The floodlights of the Sydney Cricket Ground glared down onto the pitch, cutting through the heavy, suffocating tension of the World Cup Semi-Final. The target was 306. India was precariously positioned at 198 for 5 in 35.3 overs.
The entire hopes of a billion people rested squarely on the shoulders of the two men currently occupying the crease: Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Siddanth Deva.
Siddanth, batting on a masterful 68 off 75 balls, stood at the non-striker's end, using his forearm to wipe the sweat from his brow. MS Dhoni had just walked in, exuding his trademark calm, seemingly oblivious to the roaring Australian crowd and the climbing required run rate.
[COMMENTARY BOX - 2ND INNINGS, 36TH OVER]
Harsha Bhogle:"This is the absolute crunch phase. MS Dhoni and Siddanth Deva have to build a partnership here. Australia can smell a victory. Michael Clarke has brought Mitchell Starc back into the attack to go for the kill."
Shane Warne:"You cannot give these two any easy runs. Starc has to target the stumps. If Dhoni and Siddanth survive here, they will completely change the momentum of this chase. Siddanth is seeing the ball very well, but Dhoni takes a few deliveries to get his eye in."
Sourav Ganguly:"The required run rate is currently sitting at 7.44. On this SCG pitch, with the ball coming onto the bat nicely under lights, that is highly achievable for these two. But they cannot afford to lose another wicket. The Indian tail is long."
Starc bounded in to bowl the remainder of the 36th over. He hit the deck at 150 kmph, angling the ball fiercely into Dhoni's pads.
35.4 Starc delivered a searing inswinging yorker. Dhoni jammed his bat down just in time, squeezing it out to square leg for no run.
35.5 Starc pulled his length back slightly. Dhoni defended it solidly back down the pitch.
35.6 Starc went wide outside off stump. Dhoni opened the face of the bat, guiding it softly down to third man for a single to retain the strike for the next over.
India moved to 199 for 5.
As the 37th over commenced, the Indian duo focused on a risk-free accumulation strategy. They didn't challenge the boundary riders. They pushed the ball into the vast pockets of the SCG outfield, pushing the Australian fielders by turning tight singles into hard-run twos. Siddanth's speed between the wickets allowed him to match Dhoni perfectly, closing the gap on the target with precision.
36.1 Josh Hazlewood bowled a tight line on middle stump. Dhoni tucked it to mid-wicket and set off instantly. Siddanth responded perfectly, and they completed a lightning-fast single.
36.2 Hazlewood pitched it slightly short. Siddanth rocked onto his back foot and punched it to deep cover, easily jogging two runs.
36.3 Siddanth dropped the ball at his feet with soft hands and sprinted. Another quick single.
36.4 Dhoni pushed a length ball to long-off for one.
36.5 Siddanth drove elegantly to sweeper cover for another single.
36.6 Dhoni defended the final ball back to the bowler.
[COMMENTARY BOX - OVER 37]
Mark Nicholas:"Brilliant running between the wickets. Five runs off the over without a single risk taken. They are keeping the scoreboard ticking over, not allowing Hazlewood to build any dot-ball pressure."
Shane Warne:"That is the danger of having Dhoni and Siddanth at the crease together. They don't need boundaries to score at six runs an over. They will just run you ragged in the outfield."
Throughout the 38th over, they maintained the same discipline. Siddanth progressed to 77, and India moved to 213 for 5. The required run rate stabilized.
Michael Clarke, visibly frustrated by the ease with which they were rotating the strike, decided to change the pace. He handed the ball to James Faulkner for the 39th over. Faulkner was a master of variations, relying heavily on slower balls, back-of-the-hand cutters, and deceptive dipping yorkers.
MS Dhoni was on strike for the first delivery.
38.1 Faulkner steamed in from over the wicket. He rolled his fingers over the seam, delivering a 122 kmph off-cutter. Dhoni waited for it, playing it late, and tapped it into the gap at point. He called for a quick single, bringing Siddanth back on strike.
Siddanth took his guard. He locked his focus onto Faulkner's wrist. The score was 214 for 5.
38.2 Faulkner pitched it up, aiming for the pads with a 135 kmph delivery, looking to restrict the scoring to the leg side.
Siddanth stepped forward to meet the pitch of the ball, and clipped it beautifully with his wrists. The timing was exquisite. The ball raced across the turf, perfectly bisecting the deep square leg and deep mid-wicket fielders.
It was a perfectly placed shot. Siddanth and Dhoni took off instantly for the first run.
