The Compaq Cup Final. September 14, 2009. R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo.
The atmosphere was thick, not just with humidity, but with expectation. India had beaten Sri Lanka in the group stage with a record chase. Sri Lanka, stung by that defeat on home soil, was desperate for revenge.
The team sheet had one significant change. Suresh Raina was rested. In his place came the young, hungry Virat Kohli.
In the commentary box, Ravi Shastri set the scene.
"It's Final time! India versus Sri Lanka. The two best teams in Asia going head-to-head for the Compaq Cup. The toss is crucial here. The pitch looks like a batting paradise, hard and true."
---
MS Dhoni and Kumar Sangakkara met in the middle.
Dhoni flipped the coin.
"Heads," Sangakkara called.
It was Tails.
"We'll bat first," Dhoni said instantly. "Big game. Pressure of a final. We want to put runs on the board and let the scoreboard do the work."
"Good decision," Sunil Gavaskar noted. "Chasing in a final is always tricky, even if you did it two days ago. Batting first allows you to dictate terms."
The First Innings
Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid walked out.
The Sri Lankan attack—Malinga, Kulasekara, Matthews—was ready.
---
From the first ball, it was clear: Sachin Tendulkar was in the mood.
He drove Kulasekara down the ground for four in the first over. He pulled Malinga for six in the fourth.
Dravid played the perfect foil, rotating the strike.
They put on 95 runs for the first wicket.
Dravid fell in the 18th over, trapped LBW by Sanath Jayasuriya for a solid 39.
India: 95 for 1.
Siddanth Deva walked out at Number 3.
The crowd cheered, but it was a different cheer than usual. They were cheering for the "Devil," but they were bowing to God at the other end.
Siddanth met Sachin in the middle.
"Wicket is good, Sid," Sachin said, his eyes focused. "Just watch the spin. Murali will turn it."
---
Siddanth didn't try to dominate. He knew today was Sachin's day.
He played the role of the aggressor-lite.
He swept Muralitharan for four. He drove Mathews through the covers.
But he mostly gave the strike to Sachin.
Sachin was painting a masterpiece. He reached his 50 off 40 balls.
Siddanth was playing well. He moved to 42 off 35 balls.
He looked set for a big one.
In the 28th over, facing Thilan Thushara, Siddanth tried to up the ante. He stepped out to loft over long-off.
He didn't quite get the elevation.
The ball flew flat and hard. Angelo Mathews at mid-off jumped and took a stunning one-handed catch.
WICKET 2: Siddanth Deva c. Mathews b. Thushara 42.
"A sharp catch!" Tony Greig exclaimed. "Deva was looking dangerous, but Mathews plucks it out of the thin air! A good supporting hand comes to an end."
---
Yuvraj Singh (23) and MS Dhoni (25) played cameos, but they fell trying to accelerate.
Sachin finally fell in the 46th over.
He tried to paddle sweep Ajantha Mendis.
LBW.
WICKET: S. Tendulkar lbw b. Mendis 138 (133 balls).
10 Fours. 1 Six.
India: 275 for 5.
Virat Kohli walked out at Number 7.
He had 4 overs left.
He looked sharp.
He faced Malinga.
Ball 1: Virat whipped a yorker through mid-wicket. Four.
Ball 2: He ran a hard two.
He played a brilliant cameo. He wasn't slogging; he was placing and running.
He finished with 20 not out off 15 balls.
India Finished: 319 for 5.
"A commanding total!" Shastri said. "319 in a final! Sachin Tendulkar was magical. Sri Lanka has a mountain to climb."
The Second Innings
320 to win.
Sri Lanka came out swinging.
Tillakaratne Dilshan and Sanath Jayasuriya started like a train.
They smashed 60 runs in the first 8 overs.
Nehra and Ishant took a beating.
---
Dhoni brought on Harbhajan Singh.
Bhajji struck immediately, bowling Dilshan for 42.
But Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene steadied the ship.
They batted beautifully. They took the score to 150 for 2 in 25 overs.
The game was in the balance.
---
Dhoni threw the ball to Siddanth in the 28th over.
"Break this," Dhoni said. "Mahela is setting up."
Siddanth ran in. The pitch was flat, so he used the "Heavy Ball".
Over 28:
Jayawardene (on 35) tried to steer Siddanth to third man.
Siddanth bowled a cutter. It gripped and bounced.
Edge.
Dhoni took it.
WICKET 1: M. Jayawardene c. Dhoni b. Deva 35.
"The partnership breaker!" Gavaskar cheered. "Whenever India needs a wicket, Dhoni turns to Deva! He gets the big fish!"
---
With Mahela gone, the pressure mounted.
Thilina Kandamby struggled against Yuvraj's spin.
Sangakkara fought a lone battle, scoring a brilliant 60 before falling to RP Singh.
---
Sri Lanka needed 60 runs off 30 balls.
Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera were at the crease. Both could hit long balls.
Dhoni called Siddanth back.
Over 46:
Siddanth to Angelo Mathews.
Mathews tried to hit him over long-on.
Siddanth bowled the 152kph Yorker.
Mathews was late.
Clean Bowled.
WICKET 2: A. Mathews b. Deva 18.
Over 48:
Siddanth to Thisara Perera.
Perera tried to pull a short ball.
Siddanth bowled the Slower Bouncer.
Perera was through the shot early. The ball hit the toe end of the bat and looped to mid-wicket.
Virat Kohli took the catch.
WICKET 3: T. Perera c. Kohli b. Deva 12.
Siddanth finished with figures of 3 for 38 in 9 overs.
---
Rp singh cleaned up the tail.
Sri Lanka All Out: 273 (46.4 Overs).
INDIA WON BY 46 RUNS.
---
The fireworks exploded over Colombo. India had won the Tri-Series.
Ravi Shastri was at the podium.
Shastri: "A fantastic final. A total of nearly 600 runs. But the master played the master innings. The Man of the Match... Sachin Tendulkar!"
Sachin walked up to a thunderous ovation.
Shastri: "Sachin, 138. You looked in fine touch?"
Sachin: "Yes, the wicket was good. I just wanted to bat through. The partnerships with Rahul and Siddanth were crucial. Siddanth played a very mature hand today, rotating the strike and letting me play. And the way the bowlers came back... fantastic effort."
Shastri: "And the Player of the Series... for his consistent all-round performance... Siddanth Deva!"
Siddanth walked up. Another trophy for the cabinet.
Shastri: "Siddanth, you chipped in with 42, took 3 wickets. A complete performance?"
Siddanth: "I wanted to convert the start, but Sachin paaji was batting on another planet today. I just enjoyed watching him. With the ball, the cutters were working. Happy to contribute to a trophy win."
Dhoni collected the Compaq Cup. The team celebrated.
It was another trophy in the cabinet.
The juggernaut rolled on.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[OBJECTIVE COMPLETE: COMPAQ CUP WIN]
[TEMPLATE INTEGRATION: JACQUES KALLIS -> 35%]
Siddanth smiled.
---
The euphoria of the Compaq Cup victory was sweet, but as the team bus pulled into the portico of the Taj Samudra, the energy was markedly different from the World Cup frenzy. This was a professional job done well. A trophy for the cabinet, yes, but not the Holy Grail.
The "celebration" was essentially a buffet dinner in the team room. MS Dhoni clinked a glass of juice with Sachin Tendulkar, discussing the pitch variation. Yuvraj Singh cracked a few jokes about Ashish Nehra's running between the wickets, drawing laughter from the group, but by 11:30 PM, the room was emptying.
Siddanth and Virat walked back to their room.
"Good series," Virat said, placing the trophy on the nightstand. "I like this feeling, Sid. Winning."
