The Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal, Hyderabad, was a different beast compared to the Wankhede. It wasn't a cauldron of noise like Mumbai; it was a fortress of loyalty. The stands were painted in the gunmetal grey and electric blue of the Deccan Chargers. The Charging Bull logo was everywhere—on flags, on painted faces, and projected onto the giant screens.
Shane Warne, the captain of the Rajasthan Royals. The blond magician was chewing gum, his eyes hidden behind mirror shades, looking relaxed as he spun a coin in his fingers.
Kumar Sangakkara, the Chargers' captain, called "Heads."
The coin landed. Tails.
"We'll bowl, thanks mate," Warne grinned, his Australian drawl echoing in the stump mic. "Bit of moisture early on, see if we can get some movement."
Deva was slated to bat at number 6 today—the 'Finisher' role. But looking at the pitch, which had a greenish tinge, he had a feeling he might be needed sooner.
"Top order needs to fire today," Coach Darren Lehmann muttered, crossing his arms. "Dhawan looks good in the nets. Let's hope it translates."
---
It started well enough. Shikhar Dhawan and Ishank Jaggi walked out to a roar. Dhawan, looking flashy, crunched a few boundaries through the off-side. The score ticked to 40/0 in 4.4 overs. The DJ played "Go Chargers Go!"
Then, the wheels came off.
4.5 Overs: Dhawan tried to drive Shaun Tait on the up. The pace hurried him. The ball flew to mid-off. Gone for 24.
Commentary (Danny Morrison): "GONE! Tait has the last laugh! The pace is too hot to handle! Dhawan tries to go big but finds the man! First blow for the Royals!"
A collective groan rippled through the stands. A fan in the East Stand threw his cap down in frustration. "Every time! A good start and then pfft!"
Score: 40/1.
Kumar Sangakkara walked in. The crowd cheered for the Captain.
5.3 Overs: Sangakkara faced Amit Singh. A gentle outswinger. Sanga poked at it tentatively. Edge. Keeper. Gone for a duck.
Commentary (Ravi Shastri): "And the Captain goes for a duck! A soft dismissal. Just a little fishing expedition outside off stump. Hyderabad is stunned into silence. Two down in quick succession!"
Score: 40/2.
A hush fell over Uppal. The flags stopped waving. The drums stopped beating.
Bharat Chipli came in to steady the ship. He hit a six, giving false hope.
7.5 Overs: Shane Warne brought himself on. He bowled a slider. Chipli played for the turn. There was none. Plumb LBW.
Commentary (Sunil Gavaskar): "That is the master at work. He set him up with the leggie and then slid one straight on. Chipli was playing for turn that wasn't there. Plumb in front."
Score: 53/3.
The dugout was silent. Deva started putting on his thigh guard.
10.1 Overs: Jaggi, who had been watching the carnage from the other end, lost his patience. He charged Siddharth Trivedi. He missed. Stumped.
Score: 69/4.
Jean-Paul Duminy walked out. He was the international hope.
12.6 Overs: Trivedi again. Slower ball. Duminy chipped it straight to cover.
Commentary (Gavaskar): "Oh dear, oh dear. The Chargers are falling apart like a house of cards. No application. No patience. They are gifting their wickets away. 77 for 5. This is a disaster for the home team."
Score: 77/5.
The stadium was dead silent. 13 overs gone. Not even 80 runs on the board. Half the side back in the hut. The "Charging Bulls" looked like they were being led to the slaughterhouse. A fan in the North Stand rolled up his flag and put his head in his hands.
"Deva," Lehmann said, his voice tight. "Go. Just... stay."
---
Siddanth Deva walked out to the center. The crowd woke up. The chant of "DE-VA! DE-VA!" started, but it was anxious, laced with the fear of a total collapse. It wasn't the roar of champions; it was the plea of the desperate.
Dan Christian was at the non-striker's end. He looked frustrated.
Deva met him mid-pitch.
"What's the pitch doing?" Deva asked, punching Christian's glove.
"It's two-paced," Christian said, wiping sweat. "Some balls are stopping, some are skidding. Spin is gripping. It's not a 180 wicket."
"Okay," Deva nodded. "We need 150. If we get to 150, our bowlers can fight."
