The white flannels were packed away. The heavy red ball was replaced by the white Kookaburra. The Test Mace sat in the BCCI trophy cabinet, but the cricket calendar stopped for no one.
Date: December 2009.
India, fresh off a Test series win, looked to assert dominance in the shorter formats. Siddanth Deva was slated to bat at Number 3 in both formats, cementing his place as the linchpin of the Indian batting order.
1st T20I
Date: December 9, 2009.
Venue: VCA Stadium, Nagpur.
Format: T20 International.
Ravi Shastri: "Welcome to the shortest format! The Test series was a grind, but T20 is an explosion. Sri Lanka are the World T20 runners-up. They have Dilshan, Sangakkara, Jayasuriya. This won't be easy. India is playing a young side. No Sachin, no Dravid. It's Dhoni's young wolves."
Dhoni flipped the coin. Heads.
Sangakkara: "We will bowl first. The dew factor will be massive later on."
1st Innings: India (205/4)
Sehwag started with a bang, scoring 26 off 12 before holing out.
India: 35/1 (3.4 Overs).
Siddanth Deva walked out at No. 3.
He didn't take time to settle.
Over 8: He swept Sanath Jayasuriya for two consecutive fours.
Over 12: He danced down to Ajantha Mendis, reading the carrom ball out of the hand, and lofted it over extra cover for SIX.
He built a partnership of 60 runs with Yuvraj Singh.
Siddanth fell in the 15th over for a blistering 68 off 35 balls (5 Fours, 4 Sixes).
Dhoni finished it off with a helicopter shot.
India posted 205.
2nd Innings: The Defense
Sri Lanka started well with Dilshan scoring 50.
But Siddanth Deva (Bowling) changed the game.
Over 12: Dilshan tried to scoop him.
Siddanth saw it (Chronos Perception active for a split second). He bowled a wide yorker. Dilshan missed and lost his off stump.
WICKET: T. Dilshan b Deva 54.
Sri Lanka managed 180.
India Won by 25 Runs.
Man of the Match: Siddanth Deva (68 Runs & 1 Wicket).
2nd T20I
Date: December 12, 2009.
Venue: PCA Stadium, Mohali.
Sunil Gavaskar: "Happy Birthday to Yuvraj Singh! The crowd is electric here in Mohali. India leads 1-0. If they win today, they clean sweep the T20s. The pitch has bounce, which suits Deva perfectly."
Dhoni won the toss.
Dhoni: "We will bowl. We want to chase today. Let them put a score."
1st Innings: Sri Lanka (206/7)
Sri Lanka batted like possessed men. Kumar Sangakkara scored a classy 59. Angelo Mathews smashed 30 off the last 2 overs.
Siddanth Deva was expensive but effective, taking 2 wickets for 40 runs in his 4 overs, removing Jayasuriya and Kapugedera.
Target: 207. A huge chase.
2nd Innings
Sehwag fell early. 15/1.
Siddanth Deva walked in at No. 3.
He met Gautam Gambhir.
"We have to play fast" Gambhir said.
Gambhir fell for 20. India 50/2.
Yuvraj Singh walked in. The Birthday Boy.
The two power hitters dismantled the Lankan attack.
Over 10: Lasith Malinga to Deva.
Deva stepped out. Yorker became a full toss.
SIX over long-on.
Next ball. Malinga went short. Deva hooked. SIX over fine leg.
Siddanth reached his 50 off 22 balls.
Yuvraj reached his 50 off 20 balls.
They added 100 runs in 8 overs.
Ravi Shastri: "This is brutal! It is carnage in Mohali! Deva and Yuvi are competing to see who hits the ball further! Poor Malinga doesn't know where to bowl!"
Siddanth stayed till the end.
With 4 runs needed off 6 balls, Siddanth (on 82) faced Nuwan Kulasekara.
He moved across his stumps and scooped it over fine leg.
SIX.
India Won by 6 wickets.
Series Won 2-0.
Siddanth Deva: 88 (42 balls).*
Man of the Series: Siddanth Deva.
1st ODI:
Date: December 15, 2009.
Venue: Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground, Rajkot.
Context: Historically a batting paradise.
Harsha Bhogle: "If you are a bowler, hide. Rajkot is small, flat, and unforgiving. 300 is a minimum here. India is riding high on the T20 win. Can they translate that to the 50-over format?"
Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to field.
Sangakkara: "We prefer chasing on this ground. No score is safe."
1st Innings: India (414/7)
Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar opened.
They gave a flying start. Sachin scored 69 off 63.
Sehwag was destroying the world. He scored 146 off 102 balls.
Siddanth Deva walked in at No. 3.
