The date was September 30, 2009. The venue: The New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg. The "Bullring."
The group stage of the ICC Champions Trophy had reached its boiling point. For India, the equation was complicated. To qualify for the semi-finals, they needed to beat the West Indies.
The West Indies side that walked out was unfamiliar to many. Due to a contract dispute with their board, the star players—Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Bravo—were missing. Instead, a second-string side led by Floyd Reifer had taken the field.
In the commentary box, Ian Bishop sat alongside Ravi Shastri.
Ian Bishop: "It's a david vs. Goliath battle today, Ravi. This inexperienced West Indies side has fought hard, but against a full-strength Indian team, it's going to be a steep hill to climb."
Ravi Shastri: "Absolutely, Ian. India needs a big win. They need to finish this early. Dhoni will be looking to bowl first, dismiss them cheaply, and chase it down in 20 overs to skyrocket that run rate. The eyes will be on the scoreboard here, and the ears will be tuned to Centurion."
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MS Dhoni and Floyd Reifer stood in the middle. The Wanderers pitch looked spicy—hard, with plenty of grass.
Reifer flipped the coin.
"Heads," Dhoni called.
It was Tails.
"We will bat first," Reifer announced. "The pitch looks good. We want to put runs on the board and pressure the Indian batting."
Dhoni didn't look disappointed. "We wanted to bowl. The ball will do a bit early on. We have to be professional. Get them out, chase it down."
First Innings
Ashish Nehra and Praveen Kumar took the new ball. The air was thin, and the ball swung prodigiously.
The West Indies openers, Andre Fletcher and Kieran Powell, looked tentative.
Praveen Kumar, the master of swing, struck in the second over. He got the ball to hoop back in a mile. Kieran Powell left it, thinking it was going away. The off-stump cartwheeled.
WICKET 1: K. Powell b. Kumar 0.
Nehra followed up in the 5th over, inducing an edge from Andre Fletcher that flew to Dinesh Karthik (keeping wicket today as Dhoni rested his back slightly, though playing as captain).
WICKET 2: A. Fletcher c. Karthik b. Nehra 11.
West Indies: 20 for 2.
Dhoni introduced spin early. Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra tightened the noose.
Travis Dowlin and Devon Smith tried to rebuild, but the scoring rate was abysmal: 2 runs an over.
Siddanth Deva enters the attack.
Dhoni threw the ball to Siddanth in the 15th over.
"Sid. Heavy ball. Hit the deck. Don't give them breathing space."
Siddanth ran in. He wasn't bowling at 155kph today. He was bowling a controlled 142kph, hitting the splice of the bat.
Over 16: Maiden.
Over 18: 2 runs.
He was suffocating them.
In the 20th Over, Siddanth got his reward.
Floyd Reifer, the captain, tried to force a pull shot off a delivery that skidded on. He was late.
The ball hit the top of the middle stump.
WICKET 3: F. Reifer b. Deva 17.
"Cleaned him up!" Sunil Gavaskar said on air. "Deva is too quick for this lineup. He just skidded through the defense."
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The score was 85 for 5 in the 30th over.
Darren Sammy and David Bernard were at the crease.
Sammy tapped a ball from Harbhajan towards point and called for a risky single.
Siddanth Deva was patrolling the point region.
He moved like a panther.
He swooped on the ball one-handed, his body still moving to his left.
He didn't have time to set himself. He saw only one stump visible at the non-striker's end.
Target Acquired.
He threw the ball while off-balance, suspended in the air.
The throw was a laser beam. Flat. Fast. Deadly.
THWACK.
The stumps exploded just as David Bernard's bat was on the line.
---
The square leg umpire went upstairs.
The replay showed Bernard was short by two inches.
OUT.
Suresh Raina ran over, high-fiving Siddanth so hard it echoed.
"Oye Guru! You've become Jonty Rhodes!" Raina yelled.
Virat Kohli, fielding at cover, screamed, "Cheetah! Absolute Cheetah!"
Commentary:
Ian Bishop: "Oh, that is sensational! That is world-class fielding! Siddanth Deva with a direct hit from point! He had one stump to aim at, and he hit the bullseye. West Indies are crumbling here!"
Ravi Shastri: "The Devil is in the details, and the detail here is that throwing arm. Rocket arm! India is all over them like a rash."
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The tail didn't last long.
Siddanth picked up one more wicket—Gavin Tonge caught at mid-off.
Ashish Nehra cleaned up the last man.
West Indies All Out: 129 (36 Overs).
Siddanth Deva Bowling Figures:
7 Overs, 1 Maiden, 25 Runs, 2 Wickets.
Fielding: 1 Run Out (Direct Hit).
It was a clinical performance. He hadn't destroyed them single-handedly, but he had tightened the screws.
The Second Innings
Target: 130 runs.
Gautam Gambhir and Dinesh Karthik walked out.
Kemar Roach, the only West Indian bowler with genuine pace, took the new ball.
Roach was sharp. In his second over, he got one to rear up at Gambhir.
Gambhir fended it to the gully.
WICKET 1: G. Gambhir c. Dowlin b. Roach 6.
India: 10 for 1.
