The digital world was still reacting to the launch of Pragya.
The technology baseline had shifted after the Nexus presentation in Hyderabad, and Siddanth Deva had watched it happen from a hotel room thousands of miles away.
But by morning, he had disconnected from it.
The laptop was closed.
The phone was switched off.
For now, the CEO and architect of Nexus had stepped away from the digital world.
He was heading to Lord's.
The Home of Cricket.
The atmosphere in St John's Wood was completely different from the energy of the T20 series.
There was no electronic music or artificial stadium buildup.
There was the sound of thirty thousand spectators filling the stands, the Pavilion overlooking the field, and the Media Centre rising above the Nursery End.
India had arrived in London carrying momentum.
They had won the T20I series with a victory in the third match at Trent Bridge and had also beaten England in the first ODI at The Oval.
Lord's, however, presented a different challenge.
The overcast conditions offered assistance to the seamers, while the famous slope at Lord's could influence the movement of both the ball and the players.
Deva walked through the Long Room, passing portraits of past cricketing greats.
He wore the Indian ODI kit.
His attention was on the field.
At the center stood Jos Buttler.
The match referee, Chris Broad, flipped the coin.
"Tails," Deva called.
The coin landed on the grass.
"It is tails," Broad confirmed. "Siddanth, your decision?"
Deva looked up toward the clouds.
"We'll bowl first, Chris. The conditions favor the seamers this morning. The pitch has been under covers, there's moisture around, and we want to use that movement early. Setting a total here could be difficult, so we'll chase."
"And the playing eleven?"
"We're going with a balanced unit. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan at the top. Virat Kohli at three, I'll come in at four. Rishabh Pant keeps. Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, and Yuzvendra Chahal."
In the Media Centre, the commentators began discussing the conditions.
"Good morning from Lord's. Siddanth Deva has won the toss and elected to bowl. Looking at the conditions, it's understandable. The ball should move around early," Harsha Bhogle said.
"The key is length," Nasser Hussain added. "Bumrah and Shami have to make the English batsmen play. If they bowl too short, the movement won't matter as much."
Ian Smith joined them.
"And don't forget the slope. Bowlers who understand how to use it can make life difficult for batsmen. Deva understands those variables extremely well."
The Indian players took their positions.
Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow opened for England.
Jasprit Bumrah took the first over from the Pavilion End.
He used the slope to move the ball away from Roy, beating the outside edge twice.
Shami bowled from the Nursery End, maintaining a heavy length that kept the batsmen deep in their creases.
England reached 38 without loss after ten overs.
They had survived, but they had not dominated.
In the twelfth over, Deva took the ball.
He marked his run-up at the Pavilion End.
The conditions demanded movement more than speed.
He focused on seam presentation and wrist position.
He was bowling down the slope.
"Here comes the captain," Nasser said. "Let's see how he uses the Lord's slope. He's coming over the wicket to Jason Roy."
Deva ran in.
He released the ball at 138 kmph.
It pitched around middle stump.
Roy expected the slope to take the ball away and moved across to flick it through mid-wicket.
At release, Deva had changed the seam position.
The ball resisted the natural movement of the slope, held its line, and then seamed away.
Roy's bat took the leading edge.
Suryakumar Yadav, positioned at point, took the catch.
"Howzat!" Deva shouted.
Roy was gone.
Joe Root arrived.
Deva continued attacking the fourth-stump line, while Shami maintained pressure from the other end.
A few overs later, Shami trapped Bairstow in front.
England were 55 for 2.
Deva returned in the 24th over, now bowling from the Nursery End.
Ben Stokes was at the crease.
Deva bowled full and wide of off stump at 142 kmph.
The slope should have brought the ball back toward the left-hander.
Stokes planted his front foot and drove.
Deva used a cross-seam grip.
The ball held its line instead of following the slope.
The outside edge carried to Rishabh Pant.
Pant took the catch.
"Edged and taken!" Ian Smith shouted. "Deva has used the slope as part of the trap!"
England's middle order was exposed.
Jadeja and Yuzvendra Chahal entered the attack.
Neither found huge turn, but both maintained control.
Chahal then deceived Jos Buttler with a googly that cleaned him up.
Deva returned for the final phase.
This time he increased the pace.
His 145+ kmph yorkers and reverse swing caused problems for the tail.
Moeen Ali was bowled by a dipping inswinger.
Two overs later, David Willey was trapped LBW.
Bumrah took the final wicket, knocking over Reece Topley's off stump.
The scoreboard showed:
ENGLAND: 243 ALL OUT
Deva finished with:
Siddanth Deva: 10 overs, 2 maidens, 38 runs, 4 wickets.
India needed 244.
On paper, the target was manageable.
Under the Lord's cloud cover, it would not be straightforward.
After the innings break, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan walked out.
Reece Topley took the new ball.
His height and angle created problems immediately.
Rohit defended the first few deliveries.
Topley continued bowling on a good length.
In the third over, he delivered on the fourth-stump line.
The ball moved across Rohit before seaming back in.
Rohit's feet were slow.
The ball struck his pad.
England appealed.
The umpire raised his finger.
Rohit reviewed.
Hawk-Eye showed the ball clipping the top of middle stump.
The decision stood.
Rohit walked back for 0 from 10 balls.
India were 0 for 1.
Virat Kohli joined Dhawan.
From the other end, David Willey continued to move the ball.
Dhawan struggled to find his timing.
In the eighth over, Willey pitched it up.
Dhawan reached for the drive.
The ball moved away.
The outside edge flew toward second slip.
Jason Roy took the catch.
