Date: December 26th, 2011.
Location: Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Event: 1st Test, Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Crowd: 91,000 (Capacity).
There are cricket grounds, and then there is the Ground.
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is a concrete basin so vast it feels less like a stadium and more like a small city. On Boxing Day, it transforms into the beating heart of Australian sport. The atmosphere is hostile, knowledgeable, and relentlessly loud.
For the Indian team, the MCG held a specific, haunted significance. 1981. That was the last time India had tasted victory here. It was the match where Sunil Gavaskar famously threatened to walk off, and Kapil Dev bowled India to a miraculous win while injured. Since then? Thirty years of draws and defeats. Thirty years of pain.
Pre-Match Show (Channel 9 / Star Cricket):
Richie Benaud: "Morning, everyone. It is a glorious Melbourne morning. The sun is shining, the pitch looks hard and true, and the air is thick with anticipation. India arrives as World Champions, but Australia at home is a different animal. 1981 feels a lifetime ago. Can Dhoni's men rewrite history?"
Sunil Gavaskar: "It is the final frontier, Richie. This Indian team has done everything—won in England (ODIs), won the World Cup. But a Test series win in Australia remains the Holy Grail. The key today is the first hour. If India bowls too short, they will bleed runs. They need to find the length early."
Ian Chappell: "I'm looking at the young man, Siddanth Deva. Clarke challenged him. He said, 'We'll see.' Well, today we see. 90,000 people waiting for him to fail. That's pressure."
---
The two captains walked out. Michael Clarke, the golden boy of Australia, looked confident. MS Dhoni, the stone-faced general, looked unbothered.
The Toss:
Clarke spun the coin.
"Heads," Dhoni called.
It was Tails.
"We'll have a bat," Clarke said instantly, a wide grin on his face. "Looks like a beauty. We want to put runs on the board and pressure on the Indians."
Dhoni: "We would have batted too. But the morning session might have a bit of moisture. We have to bowl well."
---
The Indian team huddled. The huddle broke.
The crowd expected Zaheer Khan, the veteran left-armer, to take the new ball.
Instead, MS Dhoni tossed the Kookaburra to Siddanth Deva.
Commentary (Mark Nicholas): "Well, well! Look at this! No Zaheer Khan to open the bowling? Dhoni throws the new cherry to the rookie! Siddanth Deva has the new ball in his first-ever Test in Australia! That is a massive statement of faith!"
Batsmen: David Warner (on debut series form) and Ed Cowan.
Bowler: Siddanth Deva.
Deva marked his run-up. He looked at the slip cordon. Sehwag at 1st, Dravid at 2nd, Laxman at 3rd, Kohli at 4th. The royalty of Indian cricket waiting for him to create a chance.
He looked at David Warner. The pocket dynamite. Warner was aggressive. He wanted to hit everything.
Ball 0.1: Deva ran in. Smooth, rhythmic approach.
He hit the deck hard. 142 kmph.
The ball landed on a good length, fourth stump line.
Warner pressed forward. The ball shaped away beautifully. Late swing.
Warner shouldered arms.
DOT.
Commentary (Benaud): "Lovely shape. Just enough movement to interest the slip cordon. Deva starts well."
Ball 0.2: Deva adjusted the line slightly closer.
Warner defended to cover.
DOT.
Ball 0.3: Fuller. Asking for the drive.
Warner resisted. He left it alone.
DOT.
The crowd quieted down. They wanted fireworks from Warner; they were getting a geometry lesson from Deva.
Ball 0.4: Back of a length. Nipping away.
Warner was beaten on the outside edge. A collective "Ooooh" from the Indian fielders.
DOT.
Ball 0.5: Deva went wide of the crease. Angled in.
Warner defended back down the pitch.
DOT.
Ball 0.6: Final ball.
Deva bowled a perfect outswinger.
Warner left it.
DOT.
Maiden Over.
Commentary (Gavaskar): "A maiden to start the Boxing Day Test! That is gold dust. He didn't try to bowl 150. He bowled 140 with control. He asked Warner six questions, and Warner had no answers."
If giving Deva the first over was a surprise, the second over was a shock.
Dhoni handed the ball to Ravichandran Ashwin. A spinner. With the new ball. On Day 1 at the MCG.
Commentary (Bill Lawry): "Spin? In the second over? Dhoni is rewriting the manual here! He wants to target Warner's weakness against off-spin immediately. This is aggressive captaincy!"
Ashwin bowled a tight over. Warner looked uncomfortable but survived.
India had started with a Maiden and a 2-run over. The pressure was on.
Overs 1-10:
Warner and Cowan broke the shackles. Warner smashed Ashwin for a six over long-on. Cowan drove Ishant Sharma (First Change) for boundaries.
Score: 45/0.
Deva was brought back for his second spell in the 12th over.
Warner was on 37. He was looking dangerous.
Over 12: Deva to Warner
11.1: Deva ran in. He cranked up the pace. 148 kmph.
Bouncer.
Warner hooked. He missed. The ball flew over his head.
Commentary (Shastri): "That had some heat on it! Deva waking up the MCG!"
11.2: Deva went full. Warner drove to mid-off.
Dot.
11.3: Deva saw Warner shuffling. He was setting up for the cut shot.
