The date was October 2, 2009. The venue: The New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg. The "Bullring."
It was the ICC Champions Trophy Semi-Final. India vs. England.
The atmosphere was suffocatingly tense. The stadium was a kaleidoscope of Indian blue and the Barmy Army's red and white.
In the commentary box, the legendary David 'Bumble' Lloyd adjusted his headset, sitting next to Sunil Gavaskar.
David Lloyd: "Good morning, everyone! Start the car! It's semi-final time at the Bullring. The sun is shining, the pitch looks a belter, and we have a cracker on our hands. England, the scrappers of Group B, against India, the unbeaten juggernaut of Group A. Andrew Strauss against MS Dhoni. It doesn't get bigger than this!"
Sunil Gavaskar: "Absolutely, Bumble. India has played some fantastic cricket, but knockout games are different beasts. One bad hour, and you are on the flight home. The toss will be crucial here."
---
MS Dhoni and Andrew Strauss walked out to the middle. The noise was deafening.
Strauss flipped the coin.
"Heads," Dhoni called.
It was Heads.
"We will bowl first," Dhoni said calmly.
Strauss (at the toss): "We would have batted anyway. It looks like a good surface. Runs on the board in a semi-final is always pressure on the opposition."
Dhoni: "There might be a bit of moisture early on for Nehra and Sid. We want to exploit that. And we are confident in chasing."
First Innings
Ashish Nehra and Siddanth Deva took the new ball.
Andrew Strauss and Joe Denly opened for England.
Nehra was in sublime form. He was getting the ball to shape away from the left-handed Strauss.
Over 2: Nehra angled one across. Strauss, usually so disciplined, felt the pressure of the semi-final. He poked at it.
The ball kissed the outside edge and flew to Dinesh Karthik at second slip.
WICKET 1: A. Strauss c. Karthik b. Nehra 5.
England: 15 for 1.
David Lloyd: "Oh dear, oh dear. The skipper is gone. That is a massive blow for England. Nehra asked the question, and Strauss gave the answer he didn't want to give."
---
Owais Shah walked in.
Dhoni signaled to Siddanth. "Bowl fast. Use the bounce."
Siddanth ran in. He cranked it up to 152kph.
Owais Shah looked uncomfortable against the extra pace.
Over 7: Siddanth bowled a heavy ball back of a length. Shah tried to punch it off the back foot but was cramped for room.
He chopped it onto his stumps.
WICKET 2: O. Shah b. Deva 13.
England: 38 for 2.
---
Paul Collingwood walked out to join Joe Denly. England was wobbling.
But these two were fighters. They dug in. They left the good balls and picked off the bad ones. The partnership grew. 50 runs. 70 runs.
Dhoni rotated his bowlers, but the pitch flattened out. England reached 120 for 2 in the 25th over.
---
Dhoni brought back Harbhajan Singh.
Over 26: Harbhajan bowled a doosra.
Joe Denly, batting on 45, leaned forward to drive. He missed the line slightly. His back foot dragged out of the crease by an inch.
That was all Dhoni needed.
In a flash—literally faster than the blink of an eye—Dhoni whipped the bails off.
The square leg umpire went upstairs.
OUT.
WICKET 3: J. Denly st. Dhoni b. Harbhajan 45.
England: 126 for 3.
Gavaskar: "Lightning! Absolute lightning! MS Dhoni's hands are quicker than a pickpocket in a crowded market. That is brilliant keeping."
---
Eoin Morgan came in. The danger man.
But he didn't last. He tried to reverse sweep Harbhajan and top-edged it to short third man.
WICKET 4: E. Morgan c. Nehra b. Harbhajan 10.
Steven Davies followed soon after, trapped LBW by Yusuf Pathan.
England was 150 for 5.
---
But Paul Collingwood was still there. He was batting beautifully, holding the innings together. He reached his 50. He started to accelerate.
He moved to 80.
Dhoni looked at Siddanth.
"Sid. Break this. He is looking for 250."
---
Siddanth came back for his second spell.
He bowled with hostility.
In the 35th Over, Collingwood tried to pull Siddanth.
Siddanth had set the trap. He bowled the Knuckle Ball. It dipped.
Collingwood was through the shot early. The ball hit the toe end of the bat and looped to mid-wicket.
Virat Kohli took a simple catch.
WICKET 6: P. Collingwood c. Kohli b. Deva 85.
England: 186 for 6.
---
At 186/6, India thought they had them.
But Luke Wright and Tim Bresnan had other ideas.
They launched a counter-attack that stunned the Indians.
Luke Wright smashed Nehra for two sixes.
Bresnan hit Siddanth for a boundary through the covers.
They put on a massive 95-run partnership in the last 15 overs.
Dhoni tried everything, but the ball was flying.
England Finished: 287 for 6 (50 Overs).
Mid-Innings Analysis:
Ravi Shastri: "A brilliant recovery from England! From 186 for 6, to get to 287 is a fantastic effort. Luke Wright played a blinder. 288 to win in a semi-final is a huge score. The pressure is squarely on India now."
Ian Chappell: "The momentum is with England. India let them off the hook. Deva bowled well for his wickets, but the death bowling was a bit loose. Now, it's up to Indian Batters."
Second Innings
The lights were on. The air was cool.
Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir walked out.
288 runs. 5.76 runs per over.
The Early Setback
James Anderson was swinging it.
In the 4th Over, Gambhir tried to drive on the up. The ball swung in late.
Inside edge onto the pad. LBW.
WICKET 1: G. Gambhir lbw b. Anderson 15.
India: 25 for 1.
Siddanth Deva walked out at Number 3.
The crowd chanted "Dev-a! Dev-a!"
He met Sachin in the middle.
