Bengaluru was lit up for Diwali.
The festival of light over darkness had the city celebrating. The avenues around Cubbon Park and the streets of MG Road were lined with earthen diyas, marigold garlands and neon lights. The November air carried the scent of firecrackers and freshly fried jalebis.
The real centre of the celebration was the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The compact ground, known for its short boundaries and flat pitches, was packed with thirty-five thousand supporters in Indian blue, many in traditional festive clothes. The atmosphere was loud and joyful.
India had arrived in Bengaluru with a perfect record. Eight wins from eight. They had beaten Australia, Pakistan, England and South Africa. Tonight's final group match against the Netherlands was seen as a chance to rest key players and give the middle order time before the semi-finals.
High in the BCCI VIP box, Krithika Deva looked out over the illuminated stadium. She wore a deep red silk saree with gold work, matching the occasion.
Beside her, five-year-old Aadhya leaned against the glass.
"Amma, where are the fireworks?" Aadhya asked, pressing her hands to the pane. "Thatha said there would be fireworks today!"
"There will be, sweetie," Krithika smiled, resting a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "But they come after the match. Nana and the team have to play first."
Rishi sat quietly on a sofa behind them in a cream kurta. His eyes were fixed on the groundstaff painting the popping crease.
"The boundaries are very close, Amma," he said. "If the batsman hits the ball in the air, it does not have to travel far to cross the rope. There will be a lot of boundaries today."
"You are right, Rishi," Krithika chuckled. "The Chinnaswamy is hard for bowlers. Let's see what Nana decides."
Down on the outfield the broadcast panel set the scene.
Ravi Shastri, Ian Bishop and Nasser Hussain stood near the pitch.
"A very happy Diwali to everyone watching, and welcome to the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium!" Shastri said. "The atmosphere is special. The lights are on, the crowd is singing, and unbeaten India are ready for their final group game before the knockouts."
"It has been a strong campaign from the hosts," Nasser Hussain added. "Eight matches, eight wins. But Siddanth Deva will tell his side that none of it matters if they lose focus now. The Netherlands have played some good cricket. India must stay sharp."
"Looking at this pitch," Ian Bishop said, "it is a good batting surface. The ball will come on to the bat. Win the toss, bat first, entertain the Diwali crowd, and post a total that puts the opposition under pressure."
The two captains walked out to the middle.
Siddanth Deva, in the dark blue ODI kit, stood opposite Scott Edwards. The Dutch captain looked determined, aware of the challenge of facing the undefeated hosts at home.
Match referee Javagal Srinath held the coin.
"Tails," Edwards called.
"It is heads," Srinath confirmed.
Shastri stepped forward.
"Siddanth, you have won the toss on Diwali day. What is your decision?"
"We are going to bat first, Ravi Bhai," Deva said.
"Batting first on a Chinnaswamy pitch. What is the thinking, and are there any changes?"
"It is a good batting wicket," Deva replied. "We want to put runs on the board, use the short boundaries, and give our batsmen time in the middle before the semi-finals. We also want to manage workloads."
He looked into the camera.
"One change today. Suryakumar Yadav comes in to give us extra options in the middle order. The rest of the side: Rohit, Sanju, Virat, myself, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah."
Edwards confirmed his team. The captains shook hands.
Umpires Chris Gaffaney and Michael Gough walked out. The Dutch fielders followed.
The Indian dressing-room doors opened. Rohit Sharma and Sanju Samson walked down the steps. The match began.
Logan van Beek took the new white Kookaburra. He stood at the top of his mark, knowing the margins at Chinnaswamy were small.
Rohit Sharma took guard.
From the first over the Indian opener's intent was clear. He was not looking to build slowly. He wanted to set the tone for the Diwali crowd.
Van Beek pitched the third ball on a good length at off stump. Rohit cleared his front leg and lofted it straight back over the bowler's head. The ball cleared the sight-screen for six.
The crowd roared.
At the other end Sanju Samson matched the aggression with clean timing. When Paul van Meekeren hit the deck hard, Samson used the depth of the crease, rocked back and cut square to the boundary.
The openers attacked. They used the pace of the fast bowlers to pierce the infield. When the Dutch turned to the spin of Aryan Dutt and Roelof van der Merwe, Rohit and Samson used their feet.
Rohit stepped down and launched consecutive sixes over mid-wicket. Samson played inside-out drives over extra cover.
They crossed fifty in the sixth over and a hundred in the twelfth.
"This is strong batting in Bengaluru," Harsha Bhogle said on the broadcast. "Rohit is seeing it well. The short boundaries leave little room for error. It is a good display of stroke play."
Rohit fell in the 18th over, mistiming a pull off Bas de Leede. The top edge went to deep square leg.
He walked off for a brisk 61 off 45 balls.
India 115 for 1.
Virat Kohli walked out. The roar for the vice captain, playing at the ground of his IPL side, was loud.
Kohli settled into a steady rhythm. He placed the ball into gaps and ran hard between the wickets, turning ones into twos.
Samson continued, reaching a fluent fifty before he was dismissed for 75, caught in the deep trying to clear the straight boundary against van der Merwe.
India 180 for 2 in the 28th over.
The stadium announcer's voice came over the speakers.
The crowd rose. Phones came out. The chant began.
"DE-VA! DE-VA! DE-VA!"
They expected the captain at number four.
The dressing-room doors opened.
It was not Siddanth Deva. Shreyas Iyer walked out to join Kohli.
In the commentary box the panel reacted.
"This is a surprise," Ian Bishop said. "Siddanth Deva is not coming out. He has promoted Shreyas Iyer again just like last time."