"Two! Push for two!" Dhoni called out, his voice sharp and urgent, already turning at the striker's end, realizing the boundary rider had a long distance to cover.
Siddanth grounded his bat past the popping crease at the non-striker's end, completing the first run. As he planted his right foot firmly inside his crease to decelerate and pivot for the second run, his metal spikes caught awkwardly in a deep, roughed-up footmark left behind by the fast bowlers.
Despite his flawless physical conditioning and dense muscle mass, the joint itself was subjected to a sudden, violent lateral twist under the immense load of his full body weight.
His right ankle rolled sharply, the ligaments stretching past their breaking point with a sickening tear.
Siddanth's right leg instantly gave way. He stumbled forward awkwardly, his momentum carrying him two unbalanced steps before his leg completely buckled. He crashed heavily onto the pitch, dropping his bat on the turf. His hands immediately flew to clutch his right ankle, his face contorting in sudden, blinding pain.
A collective, horrified gasp echoed across the Sydney Cricket Ground. The cheers instantly died in the throats of the Indian supporters.
[COMMENTARY BOX - INJURY]
Mark Nicholas:"Oh no! Oh dear, Siddanth Deva is down! He has gone down incredibly hard while turning for the second run! He is clutching his right ankle!"
Sourav Ganguly:"That did not look good at all, Mark. He just planted his foot in the footmarks to turn, and the ankle gave way completely. This is a massive blow for India!"
Shane Warne:"You can see the pain on his face. When a player goes down like that with no contact, just catching a spike in the turf, it's usually severe ligament damage."
The Australian players—Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, and James Faulkner—immediately jogged over, their hostility vanishing instantly in the face of a genuine injury.
Dhoni sprinted down the pitch, dropping his bat, and knelt beside his vice-captain at the non-striker's end.
"Sid! Don't move it! Stay down!" Dhoni ordered, seeing Siddanth's face completely pale, his jaw locked tight against the physical agony.
Siddanth gritted his teeth, his eyes squeezed shut. He could feel a deep, throbbing pulse of pain radiating from his joint. The ligaments were severely compromised.
"I caught the footmark, Mahi bhai," Siddanth ground out through clenched teeth, his breathing ragged. "The ankle rolled completely."
(A/N: I don't know if it is a valid reason just go with it.)
The umpires, Richard Kettleborough and Kumar Dharmasena, immediately halted play, waving frantically toward the boundary. The Indian team physio, Nitin Patel, sprinted out from the dugout, carrying his medical kit.
Up in the VIP box, the atmosphere plunged into absolute panic.
Krithika leaped to her feet, her hands flying to cover her mouth. The color entirely drained from her face as she stared down at the pitch, watching Siddanth on the grass.
"Oh my god," Anjali whispered.
Arjun and Sameer leaned heavily against the glass partition, their faces grim and stricken.
Vikram Deva and Sesikala Deva stood up sharply from their chair, staring at their son in deep, parental concern, while Sesikala grasped her husband's arm tightly.
Down on the pitch, Nitin Patel was rapidly examining Siddanth's right ankle. He carefully unlaced the boot slightly and applied localized pressure to the lateral ligaments.
Siddanth let out a sharp hiss of breath as Patel pressed on the exact point of the tear.
"It's a Grade 2 ligament tear, Sid. Maybe worse," the physio reported, his face incredibly serious, looking up at MS Dhoni. "The joint stability is severely compromised. You cannot put any weight on this ankle. If you try to run, you will cause permanent structural damage. We need to get you off the field."
"Tape it," Siddanth demanded, his voice strained but laced with absolute, stubborn defiance. He grabbed the turf, trying to push himself up on his elbows. "I can bat. I don't need to run."
"Are you insane?" Patel snapped back, placing two firm hands on Siddanth's shoulders and pressing him back down onto the grass. "If you try to bear weight on this, you won't be able to bowl for six months! You need to rest the joint immediately!"
"I don't need to run! I will stand in my crease and hit boundaries!" Siddanth argued fiercely. He looked at Dhoni. "Mahi bhai, just tape the leg!"
"Sid. Stop."
MS Dhoni's voice cut through the argument. It wasn't loud. It wasn't panicked. It carried the protective authority of the Indian captain.
Dhoni knelt closer and looked directly into Siddanth's eyes.
"You are not batting on a torn ligament, Sid," Dhoni stated firmly.
