Chennai Super Kings (CSK) all-rounder Shivam Dube starred with the bat in hand on Thursday with a brilliant 49 off 30 deliveries in Mumbai. He toyed with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) bowlers, smashing 5 boundaries and 2 sixes during his stint at the crease. His heroics, followed by Robin Uthappa’s fifty, helped the defending champions set a mammoth 211-run target.
Everything seemed to be going perfect for Dube until he was handed the ball in the penultimate over of LSG’s stiff chase. With 34 required off 12 balls, the CSK leadership showed faith on the all-rounder and brought him into the attack. It was his first and only over in the game and what followed next was no less than a nightmare for the 28-year-old cricketer.
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Ewin Lewis and Ayush Badoni belted him for 25 runs, taking the game far away from CSK’s reach. Dube’s over changed the course of the game upside down.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar wasn’t impressed with Dube’s bowling. While commentating on Star Sports, the batting great said the all-rounder chose the wrong length to bowl against the LSG batters.
“He has played a fair bit of limited-overs cricket and he is still bowling those length balls. He is going to get punished. Of course, it’s not fair that somebody who has not bowled so far is given the 19th over when the batsmen are looking to play the shots. But look at it… it’s a length ball. He is bowling the slower delivery but a slower delivery is very useful on a turning, dry pitch. Not on a pitch where the ball is coming off the bat quite nicely,” Gavaskar said.
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“Clearly, CSK’s calculation as far as who should be bowling is going wrong. A length ball and a nice easy swing on this lovely batting pitch. He clearly hasn’t learnt anything, Shivam Dube. A quicker ball but length ball this time and it has gone the distance. The first ball went for a six, and then he was smashed for a boundary. Then again, a boundary and then the last ball going to a six – 25 runs,” he said.
With two straight losses, CSK are now placed 8th on the points table with a negative net run rate of -0.528. They will face Punjab Kings in their next encounter on April 3 at the same venue.
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