CHENNAI: Shivam Dube is Chennai Super Kings’ designated pinch hitter in the middle-overs, especially against spin. That is how the team management defined his role and it doesn’t seem to change irrespective of where they play or whether the opponent has a quality off-spinner he has to counter.
Their head coach Stephen Fleming said as much after the loss against Rajasthan Royals at their home ground earlier this month.
The opponents are aware of it too. And they come prepared as Punjab Kings did on Sunday afternoon. As soon as Sikandar Raza got the wicket of Ruturaj Gaikwad in the tenth over, CSK sent Dube in to dictate the pace. At that point, they were 86/1 after 9.4 overs. Right on cue, PBKS brought on Kagiso Rabada from the other end, replacing Rahul Chahar.
Now, it is no secret that high pace isn’t Dube’s strong suit. Far too often teams have bounced him out, or bowled at his body, inducing a false shot. This flaw in his batting is so inherent that you can hardly catch Dube playing pacers, not seamers, pacers, on the front foot.
He often stays inside the crease, in his tall upright stance, and plays with his hands alone, which had led to his downfall from time to time. Here he was up against one of the quickest in the world, and he was, in fact, on his backfoot. Two runs came off the four balls he faced in that over, and he was nowhere close to looking at home.
Come the next over, Dube was in his element launching Raza into the stand, but PBKS persisted. Rabada continued, and this time Dube was ready. He stood back and pulled the pacer into the stands with elegance, leaving everyone in awe.
Dube hitting the life out of a white leather against pace is not a regular sight. He used to do that when he rose to fame and was fast-tracked to the national team but soon was found out at the top level. One of the reasons why he is nowhere closer to being in the scheme of things.
“We feel he’s somebody who can deliver and get us those extra runs in the middle overs. The thing is he needs to believe in that more than us. We know he has the talent but once you cross the rope and you’re standing over there (in the middle), you’re on your own. So, you need to have that belief in yourself,” CSK captain Dhoni had said after that game.
Here in Chennai, Dube seemed to be doing just that against Rabada. That he is third on the six-hitting list for the season with 21 hits over the ropes just behind Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell tells the story.
The score next to his name? 28 runs from 17 balls. In fact, through the season, he has out-batted his teammates in the middle order, including the impact player. His tally of 264 runs in eight innings at 158.8 is miles ahead of Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, and Ambati Rayudu.
CSK eventually lost the match by four wickets, but Dube has done enough this season so far to show that he believes.