"Good wicket, Sid," Sachin said. "Just need to play straight. Don't let Anderson settle."
What followed was a clinic.
Sachin Tendulkar and Siddanth Deva.
Sachin was the artist; Siddanth was the athlete.
Sachin drove Anderson down the ground. Pure class.
Siddanth faced Stuart Broad. Broad banged it in short. Siddanth pulled him in front of square for four.
They rotated the strike beautifully.
The 50 partnership came up.
Then the 100 partnership.
Sachin reached his 50 off 45 balls. The crowd stood up.
Siddanth reached his 50 off 52 balls. He raised his bat calmly.
Score: 125 for 1 in 22 Overs.
India was cruising.
---
Over 23: Graeme Swann was bowling.
Sachin was on 65. He looked set for a hundred.
He tried to play a late cut. The ball bounced a fraction more than expected.
It took the faint edge.
Paul Collingwood at slip took a sharp catch.
WICKET 2: S. Tendulkar c. Collingwood b. Swann 65.
India: 125 for 2.
Virat Kohli walked in. Number 4.
The two young guns were at the crease.
"Cheeku," Siddanth said, punching gloves. "We need to rebuild. Just singles."
"Yeah," Kohli said, wiping sweat. "Singles and twos. Don't let the run rate climb."
But the cricket gods have a sense of humor.
Over 25: Stuart Broad came back.
Siddanth was on 59. He was seeing the ball like a football.
Broad bowled a slower ball, a cutter.
Siddanth read it as a short ball. He went for the pull shot—a shot he had played perfectly all tournament.
But he was a split second early. He mistimed it.
The ball didn't go off the bat. It hit him low on the back pad as he swiveled.
Broad screamed. "HOWZAT!"
The umpire thought for a second. Up went the finger.
Siddanth stood there in disbelief. Mistimed. LBW.
He walked off, shaking his head.
WICKET 3: S. Deva lbw b. Broad 59.
India: 143 for 3.
Commentary:
Bumble: "Hello! Is there a twist in the tale? Deva goes! He tried to fetch that from outside off and missed it. England are right back in this! Two quick wickets!"
---
Rahul Dravid walked in.
India needed 145 runs.
Dravid tried to steady the ship. He scored a brisk 24, hitting a few lovely boundaries, but the required rate was climbing to 7.
He tried to clear mid-off against Tim Bresnan. Caught.
WICKET 4: R. Dravid c. Strauss b. Bresnan 24.
India: 175 for 4.
---
MS Dhoni walked out.
Virat Kohli was at the other end, batting on 15.
113 runs needed. 15 overs left.
Dhoni walked to Virat.
"Cheeku," Dhoni said, his face a mask of calm. "This game is ours, and the ground is big. Run hard. Boundaries will come automatically."
---
It was a masterclass in running between the wickets.
Kohli and Dhoni turned singles into twos. They challenged the arm of every English fielder.
The English fielders started to panic. Overthrows happened. Misfields happened.
Kohli reached his 50. He celebrated with a roar, pointing his bat at the dressing room.
Dhoni was in his zone. He was calculating.
Target: 50 off 40.
Target: 30 off 24.
Over 45:
James Anderson bowled.
Kohli stepped out. Cover drive. FOUR.
Next ball. Flick off the pads. FOUR.
The pressure broke.
Over 47: Stuart Broad.
India needed 6 runs to win.
Dhoni on strike.
Broad bowled a length ball.
Dhoni cleared his front leg. The bottom hand took over.
CRACK.
The sound was unmistakable.
The ball soared over the long-on boundary.
SIX.
INDIA WINS BY 6 WICKETS.
With 3 overs to spare.
Scorecard:
England: 287/6.
India: 288/4 (47 Overs).
Virat Kohli: 67 (Not Out).*
MS Dhoni: 56 (Not Out).*
Siddanth Deva: 59.
Sachin Tendulkar: 65.
Post-Match Presentation
The stadium erupted. The Indian flags were waving wildly.
Siddanth ran onto the field and hugged Virat.
"You finished it!" Siddanth yelled.
"We finished it!" Virat screamed back.
Ravi Shastri: "What a run chase! 288 looked tricky, but India paced it perfectly. A true team effort. But the Man of the Match, for his unbeaten 67 and guiding the chase... Virat Kohli!"
Shastri: "Virat, another chase, another win. You seem to enjoy these situations."
Kohli: "I love chasing, Ravi bhai. You know exactly what you need. Mahi bhai was brilliant at the other end. He just kept telling me to run hard. When you have the best finisher in the world with you, you just follow his lead."
MS Dhoni Interview:
Shastri: "MS, into the Final! A comprehensive win."
Dhoni: "Yes, very happy. The bowlers pulled it back in the middle overs, though the last 10 overs we gave away too many. But the batting... Sachin and Sid set the platform, and Virat was exceptional. We are peaking at the right time."
Shastri: "Who do you want in the final? Australia or New Zealand?"
Dhoni: "Doesn't matter. We just want the Cup."
The Dressing Room
The team was jubilant.
Siddanth sat with an ice pack on his knee (from a dive).
Sachin Tendulkar walked by.
"59," Sachin said, poking Siddanth. "You got out at the wrong time."
Siddanth nodded, looking guilty. "I know, Paaji. Mistimed the pull. I should have rolled the wrists."
"Learn from it," Sachin smiled. "Final is coming. No mistiming there."
Yusuf Pathan walked in with pizza. "Who cares! We are in the final!"
Siddanth leaned back.
One more game.
The Devil was one win away from holding two ICC trophies in one year.
He looked at Virat, who was dancing with Harbhajan.
The future of Indian cricket was bright. And dangerous.