key. Yuvraj is the power. England needs a wicket."
Over 17
Siddanth was on strike.
Ball 1: Anderson bowled full.
Siddanth leaned into it. A classic, high-elbow cover drive.
The ball raced through the infield.
FOUR.
FIFTY for Siddanth Deva.
His third consecutive 50+ score in international cricket (including the 75* in Sri Lanka).
He raised his bat calmly. No histrionics. Job not done.
Ball 2: Single.
Yuvraj on strike.
Yuvraj smashed a Four through mid-wicket.
Over 18 (Stuart Broad):
18 runs needed.
Siddanth faced Broad.
Broad tried the bouncer.
Siddanth didn't pull. He tennis-swatted it over mid-on.
FOUR.
The pressure evaporated.
Yuvraj hit a six in the next over.
The Winning Moment
Over 19:
2 runs to win.
Siddanth on strike. He was on 54.
Sidebottom bowled a yorker.
Siddanth opened the face.
He guided it past point.
The ball raced to the boundary.
FOUR.
India Won by 6 wickets.
Siddanth Deva: 58 (42 balls).*
Yuvraj Singh: 15 (8 balls).*
The Presentation
The Indian players hugged Siddanth. He had anchored the chase perfectly.
Nasser Hussain stood at the presentation.
Hussain: "A professional chase from India. And the Man of the Match... for a brilliant spell of 1/19 and an unbeaten 58... Siddanth Deva!"
Siddanth walked up. He looked relieved.
Hussain: "Siddanth, that was a different kind of innings today. When Raina got out, and Jadeja was struggling to time it, what was going through your mind?"
Siddanth wiped his face. "When Raina fell, I knew I couldn't get out. Jaddu was finding it tough because the ball was stopping, so I told him just to stay with me. We needed a partnership, even if it was slow. If we had lost another wicket there, England would have been all over us."
Hussain: "You played the senior partner role perfectly. And the bowling? 19 runs in 4 overs at Lord's is special."
"The conditions helped. The ball was doing a bit. I just tried to hit the splice of the bat. Restricting them to 153 was a great effort by the whole bowling unit."
Hussain: "You're through to the next stage. The defense is on track."
"It is. One game at a time."
Sony Max Studio:
Navjot Singh Sidhu: "My friend! He is the Ice Man! The world was crumbling around him, Jadeja was stuck in first gear, but Deva? He was driving a Rolls Royce! He waited, he calculated, and he delivered! That 58 is worth a hundred in these conditions!"
Harsha Bhogle: "It shows his range. He can hit 134 off 44 balls, and he can score 58 off 42 when the team needs stability. That is the hallmark of a great player."
Back in Hyderabad:
It was 10 PM.
Vikram Deva turned off the TV.
"He played like Dravid today, Sesi," Vikram said, smiling. "He played with his brain."
"He won," Sesikala said simply. "That is what matters."
In the Dressing Room:
Yuvraj Singh sat next to Siddanth.
"You saved us there, kid," Yuvraj said, unstrapping his pads. "If you had panicked when Jaddu was blocking... we were dead."
Siddanth drank his recovery shake. "Jaddu did his job. He stayed. That's all we needed."
Jadeja looked over, looking relieved. "Thanks, Sid. I couldn't time a thing today, because of nerves."
"Happens," Siddanth said. "Next game, you'll hit three sixes."
The team bus rolled out of Lord's.
Two wins in the Super 8s.
The Semi-Finals were calling.
And Siddanth Deva was leading the charge.