The Westpac Stadium in Wellington, affectionately known as the "Cake Tin," was living up to its reputation. The wind wasn't just blowing; it was howling, swirling off the harbour and channelling through the stadium's open roof like a physical force.
It was the second and final T20 International of the series. India led 1-0 after the Christchurch demolition. A win here would mean a clean sweep of the white-ball leg.
The Toss:
MS Dhoni, standing tall against the gust, spun the coin. Daniel Vettori called heads. It was tails.
"We'll bowl," Dhoni said, his voice barely audible over the wind. "The wind is a factor. We want to know what we're chasing."
In the huddle, Dhoni tossed the ball to Siddanth.
"Listen to the wind, Sid," Dhoni shouted. "You're bowling from the City End. The wind is behind you. It's going to add five clicks to your pace. Don't overthrow. Just let it fly."
Siddanth nodded. The wind was an ally.
The First Innings
"Welcome to windy Wellington!" Simon Doull's voice greeted the viewers. "The flags are stiff, the bails are heavy, and India has put the Kiwis in. New Zealand needs 180 plus here. Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder are walking out. But look who has the new ball. The man who clocked 152kph in Christchurch. With this tailwind, Siddanth Deva might break the speed gun today."
Over 1: The Tailwind
Siddanth stood at the top of his mark. He felt the wind pushing against his back, urging him forward. He didn't need to force it.
He began his run-up. The wind carried him. He felt weightless.
He hit the crease and exploded.
Ball 1: 154.2kph.
It was a thunderbolt. It started on off-stump and held its line. Brendon McCullum, usually so quick, was late. The ball thudded into Dhoni's gloves with a sound like a cracking whip. Dhoni shook his hands, grinning.
"Good grief!" Ravi Shastri exclaimed. "Did you see the speed gun? 154! The wind is helping, but that is raw power! McCullum didn't even smell that!"
Ball 2: Siddanth adjusted. He bowled the "Heavy Ball". 150kph. Hitting the deck hard.
McCullum tried to cut. The bounce surprised him. It flew over the slip cordon for a streaky four.
Ball 3: Siddanth went fuller.
McCullum stepped out, trying to impose himself.
Siddanth saw the charge. He didn't shorten the length. He followed him with a swinging yorker.
McCullum jammed his bat down. Inside edge onto the pad.
Dot.
Ball 4: The Wicket.
Siddanth went wide of the crease. He angled it in. 153kph.
McCullum tried to force it through the off-side. The pace was too much. The ball took the inside edge, missed the stumps by a fraction, and crashed into the pad.
But McCullum had set off for a run.
Jesse Ryder sent him back.
McCullum turned.
Siddanth was already on the ball. He picked it up one-handed in his follow-through. He didn't throw. He ran. He beat McCullum to the stumps and broke them with the ball in hand.
WICKET 1: Brendon McCullum run out (Deva) 4.
"He is everywhere!" Sunny Gavaskar cried. "He bowls the thunderbolt, he fields the ball, he wins the footrace! McCullum is gone! India draws first blood!"
Siddanth finished the over, giving away just 5 runs.
Over 3:
Siddanth continued. The wind was still howling.
Jesse Ryder was on strike.
Siddanth bowled a perfect channel. Ryder poked and missed.
Ball 5: Siddanth rolled his fingers. The 110kph slower ball. into the wind, the ball held up in the air, dipping violently.
Ryder was completely foxed. He chipped it gently to mid-off.
Suresh Raina swallowed the catch.
WICKET 2: Jesse Ryder c. Raina b. Deva 12.
Siddanth's first spell: 2 overs, 10 runs, 1 wicket (plus a run-out).
He had broken the top order.
With Siddanth off, New Zealand rebuilt. Martin Guptill and Ross Taylor played beautifully. They used the wind to hit straight sixes. The spinners, Harbhajan and Yuvraj, struggled to grip the ball in the swirling conditions.
Guptill scored a fluent 50. Taylor smashed a quick 40.
The score moved to 151 for 3 in 17 overs. They were eyeing 190.
Dhoni looked at Siddanth. "Finish it. Yorkers. Nothing else."
The Death Spell
Over 18:
Siddanth came back. Jacob Oram was at the crease. A giant.
Ball 1: 151kph Yorker. Oram dug it out. Single.
Ball 2: Guptill on strike. Siddanth bowled the Wobble Seam. Guptill swung and missed. Dot.
Ball 3: Guptill tried to scoop. Siddanth saw it. He bowled a wide yorker. Guptill couldn't reach. Dot.
Ball 4: Guptill connected. A lofted drive. It plugged in the wind and fell short of long-off. Single.
It was a brilliant over. Just 4 runs.
Over 20:
The final over. New Zealand 165/4.
Siddanth vs. Oram.
Ball 1: Oram smashed a low full toss for Four.
Ball 2: Siddanth corrected. A searing yorker at the heels. Oram fell over trying to dig it out. Dot.
Ball 3: Siddanth bowled the Slower Bouncer. Oram swung early. Top edge. It landed safely. Single.
Ball 4: New batsman. 152kph Yorker. Cleaned him up.
WICKET 3: N. McCullum b. Deva 0.
Ball 5: Single.
Ball 6: Oram hit a boundary off a thick edge.
New Zealand finished on 175 for 4.
Siddanth's Figures: 4 overs, 22 runs, 2 wickets.
Economy: 5.5.
In a game where the par score was 180+, he had been gold.
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176 to win. The lights were on. The wind had dropped slightly, but the air was cold.
Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir walked out.
The mandate was clear: Attack.
