The Deccan Chargers caravan rolled into Durban, the coastal city humming with the sound of the crashing Indian Ocean waves. The team was flying high. Two wins from two. A new moniker circulating in the press: "The Blue Storm."
Coach Darren 'Boof' Lehmann kept the mood light. "Cricket is simple, lads," he told them over a breakfast of bacon and eggs (which Siddanth skipped for his precision-engineered oatmeal). "We bat big, we bowl fast, we catch everything. And then we have a beer. Any questions?"
There were none. The formula was working.
Match 3
Opponent: Mumbai Indians (MI)
Venue: Kingsmead, Durban
The Kingsmead pitch was green, damp, and humid. It was a swing bowler's dream.
Adam Gilchrist won the toss. "We'll have a bowl," he grinned. "Let the kids have some fun."
The "kids"—RP Singh and Siddanth Deva—marked their run-ups.
Mumbai Indians were struggling. They were led by God himself, Sachin Tendulkar, but the team balance was off. Alongside him opened the dangerous, but ageing, Sanath Jayasuriya.
The First Innings
Siddanth took the new ball. The humid Durban air felt heavy, perfect for the swing mechanics.
"Welcome to Kingsmead!" Harsha Bhogle chirped. "The Chargers are on a roll. Siddanth Deva has the new ball. He has pace, but today, he needs control. Jayasuriya is on strike."
Over 1:
Siddanth didn't go for 150kph. He dialed it back to 145kph to maximize the swing.
Ball 1: Outswinger. It started on leg and ended outside off. Jayasuriya looked at it, bewildered.
Ball 2: Inswinger. Jayasuriya chopped it onto his pads.
"He's got the ball on a string!" Sunil Gavaskar noted. "At that pace, with that movement, it is unplayable."
Ball 4: The breakthrough.
Siddanth went round the wicket. He angled it in, then got it to straighten off the seam. The "Heavy Ball" tactic.
Jayasuriya tried to loft it over the covers. The ball kissed the outside edge.
Gilchrist flew to his left.
WICKET 1: S. Jayasuriya c. Gilchrist b. Deva 2.
Then, Sachin Tendulkar walked in.
The crowd roared. Siddanth felt that familiar tightening in his chest. Whenever he bowled to Sachin.
Sachin looked focused. He tapped the pitch.
Siddanth ran in. He bowled a perfect channel.
Sachin defended. It was the most beautiful defensive shot Siddanth had ever seen.
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In Siddanth's third over, he got the prize.
He bowled the 110kph Slower Ball Yorker.
Sachin picked it early. He waited. He tried to guide it to third man.
But he was a fraction too late. The ball took the inside edge and cannoned into the stumps.
WICKET 2: S. Tendulkar b. Deva 18.
Siddanth didn't celebrate wildly. He just raised his hand in apology/respect. Sachin nodded, walking off. The King had been checkmated.
Siddanth finished with 3 wickets for 22 runs in his 4 overs, cleaning up Dwayne Bravo at the death with a searing yorker.
Mumbai managed a paltry 135 for 7.
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It was a low total, but the pitch was tricky.
Gilchrist fell early. Gibbs struggled.
Siddanth walked in at 40 for 2.
He batted with Rohit Sharma. They didn't take risks.
Siddanth played the anchor. He works the ball into gaps, running hard twos.
He scored a calm 20 not out off 18 balls, while Rohit (72*) finished the game with a flurry of boundaries.
Deccan Chargers Won by 8 wickets.
3 Wins in a Row.
Match 4: The Windy City Test
Opponent: Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
Venue: St George's Park, Port Elizabeth
Port Elizabeth was notorious. The wind. The brass band playing in the stands. The slow, gripping pitch.
It was a fortress for spinners, which meant MS Dhoni's CSK were the favorites.
Gilchrist lost the toss. "We bat," Dhoni said, smiling. "We like to squeeze."
The First Innings
The Chargers opened with Gilchrist and Gibbs.
It was a disaster start.
Over 2: Makhaya Ntini bowled a beauty that straightened. Gilchrist edged it to slip.
DC: 10 for 1.
Siddanth Deva walked out at Number 3. The wind was howling across the ground.
He looked at the scoreboard. 10 for 1. It was a familiar situation.
He scratched his guard.
Bat long, his mind ordered. This pitch is a graveyard for aggressive shots.
At the other end, the carnage continued.
Gibbs: Out for 8 (Caught at mid-wicket).
Laxman: Out for 10 (LBW to Muralitharan).
Symonds: Run out for 15 (Direct hit by Raina).
Score: 45 for 4 in 8 overs.
Siddanth stood at the non-striker's end, watching the collapse. He was the last recognised batsman along with Rohit Sharma, who had just walked in at number 6.
"This is a test of character," Ravi Shastri boomed. "The Chargers are in a deep hole. 45 for 4. Deva has watched three partners vanish. He needs to stand up now."
Siddanth walked to Rohit.
"We don't hit in the air," Siddanth said, his voice cutting through the wind. "We sweep. We use the pace. We target the short boundary."
Rohit nodded. "Got it."
Siddanth took charge.
He faced Muralitharan. The ball was turning square.
Ball 1: Siddanth didn't charge to hit; he charged to smother. He killed the spin and stole a single.
Ball 2: He waited on the back foot. He played a late cut off Shadab Jakati. Four.
He built the innings brick by brick. He ran like a panther, pushing Rohit for twos that weren't there.
He reached 30. Then 40.
In the 16th over, he decided to go.
He faced Andrew Flintoff.
Flintoff bowled a heavy ball.
Siddanth pulled Flintoff over mid-wicket. The wind carried it. Six.
Next ball, he scooped Flintoff over fine leg. Four.
