Shivam Dube scored 66 runs off just 27 balls against LSG as he smashed 7 sixes to enthral the fans at Chepauk.
Shivam Dube has made his case stronger for a place in the Indian team for the T20 World Cup as he scored a blistering half-century days before the squad announcement. Dube, who has been in terrific form in IPL 2024, smashed his third half-century of the season as this time it was Lucknow Super Giants bowlers who faced the wrath of his onslaught.
Shivam Dube smashed 22-ball fifty against LSG at Chepauk on Tuesday night.(AP)
Dube redeemed himself in IPL after joining CSK in 2022 and now he has become an integral part of the team that has won the title five times. The left-handed batter took the LSG bowling attack for cleaners at Chepauk Stadium and his knock helped CSK post a formidable 210/4 in 20 overs.
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The 30-year-old scored 66 runs off just 27 balls on Tuesday night as he smashed 7 sixes to enthral the fans at Chepauk. He also collected three boundaries as the LSG bowlers almost looked clueless about where to bowl him. He shared a 104-run stand for the fourth wicket with Ruturaj Gaikwad.
It was Dube who smashed the first six of the match on the fifth ball of the 13th over and it just kept coming after that. In the 16th over, Dube punished young Yash Thakur and smacked him for a hat-trick of sixes.
He completed his half-century on the fourth ball off the penultimate over and he did it in style with a six straight down the ground which even impressed legendary Mahendra Singh Dhoni who was waiting for his chance to come in the dressing room. He took 22 balls to hit his third fifty of the season.
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The cricket fraternity hailed Dube for his terrific knock which blew away the LSG bowlers.
Former CSK star Suresh Raina urged BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar to pick Dube in the T20 World Cup squad.
“World Cup loading for Shivam dube ! @imAagarkar bhai select karo please,” Raina wrote on X.
Irfan Pathan also lauded Dube and called him the best striker of ball in the Indian cricket at the moment.
“Is there any one striking better than @IamShivamDube in the Indian cricket at the moment in the middle/Death overs? He has to be there in that flight to the World Cup,” Pathan wrote.
Another former star Robin Uthappa reacted to his blistering knock as he wrote, “Some insane hitting by Shivam Dube.”
He further said,”@IamShivamDube has been phenomenal this IPL!! A brilliant 50 here tonight. Stepping up when the team needed it!!”
The power-hitter also completed his 1000 runs in the Yellow jersey in the IPL.
Shivam Dube for CSK
Inns: 33
Runs: 1018
Avg: 37.7
SR: 161.07
50s: 8
HS: 95*
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The left-handed batter is the only CSK batter who has aggregated 1,000-plus runs for CSK and boasts a 140-plus strike rate.
Dube also talked about his knock after the first innings’ play and said he had a chat with skipper Ruturaj Gaikawad before taking on the bowlers.
“Especially the support from the crowd is amazing. We love to play in Chennai. All grounds are like home grounds but this is what pushes me a little more. Rutu needed 1 over to recover after playing for a long time so I decided to take the bowler on,” Dube told broadcasters.
The left-handed batter further suggested that CSK managed to post a above par score in front of KL Rahul’s LSG.
“We have scored a lot of runs, we are 10-15 runs above par. We definitely need to bowl well but we have got 10 runs more. Enjoyed a lot when Rutu bats, his class is on a different level,” he added.