Deva went wide of the crease. He bowled a cutter—the one that grips and moves away. But he bowled it fast.
Warner saw the width. His eyes lit up. He threw his hands at it.
He didn't account for the extra bounce of the MCG pitch.
The ball kissed the top edge of the bat.
It flew fast to the gully.
Virat Kohli reacted. He jumped to his right, both hands extended.
He plucked it out of the air.
Commentary (Nicholas): "CAUGHT! KOHLI TAKES A BLINDER! Deva gets the breakthrough! The danger man Warner is gone! The plan to bowl wide and induce the slash worked perfectly! India strikes!"
WICKET (Warner 37).
Score: 46/1.
Shaun Marsh walked out.
India dominated the rest of the session. Umesh Yadav bowled with serious pace, cleaning up Shaun Marsh for a duck (bowled).
Lunch Day 1:
Australia: 75/2.
Ed Cowan: 32*.
Ricky Ponting: 4*.
Deva: 6-2-18-1.
---
The afternoon session belonged to the old guard. Ricky Ponting, fighting for his career, and Ed Cowan.
The sun came out, baking the pitch. The swing disappeared. The Kookaburra seam flattened.
Batting became easier.
Ponting pulled Deva for four. He drove Zaheer through the covers. He looked like the Punter of old.
Cowan was gritty. He left everything.
They added 100 runs in the session.
The Indian bowlers toiled. The crowd at the 'G' found their voice.
"Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi!"
Tea Day 1:
Australia: 185/2.
Ponting: 60*.
Cowan: 68.
Dhoni looked frustrated. The game was drifting.
---
Overs 60:
Zaheer Khan finally broke the stand. He trapped Cowan LBW for 68 with a ball that reversed slightly.
Score: 210/3.
Michael Clarke walked out. The Captain. The man who had issued the challenge.
The crowd stood up.
Clarke looked in sublime touch. He used his feet against Ashwin, lofting him down the ground. He cut Ishant.
He raced to 30 in quick time. Ponting moved to 80.
Australia was 260/3. They were eyeing 400.
Dhoni threw the ball to Deva. The second new ball was due in 2 overs. This was the last roll of the dice with the old ball.
"Sid," Dhoni said. "Reverse it. Clarke plays with hard hands early on."
Over 78: Deva to Michael Clarke
Deva ran in. The ball was scuffed, soft.
77.1: Deva hid the ball in his hand. He ran in.
He angled it into the stumps.
Clarke flicked it to mid-wicket.
2 Runs.
77.2: Deva went wider. Clarke left.
77.3: Deva bowled a cross-seam delivery. It skidded low.
Clarke dug it out.
Dot.
77.4:
Deva bowled an outswinger (reverse). It started on leg and moved towards off.
Clarke saw the line. He decided to drive through covers.
He committed to the front foot.
77.5: The Delivery.
Deva ran in harder. He grunted with effort. 146 kmph.
He bowled the inswinger. But he released it wide of the crease.
The ball started way outside off stump. Clarke thought it was wide. He started to lift his bat to leave.
But the ball grabbed the air. It swung back in viciously—the 'Banana Swing'.
It jagged back a foot.
Clarke realized too late. He tried to bring his bat down.
The ball sneaked through the gate between bat and pad.
It crashed into the off-stump.
CLACK.
The stump cartwheeled out of the ground.
Commentary (Richie Benaud): "Oh, that is a beauty! That is an absolute peach! Through the gate! Michael Clarke is castled by Siddanth Deva! He challenged the young man, and the young man has answered with timber! The reverse swing at pace... magnificent!"
Deva didn't scream. He didn't run.
He just stood there, staring at Clarke.
He put his finger to his lips. Shhh.
The MCG went silent for a second, then erupted in appreciation of the delivery.
WICKET (Clarke 31).
Australia: 265/4.
The wicket of the captain energized India. They bowled tight lines for the remaining overs until the new ball was taken.
Ponting survived, finishing on 83*.
Mike Hussey survived a few scares to finish on 8*.
Stumps, Day 1.
Score: Australia 277/4 (90 Overs).
Ricky Ponting: 83*.
Michael Hussey: 8*.
Bowling Figures:
Siddanth Deva: 18-5-52-2. (Wickets: Warner, Clarke).
Zaheer Khan: 1 wicket.
Umesh Yadav: 1 wicket.
Post-Day Analysis (Star Cricket):
Sunil Gavaskar: "Honors even. 277/4 is a balanced day. But that wicket of Clarke? That was the ball of the day. Deva set him up perfectly. Clarke talked about Deva not playing in Australia... well, Deva just showed him that stumps fly the same way in Melbourne as they do in Mumbai."
Ian Chappell: "India fought back well. If they get Ponting early tomorrow, they can restrict Australia to 350. If Ponting scores a hundred, 450 is on the cards."
In the Dressing Room:
Deva took off his boots. His feet were blistered. The MCG turf was hard.
Dhoni walked by. "Good ball to Clarke."
"He talked a lot," Deva muttered, throwing a towel over his head.
"He won't talk tomorrow," Dhoni smiled.
The first day of the battle was done. The Devil had landed his punches. But the war had just begun.