"Hardik Pandya you need to come back soon, Otherwise Dube gonna make you history"- Fans react after Shivam Dube's blazing 63* in 2nd IND vs AFG T20I
Fans showered Team India all-rounder Shivam Dube with praise after his blistering match-winning knock against Afghanistan in the 2nd T20I on Sunday (January 14) in Indore.
After a Player-of-the-Match performance in the previous game, Dube continued in the same vein on Sunday and put on another impressive show to help India win the match comfortably by six wickets at the Holkar Stadium.
Afghanistan got bundled out for 172 in 20 overs after they were asked to bat first in the second T20I. India then cruised to the target in 15.4 overs, winning the match comprehensively. Yashasvi Jaiswal (68) and Virat Kohli (29) starred in the top order and gave a brisk start to the hosts in the powerplay.
Shivam Dube took over after Kohli's dismissal and launched a stunning assault on Afghan bowlers. He smashed his way to a 22-ball half-century in the company of Jaiswal and put India in the driver's seat.
He stayed unbeaten until the end and finished the game off in the 16th over. En route to 63* (32), Shivam Dube hit four sixes and five fours. He also picked up a wicket with the ball in the first innings during his three-over spell.
Fans were impressed with Dube's consistent performances in the ongoing series and applauded him through their posts on social media platforms. Here are some of them:
"There are many things I worked on"- Team India all-rounder Shivam Dube after his match-winning knock in the 2nd T20I vs Afghanistan
Speaking at the end of the match, Shivam Dube revealed that Indian captain Rohit Sharma was satisfied with his performances and was glad that he repaid the faith shown in him. He said:
"He's (Rohit Sharma) really pleased with my performance and I'm repaying the faith he's put in me. We both (him and Jaiswal) are strong players, we know our game, my role was to take on the spinners, Jaiswal was already playing well and we wanted to finish the game as soon as possible.
On his thought-process while batting, Dube said:
"There wasn't any target in the mind, we have finished on time. Not thinking to hit out of the ground, but definitely out of the park. There are many things I worked on, it is about mentality in T20s and how you handle the pressure, we focused on it and not hitting all the balls importantly."
He also shed light on his bowling, saying:
"I'm working on my bowling as well, got the three overs today, wasn't great today and that's how it goes in T20's, not all the days are same."
Shivam Dube will be back in action on Wednesday (January 17) when India take on Afghanistan in the third T20I at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.