"150?" Christian looked at the scoreboard. "We need 73 runs in 7 overs with 5 wickets down. That's... optimistic."
"Watch me," Deva said.
Deva didn't attack immediately. He played the Chanderpaul role he had practiced in his mind. He used the [Wall of Guyana] template—ugly, effective defense.
He worked the ball into the gaps. He turned ones into twos.
"TWO! PUSH!" Deva screamed, sprinting like a hare. Christian, a big man, had to hustle to keep up.
Commentary (Harsha Bhogle): "This is sensible. This is what was missing. Just knocking the ball around, running hard. Deva realizes he can't hit out immediately. He is building a platform from the rubble."
They ran 24 runs in three overs without hitting a single boundary. The score moved to 101/5. 15 overs gone.
---
The 16th over began. Shane Warne tossed the ball to Shaun Tait. The Wild Thing. The fastest bowler in the world alongside Lee and Shoaib.
Deva tapped his bat. He looked at the scoreboard. 30 balls left.
15.1: Tait steamed in. 150kmph thunderbolt.
Deva shuffled across his stumps. He didn't just scoop it; he ramped it over third man. The ball flew into the stands.
SIX.
Commentary (Danny Morrison): "HELLO! Where did that go? Into the orbit! He used the pace of the Wild Thing and sent it into the car park! What a shot!"
The stadium erupted. 30,000 people jumped to their feet. A group of students started beating their drums frantically.
15.2: Tait went fuller, angry.
Deva cleared his front leg. He hit it straight back over the bowler's head. It landed on the sightscreen.
FOUR.
Commentary (Shastri): "Down the ground! Straight as an arrow! Tait is furious, but Deva is ice cool. That nearly took the umpire's hat off!"
15.3: Short ball.
Deva pulled. It wasn't a clean hit, but it raced to the mid-wicket fence.
FOUR.
20 runs came off the over. The crowd at Uppal went from funeral silence to rave party in six balls. The flags were unfurled again. The drums started beating a frantic rhythm.
Over 17: Siddharth Trivedi
Trivedi tried to bowl wide yorkers.
Deva stepped out, converting them into full tosses. He slashed one over point for FOUR. He drove another through extra cover for FOUR.
Christian joined the party, clobbering a slow bouncer for SIX.
The partnership raced past 50. Then 70.
Over 18: Shane Warne
Warne brought himself back to stop the bleeding.
17.2: Christian tried to slog sweep Warne. The ball dipped. Top edge. Caught at deep square leg.
Wicket.
Commentary (Gavaskar): "Warne does it again! Christian tries to muscle it but gets beaten by the dip. A good hand of 30 comes to an end."
Crowd Reaction: Polite applause for Christian, but eyes were glued to Deva.
Christian walked back. Score: 138/6.
Deva was on strike. He was on 45 off 28 balls.
17.4: Warne bowled a flipper.
Deva read it. He stayed back and cut it late.
FOUR.
The last two overs were a blur of violence. Deva refused singles. He faced 10 of the last 12 balls. He hit Amit Singh for two massive sixes into the top tier.
He finished unbeaten on 72 off 38 balls.
Final Score: Deccan Chargers 165/6.
Deva walked off the field, sweat dripping from his helmet, raising his bat to a standing ovation. He had dragged the team from the grave.
"165," Sangakkara said, high-fiving him at the boundary. "That is a winning total on this track. Brilliant, Sid."
---
166 to win. The Royals had a formidable lineup: Rahul Dravid, Shane Watson, Ross Taylor.
The chase started aggressively. Watson smashed Ishant Sharma for three boundaries in the first over. Dravid played classy shots through the covers. RR raced to 50/0 in 5 overs.
It looked like Deva's effort would be in vain. The crowd was silent again, watching the ball fly to the boundary repeatedly.
Over 6: Siddanth Deva (Bowling)
Sangakkara threw the ball to Deva.
Deva marked his run-up. The crowd started a rhythmic clap. Thump. Thump. Thump.
5.3: Deva to Watson.
148 kmph in-swinger.
Watson tried to drive. The ball jagged back through the gate.
CLANG.
The middle stump cartwheeled.
Commentary (Shastri): "KNOCKED HIM OVER! Pure pace! Watson is beaten for speed! The furniture is disturbed! Deva breaks the stand and the crowd finds its voice again!"