He finished with a brilliant, grit-filled 64 off 45 balls.
Rohit supported him with 38.
Deccan Chargers Total: 155 for 6.
A fighting total on a difficult pitch.
The Second Innings
156 to win.
Siddanth took the new ball.
Over 1:
Matthew Hayden.
Siddanth bowled the Wobble seam. Hayden drove. Edge. Caught at slip by Laxman.
WICKET 1.
The CSK middle order tried to stabilize.
But Siddanth came back in the middle overs.
He deceived Raina with a flighted slower ball. Caught at long-on.
WICKET 2.
Then, the big one. MS Dhoni.
Dhoni was setting himself for a finish.
Siddanth bowled the 18th over.
He went wide of the crease. He bowled a wide yorker.
Dhoni reached. He sliced it.
Herschelle Gibbs at point took a blinder.
WICKET 3.
And finally, he cleaned up Albie Morkel with a 153kph thunderbolt.
WICKET 4.
Figures: 4 overs, 24 runs, 4 wickets.
Man of the Match.
Deccan Chargers Won by 15 runs.
4 Wins in a Row.
In the dressing room, Gilchrist was ecstatic. "Sid, you beauty! 64 runs at Number 3 when we were dead and buried? And 4 wickets? You are winning games on your own!"
Match 5
Opponent: Delhi Daredevils (DD)
Venue: SuperSport Park, Centurion
SuperSport Park. High altitude. Fast outfield.
The Deccan Chargers were flying.
Their opponent was the table-topping Delhi Daredevils. Virender Sehwag. Gautam Gambhir.
Sehwag won the toss. "We bowl," he said. "We like to chase here."
The First Innings: The Lone Ranger
Gilchrist and Gibbs walked out.
Dirk Nannes, the Australian left-arm quick, bowled the first over.
Ball 3: Gilchrist tried to smash him over cover. The ball swung late. Middle stump cartwheeled.
Gilchrist: Duck.
DC: 5 for 1 (0.3 Overs).
Siddanth Deva walked out at Number 3. Again.
The Centurion crowd buzzed. They knew him now.
He marked his guard.
Nannes was breathing fire.
Ball 4: Nannes bowled a bouncer. 148kph.
Siddanth swayed. Calm.
Ball 5: Length ball. Siddanth punched it off the back foot. Four.
But at the other end, disaster struck.
Gibbs: Out for 5 (Caught at slip off Pradeep Sangwan).
Laxman: Out for 12 (LBW to Amit Mishra).
Symonds: Out for 10 (Caught in the deep).
DC: 40 for 4.
Siddanth stood at the non-striker's end, watching the procession.
He was the last man standing. Again.
He looked at the scoreboard. He looked at Sehwag setting attacking fields.
Okay, Damage control. If we go down, we go down fighting.
He batted with Rohit Sharma again. But Rohit fell early for 15.
Siddanth was left with the tail.
He decided to counter-attack.
He faced Amit Mishra.
Innovative Shot-Making activated.
Ball 1: Switch hit for Six.
Ball 2: Reverse sweep for Four.
Ball 3: Step out, inside-out drive for Six.
He was playing a different game. He shielded the tail-enders, refusing singles, hitting boundaries.
He raced to a 50 off just 31 balls. It was a dazzling, defiant innings amidst the ruins.
But he ran out of partners.
He was the last man out, caught on the boundary trying to hit Daniel Vettori for six.
Siddanth Deva: 50 (32 balls).
Deccan Chargers Total: 148 all out.
It was 30 runs short.
The Second Innings
Defending 148 against Sehwag and Gambhir.
Siddanth took the new ball.
He ran in. He wanted to get Sehwag early.
150kph.
Sehwag didn't move his feet. He just slashed.
The ball flew over point for Six.
"Viru being Viru!" Danny Morrison yelled. "Pace? What pace? He uses the pace!"
Siddanth tried the yorker. Sehwag opened the face. Four.
Siddanth tried the bouncer. Sehwag uppercut it. Six.
For the first time in the tournament, Siddanth felt helpless. His pace was being used against him. The pace was just feeding the ball to the boundary faster.
He went for 18 runs in his first over.
He was taken off.
Delhi was cruising.
Siddanth came back for a second spell. He managed to get Dilshan out with a slower bouncer.
WICKET 1.
But AB de Villiers (Delhi) walked in and finished the game with a flurry of reverse sweeps.
Delhi Daredevils Won by 6 wickets.
Siddanth's Figures: 4 overs, 45 runs, 1 wicket.
His most expensive spell of the season.
The Post-Match Analysis
The winning streak was snapped. 4 wins, 1 loss.
The team sat in the dressing room.
Lehmann walked in. "Well," he said. "That happened."
"They outplayed us," Lehmann said. "Sehwag took the game away. Sid, mate, don't worry about it. You scored 50 when the top order collapsed. You kept us in the game."
Siddanth sat in the corner. He was disappointed with the bowling, but his batting had stood up.
134 runs in three games. 8 wickets.
He was holding the Number 3 spot. He was holding the strike bowler spot.
Sony Max Studio Update:
Navjot Singh Sidhu: "My friend! The law of averages has caught up! But look at the young man, Deva! Even in a loss, he shines like a diamond in a coal mine! 50 runs! He fought alone! He walked in at Number 3 every game and stabilized the ship!"
Harsha Bhogle: "He is showing incredible versatility. Anchoring against MI, rescuing against CSK, and fighting alone against Delhi. He is the complete Number 3."
The loss was a lesson.
The Deccan Chargers bus rolled out of Centurion. They had been bloodied, but they were still the team to beat. And Siddanth Deva was learning with every ball.