The caravan of the Indian Premier League moved to Centurion. SuperSport Park, with its grassy banks and thin Highveld air, was a coliseum built for run-scoring.
The Deccan Chargers were rolling. They were no longer the underdogs; they were the team to beat.
In the dressing room, the mood was loose.
"Mumbai today," Gilchrist said, strapping on his pads. "Sachin. Jayasuriya. Bravo. They're desperate for points. We knock them out, we secure a top-two finish."
Siddanth Deva sat in his corner, adjusting his thigh pad.
Match 8:
Opponent: Mumbai Indians (MI)
Venue: SuperSport Park, Centurion
Gilchrist won the toss. "We'll bat. Put the runs on the board and let the scoreboard pressure do the rest."
The First Innings: The Assault
Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs walked out.
From the first ball, it was clear: this was a batting paradise.
Gibbs was in a mood. He shimmied down the track to Harbhajan Singh, lofting him over long-on. He cut Lasith Malinga. He pulled Bravo.
Gilchrist was equally destructive, though he fell for a quick-fire 32.
DC: 60 for 1.
Siddanth Deva walked out at Number 3.
The Mumbai Indians bowlers, led by Malinga, tried to unsettle him with pace.
Bad idea.
Siddanth saw 145kph as "medium pace."
He faced Malinga.
Ball 1: Malinga bowled a yorker. Siddanth opened the face and squeezed it past the point for four.
Ball 2: Malinga went short. Siddanth hooked it flat. It smashed into the advertising boards.
He built a partnership with Gibbs.
Gibbs fell for a brilliant 46, tired from running between the wickets with the "Colt."
DC: 110 for 2.
Enter Dwayne Smith. The West Indian powerhouse.
Smith and Siddanth unleashed hell in the middle overs.
Siddanth reached his 50 off 35 balls—a knock of pure class and controlled aggression. He wasn't slogging; he was dissecting the field.
He eventually fell for 54, trying to clear long-off against Bravo.
Siddanth Deva: 54 (38 balls).
Dwayne Smith (33) and Rohit Sharma (18 off 8 balls) provided the final flourish.
Deccan Chargers Total: 188 for 5.
The Second Innings: The Turnaround
189 to win. Mumbai needed a flyer.
They got one.
Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya rolled back the years. They put on 50 in 5 overs.
Siddanth bowled the 2nd and 4th overs.
He was quick—150kph—but Sachin used the pace beautifully, guiding him for two boundaries.
Siddanth's first spell: 2 overs, 18 runs, 0 wickets.
Mumbai was cruising.
By the 10th over, Mumbai was 85 for 1 (Jayasuriya out).
JP Duminy, the South African left-hander, was at the crease with Sachin. They were threatening to take the game away.
Gilchrist threw the ball to Siddanth.
"Break this, Sid. Duminy is the danger. He likes it leg-side. Keep it outside off."
Over 12:
Siddanth ran in.
He saw Duminy shuffling across, trying to access the square leg boundary.
Siddanth bowled the Wobble Seam. 142kph.
It started outside off and nipped away further.
Duminy, committed to the leg-side shot, tried to drag it. He got a leading edge.
The ball looped high towards cover.
Herschelle Gibbs ran back and took a blinder.
WICKET 1: JP Duminy c. Gibbs b. Deva 15.
"The partnership is broken!" Ravi Shastri shouted. "Deva does it again! He comes back and strikes immediately! That is the golden arm!"
Dwayne Bravo walked in. He was dangerous.
Over 14:
Siddanth to Bravo.
Bravo tried to attack immediately. He stepped out.
Siddanth saw the charge. He bowled the 110kph Slower Ball Yorker.
Bravo was completely foxed. He swung at fresh air.
The ball crashed into the stumps.
WICKET 2: D. Bravo b. Deva 2.
Siddanth roared. He had gutted the Mumbai middle order.
His figures: 4 overs, 30 runs, 2 wickets.
He had done his job.
But the game wasn't over. Mumbai kept fighting.
Abhishek Nayar and Harbhajan Singh were hitting lusty blows.
They needed 20 runs off the last 3 overs.
It was tight. RP Singh had bowled out. Siddanth had bowled out.
Who would bowl the death?
Gilchrist looked around. He looked at Styris. He looked at Venugopal.
Then, he looked at Rohit Sharma.
"You said you had a feeling, Ro?" Gilchrist asked, desperate.
Rohit nodded, grabbing the ball. "Trust me, Gilly."