The platform was laid for a nuclear explosion.
He didn't bother settling in.
Over 36: He hit Dilshan for three consecutive sixes over mid-wicket.
Over 40: He faced Malinga.
Malinga bowled a yorker. Siddanth opened the face and sliced it over point for four.
Deva scored a rapid-fire 58 off 24 balls.
He got out trying to hit a 4th six in an over, caught at the boundary.
India posted 414/7. Their highest ever ODI total.
2nd Innings
Sri Lanka didn't give up.
Dilshan (160) and Sangakkara (90) batted out of their skins.
At 300/1 in 35 overs, it looked like Sri Lanka would win.
But Siddanth in the 40th over.
Siddanth removed Sangakkara (Caught at deep cover).
Then he bowled a tight spell of yorkers.
In the 48th over, he removed Angelo Mathews.
Sri Lanka finished on 411/8.
India Won by 3 runs.
Commentary:
Ian Chappell: "What a game! Over 800 runs scored! India holds their nerve by the skin of their teeth."
2nd ODI
Date: December 18, 2009.
Venue: VCA Stadium, Nagpur.
Context: India leads 1-0.
Ravi Shastri: "After the madness of Rajkot, we are back in Nagpur. The bowlers will be praying for some grass, but I doubt they'll find any. India leads, but Sri Lanka showed they can chase anything."
India won the toss and chose to bat.
1st Innings
This time, the script flipped.
Sehwag went for a golden duck. Caught at slip off Chanaka Welegedara.
Sachin was bowled by a beauty from Nuwan Kulasekara for 4.
India: 45/2 (8 Overs).
Siddanth Deva stood at the non-striker's end, watching the carnage.
He was joined by Virat Kohli.
This was a rescue mission.
Siddanth realized he couldn't blast his way out. He had to anchor.
He left balls outside off. He nudged singles.
He reached his 50 off 65 balls. A slow, gritty knock.
Virat fell for 30. India 100/3.
MS Dhoni joined Deva.
They rebuilt. Siddanth started to accelerate in the 35th over.
He smashed Randiv for a massive six over long-on.
He moved into the 90s.
He looked set for a century.
Over 44:
Siddanth was on 96. He tried to whip Malinga to fine leg.
The ball dipped. It hit his pad.
LBW Appeal. Given.
WICKET: S. Deva lbw b Malinga 96 (105 balls).
Analysis: 8 Fours, 2 Sixes. A fighting knock.
India finished on 260/7.
A respectable total, but 40 runs short on this pitch.
2nd Innings
Sri Lanka came out with intent.
Tillakaratne Dilshan was in the form of his life.
He treated the target of 260 like a joke.
He smashed 123 off 110 balls.
Siddanth tried hard with the ball, bowling tight lines.
He took the wicket of Upul Tharanga early.
But Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardene took the game away.
Sri Lanka chased it down in the 47th Over.
Sri Lanka Won by 3 wickets.
Series Level: 1-1.
Post-Match Presentation
Ravi Shastri: "A brilliant bounce back by Sri Lanka. Dilshan was unstoppable."
MS Dhoni: "We were 30-40 runs short. The top order collapsed, which happens. Sid played a brilliant innings to get us to 260. If he had stayed till the end, maybe we get 290. But credit to Dilshan."
Siddanth walked off, disappointed with the loss but satisfied with his own adaptability.
---
The series was poised on a knife-edge at 1-1. The caravan moved to the east coast of India, where the passion for cricket bordered on hysteria.
3rd ODI: The Cuttack Grind
Date: December 21, 2009.
Venue: Barabati Stadium, Cuttack.
Conditions: A slow, low turner. Dew expected later.
Ravi Shastri: "Welcome to the cauldron of Cuttack! The noise here is deafening. With the series tied, pressure is high. The pitch looks dry. It's not the batting paradise of Rajkot or Nagpur. This will be a battle of attrition."
Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat.
Sangakkara: "We want to put runs on the board. The pitch might slow down further."
1st Innings
The Indian spinners strangled the Lankans. Ravindra Jadeja was the star, picking up 4 wickets.
Sri Lanka struggled to score freely. Upul Tharanga made a gritty 73, but Siddanth Deva broke the back of the innings in the middle overs.
Over 32: Deva bowled a slower cutter that gripped and turned. Sangakkara checked his drive and lobbed it to cover.
Sri Lanka All Out: 239 (48 Overs).
2nd Innings
Target: 240.
Virender Sehwag tried to attack early but was caught at slip for 22.
Sachin Tendulkar started well with some crisp drives.
Siddanth Deva walked in at Number 3.
On a tricky pitch, Deva showed his class. He didn't try to hit out. He used soft hands, working the ball into the gaps, running hard with the Master.
