Date: September 3rd, 2011.
Location: Chester-le-Street, Durham.
Result: No Result.
The transition from the whites of Test cricket to the blue of ODIs was supposed to bring a change in fortune for India, but the English weather remained the only undefeated opponent of the summer. The first ODI at Durham was a stop-start affair that frustrated players and fans alike.
India batted first, posting a competitive 274/7 courtesy of a gritty half-century from Parthiv Patel and a finisher's cameo from Suresh Raina.
Siddanth Deva looked in good touch, scoring a brisk 35, but was run out backing up too far.
However, the second innings never really took off. England faced just over 7 overs before the heavens opened up, turning the outfield into a lake. The match was abandoned, the points shared, and the caravan moved south to Southampton, hoping for clearer skies.
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Date: September 6th, 2011.
Location: The Rose Bowl, Southampton.
Match Reduced: 23 Overs per side.
The forecast for Southampton was grim, but the cricket gods granted a window. Heavy rains in the morning delayed the start by four hours, reducing the 50-over contest to a frenetic 23-over sprint.
It wasn't quite a T20, and it wasn't quite an ODI. It was a hybrid—a tactical nightmare for captains.
The Toss:
Alastair Cook (England ODI Captain) spun the coin. MS Dhoni called Heads.
It was Tails.
Cook: "We'll have a bowl. There's moisture in the surface, D/L method will come into play, we want to know what we're chasing."
Pre-Match Commentary (Nasser Hussain):
"It's a truncated game, folks. 23 overs. This suits India's style. They have power hitters down the order. England needs to be sharp. The outfield is wet, and the ball will be like a bar of soap. Advantage batters?"
Ravi Shastri: "Crucial game. India needs momentum. Look at the batting order—Dravid is playing! The legend is making his ODI farewell series count. But watch out for Deva. In a short game, he is the most dangerous player on the planet."
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Openers: Parthiv Patel and Ajinkya Rahane.
Bowler: James Anderson.
The Indian strategy was clear: Attack the new ball before it swung. Parthiv Patel, the diminutive left-hander, took charge.
Over 2 (Stuart Broad):
Parthiv charged Broad. He slapped him over point for FOUR.
Next ball, he hooked a short one. Top edge. It flew over the keeper for SIX.
Over 3 (Anderson):
Rahane played a classic straight drive for FOUR.
The score moved to 30/0 in 3.1 overs.
Ball 3.2: Anderson to Parthiv
Anderson went fuller. Parthiv tried to clear mid-off again.
The ball swung late. It sliced off the outer half of the bat.
Graeme Swann at mid-off ran back and took a tumbling catch.
WICKET (Parthiv 12).
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Rahul Dravid walked out at Number 3.
The crowd applauded. It was strange to see The Wall in colored clothing after so long, but he had been India's best batsman in the Tests.
What followed was a partnership of pure class. Rahane and Dravid didn't slog. They pierced gaps. They ran hard. They treated the 23-over match like a compressed Test innings played at 4x speed.
Over 8 (Jade Dernbach):
Dravid unleashed a flick off his pads that raced to the square leg boundary.
FOUR.
Commentary (Bumble): "He's still got it! The timing, the balance. He makes it look effortless. India moving along nicely at 7 runs an over."
Over 12 (Graeme Swann):
Rahane stepped out and lofted Swann over extra cover.
SIX.
Rahane moved to his 40s. He was playing the anchor role perfectly.
The partnership blossomed. They added 79 runs in just 11 overs.
Score: 109/1 in 14.1 overs.
Ball 14.2: Swann to Dravid
Dravid tried to cut a ball that was too close to his body.
He chopped it onto his stumps.
WICKET (Dravid 32).
He walked off, acknowledging the cheers. He had set the platform. Now, it was time for the fireworks.
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Siddanth Deva walked out at Number 4.
Overs Remaining: 8.4 (52 balls).
Score: 109/2.
He met Rahane in the middle.
