The skies over Centurion were a bruised purple, heavy with the promise of a Highveld storm. It was September 28, 2009. The match: India vs. Australia. The Defending Champions against the T20 World Champions.
The air was cooler than the Pakistan match, but the heat was strictly on the field.
The Pre-Match Commentary
Ravi Shastri: "Good morning from a gloomy SuperSport Park. The clouds are hanging low, threatening to spoil the party, but down in the middle, the heat is rising. India, fresh from that emotional win over Pakistan, takes on the mighty Aussies."
Ian Chappell: "That's right, Ravi. The key battle today is the Indian bowling against this Australian top order. Watson has been in form, but young Siddanth Deva... I watched him against Pakistan. He's got fire. If the ball swings today under these clouds, he's going to be a handful."
Shastri: "The news from the center is that the toss is about to happen. Dhoni and Ponting are walking out."
---
MS Dhoni and Ricky Ponting stood on the pitch. Ponting looked at the sky, chewing his gum furiously.
Dhoni flipped the coin.
"Heads," Ponting barked.
It was Tails.
"We'll bowl," Dhoni said immediately.
Michael Holding (at the toss): "Bowling first, MS? Is it the weather?"
Dhoni: "Yeah, Mikey. The D/L method (Duckworth-Lewis) is always tricky. If it rains, we want to know the target. Plus, there is moisture in the pitch. We want to exploit the first 10 overs."
Inside the Indian huddle, Dhoni was clear.
"Look boys, the weather isn't in our hands," Dhoni said, looking at the clouds. "Nehra-brother, Sid... you will get swing. Use it. We need wickets at the top."
The Opening Spell
The Australian openers walked out. Shane Watson, broad-shouldered and powerful, and Tim Paine, the wicketkeeper-batsman.
Siddanth took the first over. He was accurate, swinging the ball away from Paine, who played cautiously.
Over 1: Siddanth Deva
Siddanth marked his run-up. He was opening the bowling today.
He looked at Paine.
Watson was a front-foot player. He liked to hit through the line.
Ball 1: 142kph. Outswinger.
Paine played and scored one run.
Ball 2: 144kph. Seaming away.
Watson poked at it. Beaten.
Siddanth walked back, staring at Watson.
"His feet aren't moving," Virat Kohli shouted from cover point. "Trap him, Sid!"
1 run off the first over.
Over 3: Siddanth
Watson was getting restless. He wanted to feel bat on ball.
Ball 1:
Siddanth saw Watson shuffling across, aiming to flick him through mid-wicket to break the shackles.
Siddanth adjusted his wrist at the last second. He didn't bowl the outswinger.
He bowled the Nip-Backer. 146kph.
It pitched on a good length and jagged back in sharply.
Watson's front foot planted, but his bat came down across the line, looking for the leg side.
He missed.
The ball crashed into the top of the middle stump.
WICKET 1: S. Watson b. Deva 0 (7 balls).
Siddanth roared, punching the air. Virat Kohli ran in and jumped on him.
"Bola tha na!" Kohli screamed. "He was stuck! Great ball, Sid!"
Commentary:
Ian Chappell: "Cleaned him up! That is a Ripper! It came back in a mile! Watson was playing for the swing, but Deva cut him in half. That is high-class bowling from the youngster!"
Ravi Shastri: "The Devil strikes early! Watson gone for a duck! Australia 4 for 1. And look who walks in now. The Punter. Ricky Ponting."
---
Ricky Ponting walked out. The Australian captain. The man with over 10,000 ODI runs.
He looked at Siddanth. He didn't smile. He adjusted his helmet, marked his guard, and tapped the bat hard.
Thud. Thud.
Siddanth ran in.
He bowled a bouncer. 148kph.
Ponting didn't flinch. He swiveled and pulled it.
The ball flew to the square leg boundary. One bounce. FOUR.
It was a statement. I am not Watson.
Siddanth smiled wryly. Okay, Punter. Game on.
---
It was a battle of attrition.
Nehra and Siddanth bowled beautifully. They beat the bat, they hit the pads, but Ponting and Paine survived.
Paine was surprisingly solid, leaving well and driving the over-pitched balls.
Ponting was aggressive, looking to steal singles, putting pressure on the fielders.
By the end of the 10th Over, Australia was 48 for 1.
It was a shared session. India had the wicket; Australia had stabilized.
Dhoni took Siddanth off.
"Accha spell tha," Dhoni said, patting his back. "Break lele. Spinners ko aane de." (Good spell. Take a break. Let the spinners come.)
---
With the ball getting older and the sun briefly peeking through the clouds, the pitch flattened out.
Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra came on.
This was where Ponting was a master. He used his feet against the spinners, milking them for ones and twos, never letting the pressure build.
Tim Paine grew in confidence. He reached his 50 with a cut shot off Mishra.
Partnership: They added 80 runs.
Australia moved to 82 for 1 in 18 overs.
Dhoni needed a wicket. He brought back Ishant Sharma.
In the 20th Over, Ishant bowled a slower ball.
