How Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube in particular rescued India vs the USA
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-Devdeep Tyagi
Probably it’s fair to say that when someone like Shivam Dube was picked for the current T20 World Cup squad in North America and the West Indies, there were a few surprise gazes and troubled souls.
Surely, his class and performances in the recent IPL certainly made a spike in his further career growth.
They reckoned it’s one thing to perform in home comfort and on the cushy flat decks of the sub continent, but something quite other to excel in foreign or alien conditions. Furthermore, Dube’s failure in India’s World Cup contest against Pakistan only exacerbated his own woes besides adding some blood to the lot of hounding critics, most of them casual opinion makers from India.
But then, cricket isn’t played inside a commentary box and is definitely not a sport that pans out akin to someone’s Fantasy Gaming outlook. It happens on its own. It ebbs and flows. Who better than Shivam Dube to nod in approval to the rationale?
A few hours back, it was none other than a resolute-looking Dube aligned with a very purpose-driven Suryakumar Yadav who took India home after its big star batters and record smashers had hurriedly walked back to the pavilion and that too, against the USA. It could be argued that in an examination where the American team were expecting some tough questions from the dashing and world-beating duo of Kohli and Sharma, Dube and Sky came out of the syllabus much like a big surprise.
The left-hand and right-hand batting combination accounted for 72 vital runs in a game-changing fourth wicket stand that anchored India home in its successful run chase.
Not that India was tasked with something outlandish; but poor shot selection from its top order ensured that the otherwise paltry ask of 111 ultimately became a real contest.
Quite frankly though, it wasn’t that Shivam Dube’s inning was all bang-bang, where he made light work of the bowlers. On his part, Shivam Dube was rather subdued at first, which was perhaps the need of the hour in the wake of Pant’s crucial wicket.
It was only after Suryakumar Yadav expanded his arms and put the long levers into play that the young left hander from Mumbai decided to go big.
Surely, a knock of 31 off 35 isn’t exactly a sublime T20 effort that reeks of rampant shot making. But truth be told, given the early pressure on India and the big need to formulate a partnership, Dube must be lauded for digging deep with Suryakumar Yadav.
After taking his time to adapt to the challenging conditions at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, Shivam Dube finally broke through in the fifteenth over.
It could be said that the stroke that truly ensured he had broken the shackles was the lofty six hit over the square leg fence when he carted Corey Anderson out of the ground. On the other hand, Suryakumar Yadav had already dug deep and was converting ones into twos and hitting the odd boundary.
The big reason for Dube’s success v America
But it must not be forgotten that the time spent at the wicket- perhaps the order of the day on the New York surface- was the key recipe behind Dube and Sky’s success. Surely, luck did favour India as early on into his innings, Netravalkar grassed a sitter, thereby giving a new life to Surya. But at the other end, Shivam Dube, arguably concerned seeing the situation, soldiered on.
A lot of work is yet to be done
Quite frankly, it’ll take some doing on the left hander’s part before he can truly justify his selection into a playing eleven in the place of someone like the much-loved Sanju Samson. But at least, the courageous batter has gotten off to a start. However, an unbeaten score against his name and that too, in a match-winning cause isn’t a bad way to begin. What do you reckon?
Probably it’s fair to say that when someone like Shivam Dube was picked for the current T20 World Cup squad in North America and the West Indies, there were a few surprise gazes and troubled souls.
Surely, his class and performances in the recent IPL certainly made a spike in his further career growth.
But the big question that many armchair critics and opinion makers asked was whether Shivman Dube was the ideal man to be selected in a T20 World Cup squad.
They reckoned it’s one thing to perform in home comfort and on the cushy flat decks of the sub continent, but something quite other to excel in foreign or alien conditions. Furthermore, Dube’s failure in India’s World Cup contest against Pakistan only exacerbated his own woes besides adding some blood to the lot of hounding critics, most of them casual opinion makers from India.
But then, cricket isn’t played inside a commentary box and is definitely not a sport that pans out akin to someone’s Fantasy Gaming outlook. It happens on its own. It ebbs and flows. Who better than Shivam Dube to nod in approval to the rationale?
A few hours back, it was none other than a resolute-looking Dube aligned with a very purpose-driven Suryakumar Yadav who took India home after its big star batters and record smashers had hurriedly walked back to the pavilion and that too, against the USA. It could be argued that in an examination where the American team were expecting some tough questions from the dashing and world-beating duo of Kohli and Sharma, Dube and Sky came out of the syllabus much like a big surprise.
Guarding India’s hopes
The left-hand and right-hand batting combination accounted for 72 vital runs in a game-changing fourth wicket stand that anchored India home in its successful run chase.
Not that India was tasked with something outlandish; but poor shot selection from its top order ensured that the otherwise paltry ask of 111 ultimately became a real contest.
Quite frankly though, it wasn’t that Shivam Dube’s inning was all bang-bang, where he made light work of the bowlers. On his part, Shivam Dube was rather subdued at first, which was perhaps the need of the hour in the wake of Pant’s crucial wicket.
It was only after Suryakumar Yadav expanded his arms and put the long levers into play that the young left hander from Mumbai decided to go big.
Not a rampant knock, but certainly a vital one
Surely, a knock of 31 off 35 isn’t exactly a sublime T20 effort that reeks of rampant shot making. But truth be told, given the early pressure on India and the big need to formulate a partnership, Dube must be lauded for digging deep with Suryakumar Yadav.
After taking his time to adapt to the challenging conditions at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, Shivam Dube finally broke through in the fifteenth over.
It could be said that the stroke that truly ensured he had broken the shackles was the lofty six hit over the square leg fence when he carted Corey Anderson out of the ground. On the other hand, Suryakumar Yadav had already dug deep and was converting ones into twos and hitting the odd boundary.
The big reason for Dube’s success v America
But it must not be forgotten that the time spent at the wicket- perhaps the order of the day on the New York surface- was the key recipe behind Dube and Sky’s success. Surely, luck did favour India as early on into his innings, Netravalkar grassed a sitter, thereby giving a new life to Surya. But at the other end, Shivam Dube, arguably concerned seeing the situation, soldiered on.
A lot of work is yet to be done
Quite frankly, it’ll take some doing on the left hander’s part before he can truly justify his selection into a playing eleven in the place of someone like the much-loved Sanju Samson. But at least, the courageous batter has gotten off to a start. However, an unbeaten score against his name and that too, in a match-winning cause isn’t a bad way to begin. What do you reckon?