"Good base, Jinx," Deva said, tapping the pitch. "Now we accelerate. Every ball must count."
Rahane nodded. "Spinners are gripping it a bit. Be careful of Swann."
Over 15: Swann to Deva
14.3: Deva faced his first ball.
Swann tossed it up, inviting the drive.
Deva accepted. He didn't just drive; he launched.
He cleared his front leg and hit it straight back over the bowler's head.
SIX.
Commentary (Shastri): "BANG! First ball! No sighters for Siddanth Deva! He has dismissed Swann from his presence! That is the intent India needs!"
14.4: Swann went flatter.
Deva rocked back. He punched it through covers.
FOUR.
Deva raced to 14 off 4 balls by the end of the over. The momentum shifted violently.
Over 16: Tim Bresnan
Rahane reached his 50 with a single. A fine, composed innings.
Deva got on strike.
Bresnan bowled short.
Deva pulled. In front of square.
FOUR.
Over 18: Stuart Broad
Broad tried to cramp Deva with yorkers.
Deva used his footwork—shuffling across the stumps to access the leg side.
He whipped a yorker from off-stump to deep mid-wicket.
FOUR.
Deva was on 32 off 16 balls. He was painting the Rose Bowl with his strokes.
Ball 18.5: Broad to Rahane
Rahane tried to clear the long-on boundary. He was tired.
He mistimed it. The ball didn't have the legs.
Caught by Anderson on the rope.
WICKET (Rahane 54).
Score: 148/3.
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Virat Kohli walked in. The Prince and the Devil were at the crease.
Over 20: Jade Dernbach
Dernbach was bowling his slower balls—the back of the hand variations.
Kohli struggled to pick them.
19.1: Swing and miss.
19.2: 2 runs.
19.3: 1 run.
19.4: Deva on strike. He smashed a full toss for FOUR.
19.5: 1 run.
Over 21: Anderson
Kohli tried to force the pace. He stepped out to Anderson.
Anderson bowled a wide yorker.
Kohli threw his bat at it.
Edge. Keeper.
WICKET (Kohli 9 off 9).
Siddanth Deva: 42* (25 balls).
Suresh Raina walked in.
Over 22: Jade Dernbach
Equation: 12 balls left.
Deva and Raina. Two of the best finishers in the world.
21.1: Deva on strike.
Dernbach bowled a slower bouncer.
Deva waited. He saw the seam. He knew it would hold up.
He played the upper cut. Over the keeper.
FOUR.
21.2: Dernbach went full.
Deva drove it to long-off. He didn't run. He refused the single.
Dot.
21.3: Deva shuffled across. He exposed all three stumps.
Dernbach followed him.
Deva flicked it. The Helicopter Shot.
The ball soared over deep mid-wicket.
SIX.
Deva reaches 50 off 29 balls.
21.4: Single.
21.5: Raina on strike.
Raina slogged. Top edge. It landed safely.
2 runs.
21.6: Raina hit a boundary through covers.
FOUR.
17 runs off the over.
Score: 185/4.
Over 23 (Final Over): Stuart Broad
22.2: Deva on strike.
Broad went wide.
Deva reached out. He sliced it over point.
SIX.
Commentary (Shastri): "UNBELIEVABLE! He was off balance, reaching for it, and he still hits it six rows back! Siddanth Deva is putting on a clinic!"
22.3: Bouncer.
Deva hooked. Flat.
FOUR.
22.4: Broad bowled a perfect yorker.
Deva jammed it out.
Dot.
22.5: Deva moved to the off side. He tried the paddle scoop.
He connected.
It flew over fine leg.
FOUR.
22.6: Last ball.
Deva stepped out. He hit it straight back over Broad's head.
One bounce into the sightscreen.
FOUR.
Total Runs in Over: 20.
Final Score: India 205/4 (23 Overs).
Siddanth Deva: 71* (35 balls).
Suresh Raina: 7* (4 balls).