Virat Kohli walked out at Number 3. (Siddanth was pushed to No. 4 today to let Kohli play).
Kohli looked focused. Today, he would prove it.
Kohli faced Roach.
Ball 1: Short ball. Kohli rolled his wrists and pulled it in front of square. FOUR.
Ball 2: Full. Driven through covers. The sound was like a gunshot. FOUR.
Commentary:
Ravi Shastri: "Virat Kohli means business! He has walked out with intent. That cover drive was pure arrogance! He wants to finish this before dinner."
Kohli was in a trance. He wasn't just hitting boundaries; his running between the wickets was electric. He turned comfortable singles into risky twos, pushing Karthik to his limit.
"Bhaag DK! Bhaag!" Kohli screamed, sprinting back for a second that wasn't there.
They made it.
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Kohli and Karthik added 80 runs in just 12 overs.
Kohli was batting on a different plane.
He faced Darren Sammy.
He stepped out and lofted him inside-out over extra cover. SIX.
He reached his 50 off 41 balls.
Karthik played well for his 34, but he was largely a spectator to the Kohli show.
In the 20th Over, Karthik tried to hit Gavin Tonge over mid-on and was caught.
WICKET 2: D. Karthik c. Sammy b. Tonge 34.
India: 108 for 2.
Target remaining: 22 runs.
Siddanth Deva walked out at Number 4.
The crowd cheered, but today belonged to the boy from Delhi.
Siddanth walked to the crease.
"22 runs left," Siddanth said. "Pakistan is struggling against Australia, by the way."
"Forget them," Kohli said, sweat dripping from his nose but his breathing controlled. "Let's finish this."
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Siddanth played the supporting role. He took singles, giving the strike to Kohli.
With 5 runs needed, Kohli was on 75.
He faced Kemar Roach again.
Roach bowled a bouncer.
Kohli hooked. Not a flailing hook, but a controlled, authoritative smash.
The ball flew to the square leg boundary.
FOUR.
Scores level.
Kohli on 78.
He punched the next ball to long-on for a single.
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India won by 8 wickets.
West Indies: 129 all out.
India: 130/2.
But unlike the timeline where players anxiously bit their nails watching the other group game, today the atmosphere was different. The math was simple.
India had beaten Pakistan.
India had shared points with Australia.
India had beaten West Indies.
Total Points: 5.
They weren't waiting for a miracle. They had kicked the door down themselves.
Post-Match Presentation
The Indian team walked off the field, high-fiving the small crowd of Indian supporters near the tunnel. There was no tension in their shoulders. The job was done.
Ravi Shastri stood at the presentation podium, a wide grin on his face.
Shastri:"A clinical, professional performance by the Men in Blue. They were asked to win, and they did it in style. But first, let's have the Man of the Match. For a sparkling 79 not out... Virat Kohli!"
Virat walked up to the podium, looking sharp in his team sunglasses, the adrenaline of the chase still evident in his posture.
Shastri:"Virat, 79 not out. You looked in a hurry today. Was the Net Run Rate on your mind?"
Kohli:"definitely, Ravi bhai. We knew we had 5 points if we won, but we wanted to finish top of the group to carry that momentum. The wicket was good, Sid helped me calm down in the middle, and we just wanted to get the job done."
Shastri:"You are through to the semi-finals. How does that feel?"
Kohli:"It feels great. We had a tough group—Pakistan, Australia. But we played good cricket. Now the real tournament begins."
Next, MS Dhoni walked up. The captain looked relaxed, arguably the most relaxed he had been all week.
Shastri:"MS, congratulations. You are into the Semi-Finals of the Champions Trophy. A satisfying group stage?"
Dhoni:"Yes, very satisfying. The washout against Australia was tricky, but the boys showed character against Pakistan and today against West Indies. The bowlers set it up beautifully today. Praveen and Nehra swung it."
Shastri:"You likely face England or New Zealand in the semis. Any preference?"
Dhoni:"You have to beat the best to be the best. We are just happy to be in the knockouts. We will take a day off, recover, and then plan for the semi-final."
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The team returned to the dressing room.
Instead of the tense silence of a team depending on others, there was music playing. Harbhajan Singh was drumming on a table. Suresh Raina was icing his knees but laughing at something Yusuf Pathan said.
Siddanth sat next to Virat, both of them still in their pads.
"Semi-finals," Virat said, staring at the TV screen which was showing the highlights of his cover drives. "We're actually doing it."
"Two more games," Siddanth said, unbuckling his pads. "Just two more wins."
On the TV screen, the Australia vs. Pakistan game was reaching its climax.
In this timeline, it didn't matter for India's survival, but it mattered for seeding.
Australia chased down Pakistan's total in a thriller, winning on the last ball.
Group A Final Standings:
India: 5 Points (NRR + high).
Australia: 5 Points (NRR lower due to close wins).
Pakistan: 2 Points.
West Indies: 0 Points.
"So it's decided," Gary Kirsten announced, walking in with a clipboard. "We topped the group. We play the runner-up of Group B."
He wrote it on the whiteboard:
SEMI-FINAL 2: INDIA vs. ENGLAND.
Venue: The Wanderers.
Date: October 2.