Tamim Iqbal and Junaid Siddique walked out for Bangladesh. They looked nervous. The memory of beating India was there, but so was the reality of facing the World Champions.
Zaheer Khan started. He was a wizard with the new ball.
Over 1: Outswing. Inswing. Beat the bat. Beat the bat.
Zaheer conceded just 2 runs.
Siddanth took the ball from the Pavilion End.
The breeze was cross-field. He could drift it in.
Over 2: Siddanth ran in. 142kph.
He bowled a perfect channel, just outside off stump. Tamim Iqbal, known for his aggression, fished at it. Missed.
Siddanth brought the next one back in. Tamim was cramped, defending awkwardly to mid-on.
Over - 2- 3 runs.
Zaheer bowled the third over. 4 runs.
Siddanth bowled the fourth. He was in a rhythm now. His mind was dissecting the batsman's patience.
He bowled six deliveries on a length that made driving impossible and pulling suicidal.
4 runs.
End of Over 4: Bangladesh 13 for 0.
0 Wickets. 0 Boundaries.
"This is absolute mastery!" Nasser Hussain's sharp voice cut through the commentary box. "Look at that scorecard. Thirteen runs in four overs in a T20 Powerplay? That is unheard of! Zaheer Khan and the young Siddanth Deva have put a lid on the jar and screwed it tight. Bangladesh is suffocating out there!"
"It's the discipline, Nass," Sunil Gavaskar added. "Deva usually likes to bowl express pace, but today he's dialed it back to 140 to control the swing. That shows a very mature head on those young shoulders."
With the openers frustrated, Dhoni brought on the changes.
Irfan Pathan swung it. Harbhajan Singh varied his pace. Yusuf Pathan darted them in. Pragyan Ojha tossed it up.
Bangladesh tried to break free. They had to.
Tamim Iqbal charged Yusuf and was stumped.
Junaid Siddique tried to slog Harbhajan and holed out.
Mohammad Ashraful played a few shots but fell to Ojha.
Wickets fell at regular intervals, but the runs leaked slowly. Shakib Al Hasan played a lone hand, trying to push the score.
By the end of the 16th Over, Bangladesh had dragged themselves to 121 for 6.
It wasn't a winning score, but on a swinging pitch, it was something to bowl at. They were eyeing 150.
The Death Overs:
Dhoni tossed the ball back to his strike bowlers.
"Finish them," he said.
Over 17: Zaheer Khan.
He went full. He went straight.
He cleaned up the tailender Mashrafe Mortaza with a knuckleball.
WICKET.
Over 18: Siddanth Deva.
He stood at the top of his mark. He had bowled a restrictive spell earlier.
Ball 1: 150kph. Naeem Islam tried to drive. Beaten for pace.
Ball 3: 152kph. A searing yorker. Islam dug it out, jarring his hands.
Ball 5: The Wicket.
Siddanth saw the batsman backing away. He followed him with a 148kph bodyline bouncer.
The batsman was in no position. He fended it off, glove-high.
Yuvraj Singh at backward point ran in and took a simple catch.
WICKET 1.
Over 19: Zaheer Khan took another wicket, a classic caught-behind.
Over 20: Irfan Pathan closed it out.
Bangladesh finished on 136 for 9.
It was a clinical bowling performance. They hadn't just beaten Bangladesh; they had bullied them.
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137 to win. The target was small, but the conditions were tricky. The ball was still moving under the floodlights.
Virender Sehwag was back in the hotel, nursing his shoulder.
Gautam Gambhir walked out with Rohit Sharma, who had been promoted to open.
Rohit Sharma looked million dollars. He drove Mashrafe Mortaza through the covers with a pose that belonged in a museum. He pulled Shahadat Hossain for a massive six over mid-wicket.
Gambhir was busy, running hard, piercing the gaps.
They raced to 79 for 0 in 7 overs.
The required rate had dropped to below 5.
Over 7.2:
Rohit Sharma, batting on 36, tried to play an expansive inside-out drive off Shakib Al Hasan.
The ball gripped slightly. Rohit was early. He chipped it straight to cover.
WICKET 1: Rohit Sharma c. Tamim b. Shakib 36.
India: 79 for 1.
"And that brings Siddanth Deva to the crease," Ravi Shastri announced. "Number three. He has a century in his last international innings. But the situation here is different. India needs 58 runs from 76 balls. No panic needed."
Siddanth walked out. He looked calm.
He met Gambhir in the middle.