The Powerplay: The Sehwag Show
Sehwag was in a mood. He didn't care about the wind. He didn't care about the field.
Over 1 (Tim Southee): Sehwag slashed the first ball over point for Six. Then he drove the next for Four.
Over 3 (Kyle Mills): Gambhir joined the party, cutting crisply for two boundaries.
"Look at them go!" Shastri roared. "Sehwag is dealing in boundaries! He is treating the Wellington wind like a ceiling fan! He doesn't care!"
Sehwag was on 42 off 18 balls. He looked set for a half-century.
But in the 6th over, facing Iain O'Brien, Sehwag tried to upper-cut a ball that wasn't quite short enough.
He didn't get the distance. Third man took the catch.
WICKET 1: V. Sehwag c. Southee b. O'Brien 42.
India: 68 for 1. Overs: 7.4.
"Enter the Dragon," Danny Morrison said. "Siddanth Deva walks out at number three. He scored a century in the last game. Gambhir is settled on 22. This partnership will define the game."
Siddanth walked out. He looked calm. He tapped the pitch.
Gambhir walked up to him. "Ball is coming on nicely. Don't force it. Just time it."
Siddanth nodded.
The Partnership: The Accumulation
Siddanth didn't start with a bang. He started with surgery.
Ball 1: He leaned into a drive, piercing the gap at cover. Two runs.
Ball 2: He dropped it at his feet and ran a quick single.
He let Gambhir take the lead for a while. Gambhir was playing beautifully, using the pace of the bowlers.
They moved the score to 100 in the 10th over.
Gambhir reached his 40.
Siddanth was on 15 off 10 balls.
Then, Daniel Vettori came on. The Kiwi captain. Their best bowler.
Dhoni had said, Attack the spinners.
Ball 1: Vettori tossed it up. Siddanth skipped down. He didn't slog. He hit it inside-out over extra cover. The VVS Laxman shot.
FOUR.
Ball 2: Vettori fired it in flat. Siddanth rocked back. He cut it late, finer than fine.
FOUR.
"He is picking Vettori apart!" Gavaskar said. "He is reading the length so quickly. That cut shot was played from the stumps! Incredible hands."
Gambhir reached his 47. He took a single to give Siddanth the strike.
India: 120 for 1. Overs: 12.
57 runs needed off 48 balls.
The Acceleration
Siddanth decided to end it.
Jacob Oram came back.
Ball 1: Short. Siddanth swiveled. Power Hitting. Pull shot over mid-wicket.
SIX.
Ball 2: Full. Siddanth opened the face. Guided past point.
FOUR.
He was moving through the gears. 30 off 18.
Gambhir reached his 50 with a single. He tapped gloves with Siddanth. "Finish it, Sid."
Over 15: Tim Southee
Siddanth was on strike.
He did something audacious. He changed his stance. He stood like a left-hander.
Southee ran in. He bowled a yorker.
Siddanth, batting left-handed, played a perfect scoop over the keeper.
FOUR.
"Stop it!" Shastri yelled. "That is not fair! He switches hands and plays a scoop! He is mocking the field! This is the new age of cricket!"
The Finish
10 runs needed.
Siddanth was on 39.
Jeetan Patel, the off-spinner, was bowling the 18th over.
Ball 1: Siddanth stepped out. He lofted it straight back.
SIX.
45 runs. 4 runs to win.
Ball 2: Siddanth waited. He played a gentle push to long-on.
Single.
Gambhir on strike.
Gambhir hit the winning runs with a cut shot for Four.
India Won by 9 wickets.
Overs: 17.2.
Siddanth Deva: 45 (24 balls).*
Gautam Gambhir: 59 (48 balls).*
The players shook hands. It was clinical. It was dominant.
India had swept the T20 series 2-0.
The Presentation
The wind was back, whipping the flags on the podium.
Ravi Shastri stood with the microphone.
Shastri: "A comprehensive victory. India takes the series. But first, let's talk to the Man of the Match. For a brilliant spell of 2 for 22 and a calm 45 not out... Siddanth Deva!"
Siddanth walked up. The team cheered. He looked fresh, despite the cold.
Shastri: "Siddanth, another all-round show. You bowled with the wind today. 154kph on the speed gun. Was that the plan?"
Siddanth smiled. "Dhoni-bhai told me to use the wind. It felt good. The rhythm was there. Getting McCullum early was crucial."
Shastri: "And the batting? You played second fiddle to Gambhir initially, then exploded. That switch-hit?"
"Gautam-bhai was playing amazingly. I just wanted to rotate strike. The switch-hit... well, the field was set for the right-hander. I thought, why not?"
Shastri: "Why not indeed! You are the Man of the Series as well for the T20s. A century and this knock. 6 wickets. You are having a dream tour."
"It's a great team to be part of. We enjoy each other's success. That's the key."
Dhoni collected the trophy. The team posed for the photos.
Siddanth stood next to Gambhir and Sehwag.
Sehwag nudged him. "You didn't hit enough sixes today, Sid. Only two?"
"Saving them for the IPL, Viru-pa," Siddanth grinned.
The Return
The tour was over.
The Test series loss was a blemish, but the ODI and T20 domination had salved the wounds.
Siddanth Deva returned to India not as a prospect, but as a star.
His bank balance was growing. His reputation was sky-high.
Then 2009 IPL in South Africa.
The T20 World Cup in England followed.
He sat in the business class seat of the flight back to Mumbai.
He checked his System.
[SYSTEM STATUS REPORT]
[Current Integration:]
Brett Lee: 75%
AB de Villiers: 82% (Consistency boost).