Commentary (Sunil Gavaskar): "India finishes on a high! 205 in 23 overs! That is a run rate of almost 9! Siddanth Deva was the difference. 71 off 35 balls. He changed the momentum completely after Rahane fell. England has a mountain to climb now."
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Target: 206 runs
Required Rate: 9.13.
England needed a flyer. Alastair Cook and Craig Kieswetter walked out to face the Indian new ball attack.
Praveen Kumar started with the new ball. He found swing immediately, but Kieswetter was in a belligerent mood.
Over 1:
Kieswetter stepped out and smashed Praveen over mid-on.
FOUR.
Next ball, he pulled a short one for SIX.
The crowd at the Rose Bowl came alive. England wasn't going down without a fight.
Over 3: Vinay Kumar
Alastair Cook, usually the anchor, decided to join the party. He drove beautifully through the covers and then flicked one off his pads for back-to-back boundaries.
Over 5: Praveen Kumar
Kieswetter continued his assault. He hit two more boundaries, taking the score past 50.
Powerplay Score: 58/0.
England was ahead of the required rate. The Indian shoulders were slumping slightly. MS Dhoni called for a huddle.
Dhoni turned to his spin twins: Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin.
Over 7: Ravindra Jadeja
Jadeja fired it in flat and fast.
Cook tried to cut a ball that was too close.
WICKET (Cook 24). Bowled.
Jonathan Trott walked in. He struggled to rotate the strike against the accuracy of Ashwin.
Over 9: Ashwin
Trott tried to sweep. He missed.
LBW Appeal. Not out.
But the pressure was building. Two dot balls followed.
Over 11: Jadeja
Kieswetter, starved of strike, tried to hit out. He charged Jadeja.
Jadeja saw him coming and pulled the length back.
Kieswetter missed the ball completely.
Stumped by Dhoni.
WICKET (Kieswetter 45).
Over 13: Ashwin
Ian Bell was the new man. He looked edgy.
Ashwin bowled a carrom ball. Bell didn't pick it.
He chipped it straight back to the bowler.
WICKET (Bell 10).
Within the space of 6 overs, England had lost 3 wickets and the run rate had climbed to 11. The spinners had strangled the life out of the chase.
Score after 16 Overs: 115/3.
Equation: 95 runs needed off 42 balls.
Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara were at the crease. Morgan was dangerous. He hit two sixes off Vinay Kumar in the 17th over, bringing the equation down.
Dhoni tossed the ball to Siddanth Deva.
"Finish it, Sid."
Over 18: Deva to Morgan
Deva ran in. 145 kmph yorker.
Morgan dug it out.
Next ball, slower bouncer.
Morgan waited and pulled it for FOUR.
Deva smiled. He went round the wicket.
17.4: Knuckleball.
Morgan tried to reverse sweep. He was completely deceived by the dip.
The ball hit the top of off stump.
WICKET (Morgan 32).
The danger man was gone.
Deva cleaned up Tim Bresnan two balls later with a searing yorker.
The Indian bowlers tightened the screws. Wickets fell in a heap as the English lower order tried to slog.
Jadeja picked up another one.
Final Over (Over 23): Deva
England needed 35 to win. Impossible.
Deva bowled fast and straight.
He picked up Stuart Broad caught at long-on.
Final Score: England 180/6.
Result: India won by 29 runs (D/L Method).
Post-Match Presentation:
Nasser Hussain: "Man of the Match. For a blistering 71 and a crucial 3-wicket haul... Siddanth Deva."
Deva accepted the award.
"We wanted to be positive," Deva said. "23 overs is tricky. You have to find the balance between T20 aggression and ODI building. Rahane set it up, and I just finished it. The spinners won us the game in the middle overs."
"The upper cut off Dernbach?"
"Saw him hold the ball deep in the palm. Knew the slower one was coming."
As Deva walked back, he checked his phone.
India led the series 1-0. The washout at Durham was forgotten. The Rose Bowl belonged to the Devil.