On the pitch Iyer tapped gloves with Kohli.
Over the next twenty overs the plan worked.
Iyer started carefully, then found his timing. He used his feet against the spinners, lofting Dutt down the ground and punching through the covers.
Kohli anchored the partnership and reached his 51st ODI century—105 runs—before he was dismissed. The crowd rose as he raised his bat.
The score was 285 for 3.
The crowd looked again toward the dressing room.
Deva stayed seated.
KL Rahul walked out at number five.
"He has done it again," Ravi Shastri said. "Deva is still not batting. KL Rahul is promoted. He is giving the middle order time before the knockouts."
Rahul struck the ball cleanly from the start, with wristy flicks and straight drives, scoring a rapid 40 before falling in the deep.
The score was 340 for 4 in the 44th over.
The crowd waited. Surely the captain would come for the final overs.
Suryakumar Yadav walked out at number six.
"The captain has dropped himself to number seven," Bishop said. "He has given Suryakumar the death overs."
The move worked. Suryakumar, free to play his natural game, shuffled across and sliced wide yorkers over point, and whipped balls from the pads over fine leg. He scored 60 off 25 balls. Iyer, at the other end, reached an unbeaten century and raised his bat in the final over.
India finished on 410 for 4.
The team walked off to a standing ovation.
The camera found the dugout. Siddanth Deva sat calmly. He stood and clapped for Iyer and Suryakumar as they crossed the rope.
He had set up a 410-run total, given the middle order valuable time, and put the team's preparation first.
Defending 411 at Chinnaswamy is largely a matter of pressure. The scoreboard weighs heavily from the first ball.
Under the floodlights the Dutch openers, Max O'Dowd and Wesley Barresi, walked out.
Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami took the new balls.
The Indian pacers hunted early wickets.
Over 0.4: Bumrah ran in and delivered a 142 kmph full ball at the base of middle stump. It tailed late. O'Dowd was beaten for pace. The ball hit the base of the stumps and uprooted middle.
India had first blood.
Over 1.3: Shami from the other end. Back of a length just outside off. Colin Ackermann pushed at it. The ball seamed away, took the edge, and went to KL Rahul.
Netherlands 12 for 2.
The Dutch batsmen struggled against the accuracy of the Indian pace. When Sybrand Engelbrecht tried to hit Bumrah over the infield he mistimed it to mid-on.
By the end of the powerplay the Netherlands were 32 for 3.
Deva brought on spin. Jadeja and Kuldeep used the scoreboard pressure.
Jadeja trapped Scott Edwards plumb in front with a ball that skidded on. Kuldeep tossed one up, found drift and turn, and took the edge of Bas de Leede, caught by Rohit at slip.
The score was 48 for 5 in the 15th over.
Siddanth Deva stood at mid-off. He looked at the scoreboard and the night sky. The fireworks were waiting. He decided to finish the match.
He took his cap off and handed it to the umpire.
The crowd recognised the change and roared.
Deva marked his run-up.
Over 16.2: A 146 kmph bouncer at Teja Nidamanuru's throat. The batsman fended. The ball took the shoulder of the bat and lobbed to short leg, where Suryakumar took a simple catch.
Netherlands 52 for 6.
Over 18.1: Hard length on the fourth-stump line to Logan van Beek. The ball nipped back. Van Beek was squared up. It hit the pad. The umpire raised his finger. Plumb LBW.
Netherlands 58 for 7.
Over 18.5: A 148 kmph inswinging yorker. Roelof van der Merwe could not get the bat down in time. The ball hit the base of off stump and the bail spun away.
"Bowled him," Ian Bishop said. "Deva is cleaning up the tail. Too fast, too accurate. Third wicket."
Netherlands 62 for 8.
Over 20.3: Two short balls to Paul van Meekeren, then a full straight one. Van Meekeren was stuck on the crease. The ball hit middle stump and uprooted it.
Deva finished with 4 for 12. The lower order was gone.
The score was 65 for 9.
Deva handed the ball to Ravindra Jadeja.
Jadeja stood at the top of his short run-up. Aryan Dutt took guard.
Over 21.4: A fast, flat 95 kmph delivery on middle and leg. Dutt pushed forward. The ball gripped, spun past the outside edge and hit the top of off stump.
"Bowled him! Jadeja finishes it," Ravi Shastri said. "It is all over in Bengaluru."
The innings was over.
The Netherlands were bowled out for 68.
India had defended 410 and won by 342 runs.
The moment the final wicket fell the stadium lights dipped.
Then the Diwali sky lit up.
Fireworks erupted from the roof of the Chinnaswamy, gold, crimson and green against the night. A laser show moved across the outfield with the music.
In the VIP box Aadhya pressed her hands to the glass, eyes wide.
"Amma, look! The fire is in the sky!"
"I see it, sweetie," Krithika said, holding her close. "Nana won the match. The festival is starting."
On the pitch the Indian players gathered, high-fiving and looking up at the display.
Siddanth Deva stood among them. He shook hands with the Dutch players and offered a few quiet words.
As the team walked back, the crowd kept singing.
"And so the group stage ends," Harsha Bhogle said on the broadcast. "Nine matches. Nine wins. An undefeated campaign. Siddanth Deva has managed the side carefully, giving his middle order time today so they are ready for the knockouts."
He paused.
"But the real test begins next week. The semi-finals. Looking at this Indian side under the Diwali lights, the question is simple: who can stop them?"
Deva crossed the boundary, acknowledged the crowd once more, and stepped into the dressing room. The celebrations continued outside. Inside, the focus had already shifted. The group stage was done. The semi-finals were next.