WICKET.
The breakthrough changed the momentum. The spinners, Ojha and Mishra, squeezed the middle overs. The run rate climbed.
But Ross Taylor was still there. The Kiwi slugger was hitting bombs. He reached his 50 in 30 balls.
The equation boiled down to the wire.
Target: 166.
Score: 152/5.
Overs: 19
Required: 14 runs off 6 balls.
Striker: Ross Taylor (65*).
Non-Striker: Johan Botha.
Sangakkara and Deva talked about a few tactics, and then Deva took the ball from the umpire.
The crowd roared. The local boy. The savior with the bat. Now the savior with the ball. A group of college students in the East Stand stood up, holding hands, praying.
Ball 19.1: Deva to Ross Taylor
Deva ran in. He aimed for the wide yorker.
He missed slightly. It was a low full toss outside off.
Taylor reached for it. He sliced it.
The ball flew over the point. It didn't go for six, but it plugged in the outfield.
They ran two.
2 Runs. (12 needed off 5).
Ball 19.2: Deva to Ross Taylor
Deva corrected his line. He bowled a slower bouncer. 115kmph.
Taylor swung hard, early. He missed.
DOT BALL.
A massive roar of relief. "ONE DOT! ONE DOT!" someone screamed.
(12 needed off 4).
Ball 19.3: Deva to Ross Taylor
Pressure. Taylor moved across his stumps, trying to scoop.
Deva saw the movement. He fired a 152kmph yorker at the leg stump.
Taylor tried to adjust, jamming his bat down.
Inside edge. The ball trickled to fine leg.
They ran a single.
Commentary (Gavaskar): "Brilliant adaptation! He saw the scoop and followed him with a yorker. That is international class bowling under pressure!"
1 Run. (11 needed off 3).
Ball 19.4: Deva to Johan Botha
Botha was on strike. He wasn't a big hitter.
Deva bowled a length ball, cross-seam.
Botha swung blindly. He connected.
The ball flew towards long-on. It looked like a six.
The crowd gasped, thousands of hands covering mouths.
But Dan Christian leaped at the boundary. He patted the ball back into play.
They ran two.
2 Runs. (9 needed off 2).
Ball 19.5: Deva to Johan Botha
9 runs needed. A six keeps them alive. A boundary makes it tough.
Deva ran in. He bowled the perfect yorker. Base of middle stump.
Botha dug it out straight back to the bowler.
Deva fielded it. He didn't throw. He just held the pose.
DOT BALL.
Commentary (Morrison): "HE'S NAILED IT! WHAT A DELIVERY! A DOT BALL! The crowd is going berserk! Rajasthan needs a miracle now! 9 off 1!"
The Equation: 9 runs needed off 1 ball.
The match was won. Only a no-ball could save RR.
Ball 19.6: Deva to Johan Botha
Deva didn't relax. He ran in hard.
He bowled a bouncer.
Botha hooked. Top edge.
The ball flew over the keeper for FOUR.
It didn't matter.
Final Score: Rajasthan Royals 161/5.
Deccan Chargers won by 4 runs.
---
Deva stood at the end of his follow-through. He raised his arms.
The stadium erupted. The noise was deafening. The DJ blasted the Deccan Chargers Theme Song.
Sangakkara ran up and hugged him. "You beauty! What a final over!"
Dale Steyn ruffled his hair. "Ice in the veins, kid! Ice in the veins!"
Ross Taylor walked up, shaking his head but smiling. "You got me, mate. Too good today."
Deva walked towards the dugout where Lehmann was clapping with a wide grin.
Man of the Match: Siddanth Deva. (72* runs and 2/28).
In the post-match presentation, Ravi Shastri (who seemed to follow Deva everywhere) asked: "Sid, 77 for 5. Did you think you could win?"
Deva wiped the sweat from his face. He looked at the Hyderabad crowd, waving their flags.
"When you have this crowd behind you," Deva said, panting but smiling, "and when you have the Bull on your chest... you never give up. We just wanted to fight. And we fought."
He lifted the Man of the Match trophy. The campaign had begun.
----
Poll
Do you want narration of every IPL game?
1. Yes
2. No