Tim Paine tried to loft it over mid-off. He mistimed it.
Praveen Kumar took a simple catch.
WICKET 2: T. Paine c. Praveen b. Ishant 56.
Mike Hussey walked in. "Mr. Cricket."
If India thought the wicket would slow them down, they were wrong. Hussey was busy from ball one.
He and Ponting ran like hares between the wickets.
Ponting reached his 50.
---
In the 24th Over, Dhoni brought Siddanth back.
Ponting was on 65. He was looking ominous.
Siddanth came round the wicket.
He bowled a short ball, directed at the body.
Ponting went for the pull again. But the ball skidded off the surface quicker than expected.
It hit the splice of the bat.
The ball lobbed gently to short mid-wicket.
Suresh Raina dived forward and took it inches from the ground.
WICKET 3: R. Ponting c. Raina b. Deva 65.
Commentary:
Sunil Gavaskar: "The big fish is gone! Deva does it again! Ponting was looking set for a hundred, but the extra pace of Deva hurried him. A huge moment in the game!"
---
Australia was 180 for 3 in 32 overs.
Cameron White joined Mike Hussey.
With 18 overs left, they decided to launch.
Hussey was brilliant. He reverse-swept Harbhajan. He drove Nehra.
Cameron White, a powerful hitter, smashed Ishant for a massive six over long-on.
---
Hussey reached his 50 off just 45 balls.
Australia crossed 200.
The Clouds Return
As the 42nd over began, the sky turned almost black. The floodlights were on full power, but the natural light was fading fast. A cold wind swept across the ground.
Dhoni looked at the D/L sheet. He looked worried.
"Jaldi over khatam karo!" Dhoni shouted to the bowlers. "Spinners lagao agar pace slow ho rahi hai!" (Finish the overs quickly! Put on spinners if pace is slow!)
In the 41st Over, RP Singh bowled a yorker.
Mike Hussey tried to dig it out but got an inside edge.
WICKET 4: M. Hussey b. RP Singh 67.
Callum Ferguson walked in.
Cameron White was on 35, looking dangerous.
Then, the first drop fell.
It was the size of a coin.
Then another.
Within seconds, it wasn't raining; it was pouring. A sheet of water swept across the stadium.
The umpires didn't wait. They ripped the bails off.
"Covers! Covers!" the ground staff screamed, sprinting onto the field.
The players ran off. Siddanth, jogging towards the pavilion, looked up. The sky was relentless. It wasn't a passing shower. This was a storm.
Commentary during the rain:
Ravi Shastri: "And the heavens have opened up in Centurion. This is torrential. The players are off. Australia is 234 for 4 in 42.3 overs. It's a very competitive score, but India hasn't had a chance to bat yet."
Ian Chappell: "If this washes out, it's a point each."
---
For three hours, the rain hammered down. The outfield turned into a lake. Even the SuperSoppers, the best in the world, looked helpless against the deluge.
The players sat in the dressing room.
Siddanth and Virat were playing table tennis in the players' lounge, trying to kill time, but the mood was tense.
Dhoni stood by the window, watching the rain, his face grim.
At 8:30 PM, the umpires walked out with umbrellas. They squelched across the outfield. They spoke for thirty seconds.
They waved their hands.
MATCH ABANDONED.
Post-Match Presentation (Indoor):
Since there was no result, there was no Man of the Match, but the captains were interviewed.
Ravi Shastri: "MS, a frustrating end?"
Dhoni: "Very frustrating. You prepare for a big game, you get into a good position, and then the weather intervenes. We felt 234 was chaseable. The pitch was flattening out. But we can't control the rain."
Shastri: "This makes the group interesting. You have to win the next one against West Indies and hope for the best."
Dhoni: "Yes, it's a knockout for us now. We have to win big."
Ricky Ponting: "We got a decent score. Hussey played beautifully. We would have liked to bowl at them, but a point is better than a loss. We move on."
---
The team packed their kit bags in silence. A washout felt like a defeat.
Siddanth sat next to Virat Kohli.
"1 point," Virat muttered. "Useless."
"It keeps us alive," Siddanth said, checking the points table on his phone. "But now the Pakistan vs Australia game matters. If Australia beats Pakistan, and we beat West Indies, it comes down to Net Run Rate."
Dhoni clapped his hands.
"Sunno sab log," (Listen everyone,) Dhoni said. "Jo hona tha ho gaya. (What had to happen, happened). We have one game left. West Indies. We don't just beat them. We destroy them. We need a massive Run Rate boost. Clear?"
"Clear," the team chorused.
Siddanth looked at his stats for the match.
7 overs, 1 maiden, 32 runs, 2 wickets (Watson, Ponting).
He had done his job against the best in the world.
He had dismissed Ricky Ponting. The Punter.
A small smile touched his lips. The rain had washed away the win, but it hadn't washed away the fact that he belonged at this level.
As they walked to the bus, the rain was still falling.
Siddanth pulled his hood up.
Next stop: The Wanderers. The West Indies. And a must-win battle.