The 18th Over: The Magic
Rohit Sharma, part-time off-spinner, marked his run-up.
"This is a gamble," Sunil Gavaskar said nervously. "Rohit Sharma bowling the 18th over? With the game on the line?"
Ball 1: Rohit tossed it up. Abhishek Nayar swung. He missed.
Bowled.
The stump rattled.
Rohit celebrated, pointing at Siddanth.
Ball 2: Harbhajan Singh on strike.
Rohit bowled a full toss. A terrible ball.
Harbhajan swung. Ideally, it should have been a six.
Instead, he got an inside edge. The ball hit his pad and rolled onto the stumps.
Bowled.
Two in two.
The crowd was going berserk. He was on a hat-trick.
Ball 3: Saurabh Tiwary on strike.
Rohit bowled a wide, flighted delivery.
Tiwary reached for it. He edged it.
Gilchrist, standing up, took the catch.
HAT-TRICK.
"I DO NOT BELIEVE IT!" Danny Morrison screamed. "Rohit Sharma has a hat-trick! The Deccan Chargers have pulled a rabbit out of the hat! The part-timer has destroyed Mumbai!"
Siddanth was laughing so hard he nearly fell on the ground.
"He actually did it!" Siddanth yelled to RP Singh. "The madman actually did it!"
Mumbai collapsed.
Deccan Chargers Won by 19 runs.
Rohit Sharma was the hero.
The Grind
The win against Mumbai secured their playoff spot, but the league wasn't over. There was a jostle for the top two spots.
Match 9: vs. Kings XI Punjab (The Loss)
Venue: Kimberley
Punjab, stinging from their previous loss to DC, came hard.
Siddanth batted at 3 and scored a fighting 45 runs, anchoring a collapsing innings.
But Brett Lee was on fire. He bowled a spell of 4-15.
In the chase, Yuvraj Singh finally got hold of Siddanth.
Siddanth bowled 2 overs for 25 runs. Yuvraj hit him for two massive sixes.
Result: Kings XI Punjab Won.
It was a reminder that even with the system, the real legends could still bite back.
Match 10: vs. Rajasthan Royals
Venue: Buffalo Park
Siddanth was back to his best.
He scored a quickfire 30 off 15.
With the ball, he was surgical. He removed Shane Watson early with a bouncer.
He finished with 2 wickets for 20 runs.
Result: Deccan Chargers Won.
Match 11: vs. Delhi Daredevils (The Clash of Titans)
Venue: Durban
Delhi was the only team that seemed to have Deccan's number.
Sehwag was absent, but Gambhir and AB de Villiers (Delhi) were in ominous form.
Siddanth scored 60 runs, playing a lone hand as the batting crumbled around him.
But De Villiers (Delhi) played a scoop shot off Siddanth's 150kph yorker that went for six.
Siddanth watched it, recognising the brilliance of the shot. So that's what it looks like from the other side.
Siddanth took 1 wicket (Dilshan), but Delhi chased it down easily.
Result: Delhi Daredevils Won.
Match 12: vs. Kolkata Knight Riders
Venue: Johannesburg
KKR was having a nightmare season. They were bottom of the table.
Deccan showed no mercy.
Siddanth was promoted to open the batting with Gilchrist (just for fun, as the playoff spot was secure).
He smashed 70 runs off 40 balls.
With the ball, he took 3 wickets for 15 runs, terrorising the KKR tail with reverse-swinging yorkers.
Result: Deccan Chargers Won by 80 runs.
The Leaderboard
The league stage was almost done. One match remained against RCB.
The stats flashed on the giant screen at the Wanderer's.
ORANGE CAP LEADER:
1. Siddanth Deva (DC) - 593 Runs
2. Matthew Hayden (CSK) - 545 Runs
3. Adam Gilchrist (DC) - 530 Runs
PURPLE CAP LEADER:
1. RP Singh (DC) - 21 Wickets
2. Siddanth Deva (DC) - 20 Wickets
3. Lasith Malinga (MI) - 18 Wickets
Siddanth Deva sat in the hotel room, looking at the Orange Cap sitting on his table.
He was the leading run-scorer in the toughest T20 league in the world.
He was the second-highest wicket-taker.
He picked up the cap. It felt light, but the weight of what it represented was immense.
In his previous life, he had watched players wear this cap on TV, thinking they were legends.
Now, he was one of them.
But the mind remained grounded.
League stages don't win trophies, he reminded himself. Knockouts do.