"Mahi bhai, we need 91 runs to reach the final. I am seeing the ball perfectly," Siddanth protested, frustration burning in his dark eyes. "I can't leave you out here with the tail."
"Listen to me," Dhoni said softly, placing a firm hand on Siddanth's chest to keep him down. "Don't worry about the run chase, Sid. I will take care of things here. You go inside and let the medical staff look at it. I'm not risking your bowling career for one run chase. The team needs you healthy, not just tonight."
Siddanth looked at his captain. He wanted to fight. He desperately wanted to push the pain aside, tape the ankle, and finish the game. But the agonizing pain shooting up his leg every time he moved his foot confirmed the harsh biological reality. He couldn't generate power from his base. He couldn't transfer his weight to play a shot.
He let his head fall back against the turf in defeat.
"Get him a stretcher," Dhoni ordered the ground staff.
"I don't need a stretcher," Siddanth gritted out, his pride refusing to allow him to be carried off.
With Dhoni and the physio supporting his weight on either side, Siddanth slowly hoisted himself up. He kept his right foot completely elevated. Leaning heavily on the two men, wrapping his arms around their shoulders, he began the long, painful, one-legged hop back towards the dressing room.
The entire Sydney Cricket Ground stood up.
It wasn't just the Indian fans; the Australian supporters rose to their feet as well. They offered a massive, continuous, deeply respectful standing ovation for the injured Indian vice-captain as he limped off the pitch.
[COMMENTARY BOX - RETIRED HURT]
Mark Nicholas:"This is a truly heartbreaking sight for any cricket fan. Siddanth Deva is limping off the field, heavily supported by his captain and the physio. He is officially retiring hurt on a magnificent 78 not out off 83 balls. You can see the frustration on his face."
Shane Warne:"He is a warrior, Mark. You saw him arguing with the physio, trying to stay out there. But MS Dhoni made the right call. You cannot mess around with ankle ligaments. The standing ovation from the SCG crowd tells you everything you need to know about the respect he commands."
Harsha Bhogle:"But gentlemen, the reality for the Indian cricket team is incredibly grim. Ravindra Jadeja is walking out to the middle. India needs 91 runs from 69 balls, and their best batsman is heading to the dressing room. The entire dynamic of this semi-final has shifted."
As Siddanth disappeared into the dark tunnel, the digital world exploded in a frenzy of absolute panic, heartbreak, and despair.
[TWITTER TRENDS - #SiddanthDeva #CWC15 #Heartbreak #INDvAUS]
@CricketNerd99:NO NO NO! Not the ankle! He was looking absolutely flawless! To catch a footmark like that is the worst possible luck! 😭💔 Please let him be okay! #SiddanthDeva
@BleedBlue_11:The way he was arguing with the physio to let him stay and bat on one leg just shows his elite mentality.
@SportsKeeda:Siddanth Deva retires hurt on 78 (83). The entire burden of this semi-final now rests squarely on the shoulders of MS Dhoni. Can the ultimate finisher pull off a miracle one more time? 🏏🔥*
@FanGirl_Sid:I am literally crying right now. Seeing him limp off looking so frustrated broke my heart. Please let it be a minor sprain! 🥺❤️🩹
Back on the pitch, Ravindra Jadeja came onto bat.
The atmosphere had completely, irrevocably shifted. The Australian players were visibly energized. The scoreboard read 215 for 5.
Michael Clarke instantly tightened the field. He pushed his fielders into the 30-yard circle, cutting off the easy singles that Siddanth and Dhoni had been milking. He wanted to build dot-ball pressure.
38.3 Faulkner bowled a tight, back-of-a-hand slower ball to Dhoni. Dhoni defended it safely into the off-side.
38.4 Faulkner pitched it slightly short. Dhoni pushed it to sweeper cover for a single, getting off strike.
38.5 Jadeja faced his first delivery. A short ball angled into the ribs. Jadeja ducked uncomfortably.
38.6 Faulkner pitched it up outside off. Jadeja pushed at it, finding the point fielder.
In the 40th over, Mitchell Starc returned to the attack and fired in 150 kmph yorkers, restricting the batsmen to just two runs. Josh Hazlewood followed up in the 41st over, probing the corridor of uncertainty relentlessly.
Jadeja, struggling to find the pace of the pitch and unnerved by the aggressive Australian fielding ring, couldn't rotate the strike. Crucially, MS Dhoni was starved of the bowling.
The scoreboard read 222 for 5 at the end of the 41st over. Only 7 runs had been scored in the three overs since Siddanth's departure.