"Get used to it," Siddanth said, setting his alarm. "6:00 AM."
Virat groaned, flopping onto his bed face-first. "Tomorrow is a rest day, yaar. Can't we sleep in?"
"Champions don't rest," Siddanth said simply, turning off the lamp. "Goodnight, Chiku."
---
The alarm blared at 6:00 AM sharp.
Siddanth was up instantly. He looked over at the other bed. A lump under the duvet groaned and tried to burrow deeper into the pillow.
Siddanth grabbed a pillow from the chair and threw it.
Thwack.
"Up," Siddanth commanded. "Leg day."
Ten minutes later, two figures in training gear walked into the hotel gym. It was deserted, smelling of rubber mats and sanitizer. The air conditioning hummed a low, steady note.
"I hate you," Virat mumbled, rubbing sleep from his eyes as he stretched his hamstrings. "It's dark outside."
"The sun is up," Siddanth corrected, loading plates onto a barbell. "And the competition is sleeping. That's why we're here."
They started with warm-ups—foam rolling, dynamic stretching. Siddanth was meticulous. He corrected Virat's posture on a simple lunge.
"Keep the chest up. Engage the core. If you wobble here, you wobble at the crease."
Then came the heavy work. Deadlifts.
Siddanth stepped up to the bar. 140kg.
He gripped the iron. He took a breath, bracing his core. He lifted. The movement was explosive, clean, and controlled.
He did five reps, the plates clanking rhythmically. He racked it, barely out of breath.
"Your turn," Siddanth said, stripping a few plates off for Virat. "20kgs. Focus on the form, not the weight."
Virat stepped up. He gripped the bar. He looked focused, the playful boy gone, replaced by the athlete.
He lifted. His form was shaky on the first rep, his back arching slightly.
"Chest up!" Siddanth barked. "Drive through the heels! Don't pull with your back!"
Virat adjusted. The second rep was better. The third was good. By the fifth, he was grimacing, sweat dripping from his nose, but he locked it out.
He dropped the bar with a loud clang and exhaled sharply. "Whoa."
"Good," Siddanth nodded. "Feel that? That's power. That's hitting a six over cover without stepping out."
They moved to the squat rack.
"So," Virat gasped between sets, "is this the secret? The 'Devil' secret?"
"Part of it," Siddanth said, spotting him. "The other part is in the head. But if the body gives up, the head can't do anything. You saw Sachin paaji yesterday? 138 runs in this humidity? He's 36. That's fitness."
Virat nodded, wiping his face with a towel. "I want that. I want to be playing when I'm 36."
"Then do another set."
They worked for an hour. It was grueling. They pushed the sled. They did box jumps until their legs felt like jelly. They did pull-ups until their lats burned.
But amidst the pain, there was laughter.
When Siddanth tripped over a resistance band, Virat laughed so hard he dropped his water bottle.
"Agility of a cat, huh?" Virat teased.
"Tactical stumble," Siddanth shot back, grinning. "Testing your reflexes."
By 7:30 AM, they were lying on the gym mats, staring at the ceiling, completely spent.
"I can't feel my legs," Virat whispered. "I'm hungry."
"Good. That means the metabolism is firing."
They sat up. Virat looked at Siddanth.
"Thanks, Sid," he said, his voice serious for a moment. "For pushing me. I wouldn't have done this alone."
Siddanth bumped his fist against Virat's shoulder. "We push each other, Chiku. That's how we win the World Cup."
They walked out of the gym, sore, sweaty, but radiating a kind of energy that the sleeping guests in the hotel couldn't comprehend.
They headed to breakfast.
"Omelet?" Virat asked.
"Omelet," Siddanth agreed. "And maybe one dosa. Just one."
"Yes!" Virat cheered. "Cheat meal!"
As they walked down the corridor, laughing about the dosa, Siddanth looked at his friend. The transformation had begun. The chubby-cheeked boy was melting away, and the fitness beast was emerging.