Dhawan departed for 9 from 25 balls.
India were 18 for 2.
The Pavilion doors opened.
Deva walked out.
"And here comes the captain," Harsha said. "India have lost two early wickets, and the ball is still moving."
Deva met Kohli halfway.
"The ball is hooping, Sid," Kohli said. "Topley's getting bounce from that length."
"We rebuild," Deva replied. "Leave anything wide. Make them bowl straight."
He took guard.
The Jacques Kallis template came into play.
Defense first.
The first three balls from Topley were left alone.
England brought Mark Wood into the attack in the 11th over.
Wood attacked at around 150 kmph.
He bowled short of a length outside off to Kohli.
Kohli tried to guide it toward third man.
The pace hurried him.
The outside edge carried to Jos Buttler.
Kohli was gone for 16 from 26 balls.
India were 35 for 3.
Rishabh Pant joined Deva.
Deva walked toward him.
"Respect the bounce. Wood is quick. Give yourself five balls."
Pant nodded.
Wood ran in.
The next delivery was a 148 kmph bouncer at Pant's helmet.
Pant attempted a pull.
The pace beat him.
The top edge went high.
Moeen Ali took the catch at fine leg.
Pant was dismissed for 0 from 5 balls.
India were 36 for 4.
Suryakumar Yadav came in at number six.
Deva met him in the middle.
"Listen to me, Sky. No aggressive shots until I tell you. Don't chase the swing. If it's outside off, leave it."
Surya nodded.
"Your job is to stay there and run," Deva continued. "I'll manage the chase."
"I've got you, skip."
Deva walked back to the crease.
The approach changed.
He wasn't looking for boundaries.
He was looking for space.
Buttler had aggressive fielders inside the circle and boundary riders positioned against the major scoring areas.
Deva used the gaps.
A Mark Wood delivery around 145 kmph was tapped toward extra cover.
The ball stopped short of the boundary.
"TWO!"
Deva sprinted.
The pair began turning singles into twos.
Deva also manipulated the strike.
On the final ball of many overs, he would drop the ball toward point or mid-wicket and immediately call for a single.
That put him on strike again at the start of the next over.
He faced most of the dangerous deliveries.
Suryakumar faced fewer.
"This is very clever from Siddanth Deva," Nasser said. "Buttler wants to expose Suryakumar to the fast bowlers, but Deva keeps taking responsibility for those overs."
The required rate moved upward, but Deva stayed patient.
He absorbed dot balls.
He ran hard.
He took twos and threes when they were available.
Together, he and Suryakumar added 85.
Then Adil Rashid entered the attack.
Suryakumar tried to break the pressure with an inside-out shot.
The ball gripped.
He mistimed it.
Long-off took the catch.
Suryakumar was gone for 28 from 52 balls.
India were 121 for 5.
Hardik Pandya came in.
Deva gave him the same instructions.
Survive.
Run.
But the English attack kept finding ways to create pressure.
David Willey returned and trapped Hardik LBW for 8.
Ravindra Jadeja survived for four overs before Mark Wood found his glove with a bouncer.
Yuzvendra Chahal came in higher up the order but was bowled by Topley.
The scoreboard showed:
INDIA: 168 for 8
TARGET: 244
India needed 76 runs.
Deva was unbeaten on 85.
Mohammed Shami joined him.
Deva walked toward Shami.
"Don't try to score," he told him. "If it's on the stumps, block it. Outside off, leave it. Survive your three balls, and I'll win the game."
Shami nodded.
"I won't give them my wicket."
Buttler brought fielders close when Shami took strike.
Slip.
Gully.
Short leg.
Silly mid-off.
The pressure was obvious.
Shami absorbed the short balls and defended what he could.
Deva faced the rest.
The English captain pushed fielders back against him.
Deva responded by refusing to give them easy singles.
Instead, he waited for mistakes.
Mark Wood bowled short.
Deva pulled him into the Grandstand for six.
Topley overpitched.
Deva stepped forward and drove over the Pavilion End boundary.
The required runs continued to fall.
Deva passed a century with a square cut.
He raised his bat briefly before returning to his stance.
The chase reached its final stage.
50 needed.
The crowd had become increasingly quiet.
"This is turning into one of the great rearguard innings at Lord's," Ian Smith said. "Deva is carrying the chase with the tail at the other end."
The final over arrived.
India needed 6 runs.
Deva was on 142 not out.
Mark Wood had the ball.
Buttler pushed almost everyone to the boundary.
Wood ran in.
Ball 1
148 kmph yorker at off stump.
Deva moved slightly deeper into his crease and opened the face.
The pace carried the ball through a gap between point and third man.
Four.
India needed two.
Wood turned and walked back.
Ball 2
Wood went for a bouncer.
The ball climbed toward Deva's helmet.
Deva saw the length early.
He stayed upright and pulled.
The ball flew over deep square leg and landed in the stands.
Six.
The match was over.
India had reached 247 for 8.
India won by 2 wickets.
The Indian balcony erupted.
Virat Kohli punched the air.
Rohit Sharma raised both arms.
On the pitch, Deva stood still for a moment, bat resting on his shoulder.
He took a breath.
Shami ran toward him.
"You did it, Sid!"
Deva smiled and embraced him.
"We did it, Shami. You held the line."
The English players walked over to shake his hand.
Their expressions had changed from frustration to respect.
The chase was complete.
The series was now firmly in India's control.
The Architect had survived another difficult English afternoon.
And the white-ball campaign continued.
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Siddanth Deva Stats
Batting: 148* (135 balls)
Bowling: 4 wickets for 38 runs (10 overs)