In the 42nd over, Josh Hazlewood continued his metronomic spell.
Jadeja was batting on 4 off 12 balls. He tapped his bat on the crease, looking at the field placements.
41.1 Hazlewood bowled a tight line on middle stump. Jadeja defended it to mid-on.
41.2 A sharp bouncer. Jadeja ducked.
41.3 Hazlewood pitched it up. Jadeja drove it hard, but straight to extra cover. No run.
The crowd noise was building, reacting to the dot-ball pressure.
41.4 Hazlewood bowled a heavy, back-of-a-length delivery, slanting across the left-hander.
Jadeja cleared his front leg and attempted a massive, desperate heave over the long-on boundary. He failed to read the extra bounce. He didn't get to the pitch of the ball.
The ball shot high into the night sky, lacking the required distance.
Glenn Maxwell, stationed perfectly at long-on, took a few measured steps forward, settled his hands, kept his eyes locked on the swirling ball, and pouched the catch safely without a drop of sweat.
[COMMENTARY BOX - WICKET]
Mark Nicholas:"CAUGHT IN THE DEEP! Jadeja goes for the big shot and holes out to Glenn Maxwell! The pressure applied by Hazlewood and Starc pays off spectacularly! India is 222 for 6, effectively 7 down with Siddanth injured!"
Sourav Ganguly:"He just couldn't handle the pressure of the dot balls. A massive blow for India. The required rate is climbing too fast."
The Australian players swarmed Maxwell, celebrating wildly.
[TWITTER TRENDS - #Collapse #INDvAUS]
@TrollCricket:That's it. It's over. Jadeja couldn't handle the pressure. We are officially choking in the Semi-Final. Fade me. 😭📉
@CricCrazyJohns:The required rate is touching 10 an over! You cannot expect Ashwin to come in and hit Mitchell Starc for sixes! The Siddanth injury literally killed our entire momentum. We were cruising! 💔🏏
Ravichandran Ashwin walked out to the middle. He was a highly capable batsman in Test cricket, but chasing 10 runs an over against Mitchell Starc at the death was a monumental task for a lower-order player.
As the 43rd over began, Ashwin pushed the ball into the gaps, ensuring Dhoni faced as many deliveries as possible. Starc and Johnson were bowling with absolute venom. They scraped together a few runs, surviving rather than dominating. The suffocating pressure continued through the 44th over.
At the end of the 44th over, the scoreboard read 248 for 6.
The equation was terrifying. India needed 58 runs from the final 36 deliveries. The required run rate was 9.66.
The 45th over commenced. James Faulkner, the master of death-overs variations, was handed the ball by Michael Clarke.
MS Dhoni was on strike, batting on 36. He took his guard against Faulkner.
[COMMENTARY BOX - THE FINISHER]
Harsha Bhogle:"58 required from 36 balls. It is now or never for Mahendra Singh Dhoni. James Faulkner has the ball. The Australian fielders are pushed right back to the boundary ropes. Can the ultimate finisher do it one more time?"
Faulkner steamed in from around the wicket, looking to angle the ball away from Dhoni's hitting arc.
44.1 Faulkner attempted his trademark back-of-the-hand slower ball, pitching it on a length outside off-stump.
Dhoni read the rotation of the fingers perfectly. He waited deep in his crease, his massive forearms coiling. As the ball dipped late, Dhoni unleashed a ferocious, flat-batted helicopter whip. The ball rocketed off the sweet spot, clearing the deep mid-wicket boundary by twenty yards for a colossal SIX.
The Indian fans in the stadium found their voices again, the roar echoing through the stadium.
44.2 Faulkner, rattled by the strike, overcompensated. He missed his length entirely, bowling a fast, full toss directly on middle stump.
Dhoni didn't even move his feet. He cleared his front leg, anchored his base, and swung through the line of the ball with pure brute force. The ball soared majestically over the long-on sightscreen, crashing into the upper deck. Another massive SIX.
[COMMENTARY BOX - DHONI STRIKES]
Ian Bishop:"BACK-TO-BACK SIXES! MS Dhoni has awakened! He picks the slower ball, and then absolutely obliterates the full toss! Suddenly, the equation is 46 off 34 balls! The Indian captain refuses to surrender!"
Faulkner walked back to his mark, looking visibly stressed. Michael Clarke adjusted the field slightly, pulling mid-wicket square and pushing long-on deeper.
44.3 Faulkner ran in. He bowled a heavy, skidding, cross-seam delivery on a back-of-a-length, angling it tightly into Dhoni's ribcage at 138 kmph.