"Ball is gripping a bit," Gambhir said, adjusting his helmet. "No need for risks. We are way ahead. Just knock it around."
"Got it, Gauti-bhai," Siddanth said. "We finish this in our own pace."
Siddanth didn't play a single innovative shot.
He played with soft hands against the spinners, dropping the ball at his feet and stealing singles.
He would dance down the pitch of the ball against Abdur Razzak, driving it along the ground to long-off.
Gambhir reached his 50. A gritty, workmanlike half-century.
But the very next ball, trying to finish the game quickly, Gambhir swept Rubel Hossain and was trapped LBW.
WICKET 2: G. Gambhir lbw b. Rubel 50.
India: 112 for 2.
Equation: 25 runs needed off 35 balls.
Siddanth was on 22 runs off 15 balls.
Out walked MS Dhoni.
The crowd roared. The Captain has come on the grease.
Dhoni walked up to Siddanth. "Nice and easy, Sid. Let's finish this by the 18th over. Net run rate matters."
The Finish
They didn't hit boundaries. They ran.
Siddanth and Dhoni were two of the fastest runners in world cricket.
They turned simple pushes into twos. They put the fielders under immense pressure.
Siddanth moved to 28. Then 30.
Over 18:
3 runs to win.
Siddanth faced Mortaza.
He waited for the slower ball. He picked it.
He leaned back and steered it past backward point.
The ball raced away on the wet outfield.
FOUR.
India Won by 8 wickets.
Overs: 17.2.
Siddanth Deva: 32 (22 balls).*
MS Dhoni: 10 (9 balls).*
It wasn't the explosive 134* from New Zealand. It was a mature, calculated innings that ensured there were no hiccups.
"Professional," Harsha Bhogle summarized. "That is the word. India didn't just win; they controlled the game from the first ball to the last. Siddanth Deva showing he has gears. He can be a Ferrari, but today he was a luxury sedan, cruising to the target."
Siddanth shook hands with the Bangladesh players. The ghosts of 2007 were exorcised. India had started their title defense with a statement of intent.
Match 2: The Green Wash (vs. Ireland)
Date: June 10, 2009.
Venue: Trent Bridge, Nottingham.
If the Bangladesh game was a statement, the Ireland game was a formality.
Ireland, the scrappy underdogs who had upset Pakistan in 2007, were eager. But India was ruthless.
Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat. "Good wicket. We want to test our batting depth."
The Innings
India started well again. Rohit and Gambhir put on 40.
When Gambhir fell, Siddanth walked in at number 3.
This time, the instructions were different.
"Accelerate," Dhoni had said.
Siddanth faced the Irish medium-pacers. The pace was slow, the ball stopped a bit.
He adjusted brilliantly.
He played a series of sweeps and reverse-sweeps that demoralized the Irish spinners.
He hit a massive six over mid-wicket off Boyd Rankin, pulling a short ball that was meant to intimidate him.
He raced to a 50 off just 28 balls.
He didn't give his wicket away. He batted through the middle overs, guiding the team to a massive total.
He was eventually out for 56 off 35 balls, caught on the boundary.
India posted 180 for 5.
The Bowling
Defending 180 against an Associate nation was target practice for the Indian bowlers.
Zaheer Khan swung it.
Pragyan Ojha spun it.
Siddanth came on as first change.
He bowled fast and straight.
He cleaned up Kevin O'Brien with a 150kph yorker—a ball far too good for a batsman at that level.
He then bounced out the tail-ender.
Figures: 3 overs, 18 runs, 2 wickets.
Ireland managed only 112.
India Won by 68 runs.
India had topped Group A.
Matches: 2
Wins: 2
Net Run Rate: +2.5
They had qualified for the Super 8s.
The team gathered in the dressing room. The mood was relaxed but focused.
Gary Kirsten pinned the Super 8 schedule on the board.
1. West Indies (Lord's)
2. England (Lord's)
3. South Africa (Trent Bridge)
"The warmup is over," Kirsten said, his face serious. "Now the tournament begins. West Indies have Gayle and Bravo. England are the hosts. South Africa... well, we know them. We need to step up a gear."
Siddanth sat in his corner, untying his laces.
56 runs. 32 not out. 3 wickets.
He had done his job.
He looked at the schedule.
Lord's. The Home of Cricket.
He had played there in the warm-up, but a World Cup match at Lord's against the West Indies? That was the stuff of dreams.
He smiled.
He was ready for the glory.
He packed his bag. The Blue Storm was moving to London.