Sachin made a fluent 96 before being stumped off Muralitharan.
India: 170/2.
Deva stayed till the end. He was joined by Yuvraj Singh.
Deva reached his 50 off 55 balls.
He finished the game with a lofted drive over extra cover.
Siddanth Deva: 65 (70 balls).*
India Won by 7 wickets.
Series Lead: 2-1.
Man of the Match: Ravindra Jadeja (4 wickets).
4th ODI
Date: December 24, 2009.
Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
Sunil Gavaskar: "The Eden Gardens. The Colosseum of Cricket. 90,000 people screaming. If you can perform here, you become a legend. India leads 2-1. A win today gives them the series."
Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat.
1st Innings
Upul Tharanga (118) and Kumar Sangakkara (60) batted beautifully.
The Indian bowlers struggled on a flat deck.
Sri Lanka posted a formidable 315/6.
2nd Innings
Target: 316. Under lights at Eden.
Sehwag and Sachin opened.
Disaster struck.
Sehwag out for 10.
Sachin out for 8.
India: 23/2. The Eden crowd went silent.
The Partnership
Siddanth Deva (No. 3) was joined by Virat Kohli (No. 4).
Two youngsters. The future of Indian cricket.
What followed was magical.
The Deva-Kohli Show
They didn't panic. They counter-attacked.
Over 15: Deva pulled Suraj Randiv for a massive six into the D-Stand.
Over 20: Kohli whipped Malinga through mid-wicket.
They ran like cheetahs. They converted ones into twos. The partnership grew.
100 runs. 150 runs. 200 runs.
The crowd found its voice again. The roar was returning.
Deva's Century
In the 38th Over, Siddanth pushed a single to deep point.
100 off 88 balls
He raised his bat. The Eden Gardens gave him a standing ovation.
In the 42nd Over, Virat Kohli tapped a single.
His 1st ODI Century.
He pumped his fist, eyes bulging with passion. Siddanth hugged him.
"This is your night, Chiku," Siddanth yelled over the noise.
Kohli got out (107).
India: 247/3.
Equation: 69 runs needed off 48 balls.
Siddanth was still there. Suresh Raina joined him.
Siddanth shifted gears.
He scooped Malinga. He reverse-swept Murali.
Over 48:
Siddanth hit two fours off Malinga.
He finished unbeaten on 135 (110 balls).*
India chased down 316 with 2 overs to spare.
India Won by 7 wickets.
Series Won 3-1.
---
5th ODI: The Feroz Shah Kotla Fiasco
Date: December 27, 2009.
Venue: Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi.
The match began on a crisp Delhi morning. But something was wrong.
The pitch looked grassy, uneven, and dangerously hard in patches.
India won the toss and chose to bowl.
Zaheer Khan bowled the first over. The ball flew off a length past the keeper's head.
Siddanth Deva came on in the 8th Over.
He bowled a back-of-a-length delivery to Tillakaratne Dilshan.
The ball exploded off the surface. It reared up viciously, striking Dilshan on the elbow. Dilshan collapsed in pain.
physio rushed out.
Over 10:
Sudeep Tyagi bowled. The ball kept ankle low.
The next ball, from the same spot, flew over the batsman's shoulder.
Sanath Jayasuriya took a blow to the fingers.
Kumar Sangakkara walked to the umpires. He was furious.
"This is dangerous! Someone is going to get killed!"
The Abandonment
The umpires conferred. MS Dhoni joined them.
Dhoni looked at the pitch. He pressed it with his boot. It was crumbling.
"It's unsafe," Dhoni agreed.
OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:
Match Abandoned due to Dangerous Pitch Conditions.
Sri Lanka was 83/5 in 23.3 Overs.
The crowd booed. They threw bottles.
Siddanth stood near the boundary, watching the chaos.
"Well," he muttered to Virat. "We wanted fireworks. We got a riot."
Despite the chaotic end, the presentation took place indoors.
Ravi Shastri: "An unfortunate end to the series here in Delhi, but India has been the dominant force. 3-1 winners."
Player of the Series: Siddanth Deva.
Shastri: "Sid, another Man of the Series. You are making this a habit. The partnership with Virat in Kolkata was special."
Siddanth: "Eden Gardens is special. Chasing 300+ is never easy, but Virat was amazing. It was his first hundred, and I'm glad I was there to watch it. It's a shame about today, but player safety comes first."
MS Dhoni: "The pitch was unpredictable. We couldn't risk our bowlers or their batters. But overall, a great series win. We found answers in the middle order."
2009 was over.
It was the year the Devil arrived.
2010 beckoned. And with it, the road to the World Cup.