Dhoni went for his third consecutive boundary. He attempted a powerful, short-arm pull shot over the square leg boundary.
But the ball skidded off the pitch a fraction faster than anticipated. It hurried onto Dhoni, hitting high on the splice of the bat instead of the sweet spot.
The ball flew high into the night sky, swirling dangerously toward deep backward square leg.
The entire stadium fell silent.
Mitchell Starc, possessing incredible athleticism, sprinted in from the deep square-leg boundary rope. He kept his eyes locked onto the white ball, judging the swirling trajectory perfectly. He slid onto his knees at the very last second, stretching his long arms out, and took a brilliant, safe catch inches from the turf.
For three agonizing seconds, the Sydney Cricket Ground was absolutely silent.
And then, the Australian crowd unleashed a roar that shook the stadium.
[COMMENTARY BOX - WICKET]
Mark Nicholas:"CAUGHT! OH, HE IS GONE! MS Dhoni perishes trying to make it three in a row! James Faulkner holds his nerve, bowls the heavy ball, and Mitchell Starc takes a fantastic, athletic catch in the deep! The Indian captain departs for a valiant 48, and with him, surely, go India's hopes of defending their World Cup!"
Shane Warne:"That is the final nail in the coffin, Mark. 260 for 7. They still need 46 runs off 33 balls, and they have absolutely no recognized batsmen left in the shed. Mohammed Shami is the next man in. The Australians can smell Melbourne! The final awaits them!"
MS Dhoni stood at the crease for a brief moment, dropping his head in quiet disappointment. He tucked his bat under his arm and began the slow walk back to the pavilion.
The silence among the Indian fans was absolute, devastating despair. There were people clutching their heads, hiding their faces behind their national flags. Children in the stands were visibly crying.
[TWITTER TRENDS - #MSDhoni #EndOfAnEra #CWC15]
@CricketNerd99:He tried. He gave it everything. Back-to-back sixes gave us hope, but it was just too much to do alone. Thank you for the fight, Captain. 💔🇮🇳
@BarmyArmy:That's the game! Starc with an absolute beauty of a catch in the deep! Australia vs New Zealand in the MCG final is going to be epic! 🇦🇺🇳🇿
@BleedBlue_11:It hurts so much. We were undefeated all tournament. The Siddanth injury changed everything. Shami and Umesh cannot chase 46 runs. I'm turning the TV off. 😭📺
Inside the Indian dressing room, the atmosphere was a literal morgue.
Siddanth Deva was sitting on the physio's table in the back corner. His right boot was off, his ankle heavily wrapped in thick compression ice packs and an initial layer of athletic tape. Nitin Patel, the team physio, was preparing to administer painkillers.
Siddanth watched the television monitor mounted on the wall as MS Dhoni's catch was taken. He watched the Australian players celebrating wildly. He watched the required run rate flashing on the screen: 46 runs from 33 balls.
Siddanth didn't say a single word.
He reached down, grabbed the thick ice packs strapped to his right ankle, and violently ripped them off, tossing them onto the floor with a wet thud.
"Sid, what are you doing?" Nitin Patel asked, his voice rising in sudden alarm, stepping forward. "You cannot walk on that ankle. It is a severe ligament tear. You sit back down right now."
Siddanth ignored him completely. He grabbed a fresh, massive roll of thick, rigid zinc oxide athletic tape from the medical tray. He bent over his right foot, gritting his teeth against the searing, white-hot pain shooting up his leg, and began aggressively, mercilessly strapping his ankle over his thick socks.
He wrapped the tape around his joint so tight it threatened to cut off his circulation, layering it repeatedly, creating an artificial, rigid, restrictive brace for his torn ligaments. He shoved his foot back into his batting boot, lacing it up fiercely to completely lock the joint in place.
"Siddanth, I am medically ordering you to stay in this room!" Patel yelled, trying to physically grab Siddanth's shoulder. "If you step on that pitch, you will permanently damage your ligaments! You will require reconstructive surgery! Shami is padded up, let him go!"
Siddanth stood up.
His right ankle buckled instantly in sheer agony, a sharp hiss escaping his lips, but he grabbed the edge of the massage table. He locked his right knee completely straight, forcing his weight onto it through sheer, unadulterated willpower.
He turned his head and gave the team physio a look of icy resolve that Patel instinctively took a step back.
"I am the Vice-Captain of this team, Nitin," Siddanth said, his voice dropping into a cold, dangerous whisper that left absolutely no room for debate. "We are not losing a World Cup Semi-Final while I still have breath in my lungs. I don't care if my ankle snaps in half. Hand me my helmet."
Patel stared at him, completely paralyzed by the authority radiating from Deva. Trembling slightly, the physio silently picked up the blue BCCI helmet from the bench and handed it over.
Mohammed Shami, who was standing by the door holding his bat quickly aside.
Siddanth strapped his helmet on, clicking the chin strap into place. He gripped his heavy bat in his right hand. He didn't use it as a walking stick; he forced himself to stand straight, masking the agonizing limp as best as humanly possible, his face a mask of stone.
He pushed the heavy glass doors of the dressing room open.
As MS Dhoni walked up the pavilion stairs, taking his helmet off, he stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes widened in shock as he saw his injured vice-captain walking down the steps toward the pitch, his right boot heavily, visibly strapped over the laces.
"Sid... what are you doing?" Dhoni breathed out, stepping aside.
"Finishing the game, Mahi bhai," Siddanth replied without breaking his stride.
The deafening, victorious cheers of the Australian crowd slowly faltered.
A murmur of confusion rippled through the stadium. The camera operators frantically scrambled, instantly shifting their massive lenses from the celebrating Australian huddle to the pavilion steps.
The giant stadium screens flashed the live image.
Siddanth Deva, heavily strapped, limping slightly but radiating absolute, terrifying focus, was walking out of the tunnel.
The silence at the SCG shattered into a billion, echoing pieces. The Indian fans didn't just cheer; they unleashed a desperate, hopeful, absolutely deafening roar that shook the very earth beneath the stadium. Flags waved frantically. People were screaming his name, tears streaming down their faces.
[COMMENTARY BOX - THE RETURN]
Harsha Bhogle:"I DO NOT BELIEVE IT! LOOK WHO IS WALKING OUT OF THE PAVILION! Siddanth Deva is returning to the crease! He can barely walk! His right ankle is heavily strapped over his boot, but he is coming out to bat! The stadium has absolutely erupted! This is the stuff of legends!"
Shane Warne:"This is unbelievable courage, Harsha! He has a torn ligament! He cannot run between the wickets! He is literally going to have to stand on one leg and try to hit Mitchell Starc and Mitchell Johnson out of the park! This is gladiatorial!"
Sourav Ganguly:"Look at the faces of the Australian players! Michael Clarke is stunned! Mitchell Johnson is staring at him! They thought the game was over, but the Indian Vice-Captain refuses to surrender the World Cup! 46 runs off 33 balls on one leg! The scriptwriters could not have written a more dramatic climax!"
Siddanth reached the middle of the pitch. He dragged his right leg into the crease. He didn't bump gloves with Ashwin. He just looked at him and nodded.
"I can't run, Ash," Siddanth said quietly. "If I hit it in the gap, don't move. We deal strictly in boundaries."
"Understood, Sid," Ashwin nodded, his eyes wide with sheer respect.
Siddanth turned around. He used his bat to mark his guard. He couldn't bend his knees properly to get into his usual, perfectly balanced stance. He stood tall, his weight shifted almost entirely onto his left leg, his right leg acting merely as a rigid prop.
He looked up. James Faulkner was standing at the top of his mark, rolling the white ball in his hands, looking slightly bewildered.
Siddanth Deva tapped his bat on the crease, his eyes locking onto the bowler with absolute, unwavering hostility.
The internet, completely blindsided by his return, erupted into absolute chaos.
[TWITTER TRENDS - #TheReturn #SiddanthDeva #INDvAUS]
@CricketNerd99:I have goosebumps all over my body. He literally strapped his boot shut to keep the joint together. Win or lose, Siddanth Deva is a national hero. 😭🇮🇳
@AussieMate:Mate, I don't even care if we lose now. That is the bravest thing I've ever seen on a cricket pitch. Total respect. But Starc is going to test that ankle immediately. 🇦🇺🤝
@FanGirl_Sid:HE CAME BACK! HE CAME BACK! I am crying uncontrollably! Please be careful Sid! 🥺❤️🔥
The ultimate trial by fire had arrived. 46 runs needed. 33 balls remaining. One good leg.
SIDDANTH DEVA - MATCH LOG
Semi-Final vs Australia (SCG) - IN PROGRESS
Batting: 78* (83 balls) -> Returned to Crease
Bowling: 2 for 52 (10 overs)