"How did Shivam Dube play for India?" - MI fans roast southpaw after slow innings

Shivam Dube took 31 balls to score 35 runs against MI

Rajasthan Royals (RR)'s decision to stick with Shivam Dube at No. 4 did not work as the southpaw scored a 31-ball 35 and his team finished their 20 overs with 171-4 against Mumbai Indians (MI). The score looks about par at best on such a small ground against the batting might of the 5-time IPL champions.

RR had earlier got off to a solid start from their openers Jos Buttler and Yashavi Jaiswal, with even skipper Sanju Samson striking the ball well. But the MI bowlers were excellent towards the death, with Jasprit Bumrah recording figures of 1-15 from his four overs.

Fans criticize Shivam Dube and RR think-tank

Big-hitting South African David Miller got to face just four balls in which he scored seven runs. Fans believe Miller should have been out there in the middle ahead of Shivam Dube as it could have made a difference to RR's total.

They also trolled Shivam Dube for not making the most of his chances, something which led to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) releasing him ahead of this season.

Here's what they had to say about the all-rounder from Mumbai:

Shivam Dube while batting. #IPL pic.twitter.com/dbHEdWFK2s
— Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) April 29, 2021

"Technique is overrated" - KL Rahul
"Strike Rate is overrated" - Shubman Gill
"Footwork is overrated" - Shivam Dube
— 󠄪 󠄪 (@ComeToGabbaMate) April 29, 2021

Every one criticized leaving out Shivam Dube before auction and termed it as bad move.

But @CoachHesson knew things what others don't. pic.twitter.com/j60d9VW9d0
— Kaizer (@AjaySasthry) April 29, 2021

More than Shivam Dube, it's the RR think tank at blame here. The weakness & issues with Dube's batting have been there to see for everyone. And it's not that this is the first game of this season either.

You cannot get away with bad tactics & decision making consistently.
+
— Gurkirat Singh Gill (@gurkiratsgill) April 29, 2021

3 Biggest Mysteries in World

1 Area 51
2 Bermuda Triangle
3 How did SHIVAM DUBE played for India?
— SG(😷) (@RCBSG30) April 29, 2021

Lord Shivam dube🙏🙏#MIvsRR #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/RMNkO4JO7m
— Unknown (@unknown_7867) April 29, 2021

Rajasthan Royal's strategy is strange.

Don't know why they keep sending Shivam Dube above David Miller and Riyan Parag.#RRvsMI #MIvRR pic.twitter.com/mqk1iqCpnp
— Yash Kumar Awasthi (@Its__YASH) April 29, 2021

Shivam Dube while batting against Mumbai Indians ...#MIvsRR pic.twitter.com/zZ7mGABNUz
— 💲💔〽️ (@Samcasm7) April 29, 2021

Shivam Dube is avtar of Angad , noone can move his feet .
— don't care virgin (@SpiderPant) April 29, 2021

Shivam Dube stood between Rajasthan and Mumbai - unfortunately for his team his batting may have deprived @rajasthanroyals of the 185-190 they could have finished with #MIvsRR
— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) April 29, 2021

Shivam dube is highly overrated player he is even not fit in my gully team #MIvsRR
— Kapil (@kpkapily) April 29, 2021

Shivam Dube has looked up at the sky more times(45) than the number of runs he scored
— . (@rcbszn) April 29, 2021

Shivam Dube with a tribute to Pujara. Respect🙏
— . (@rcbszn) April 29, 2021

Shivam Dube is joining the Vijay Shankar school of underperformance.

Both surviving the tide of franchise cricket due to the dearth of bowling all rounders, hilarious how Dube made ₹4.40 crores in the auction !!#RR #MIvsRR
— Pushkarrr 🌪️ (@push_karrr) April 29, 2021

MI's batting has struggled so far in the tournament, with 159 being their highest score. However, they have played all their games on slow pitches in Chennai so far and this will be their first outing on a relatively better batting wicket.

This might be a respite for the struggling middle-order of MI as they hope to get back into form and chase down the target. Although MI are missing the services of Ishan Kishan, Nathan Coulter-Nile's presence would give that depth down the order.

The key for the defending champions will be their skipper Rohit Sharma, who has been their highest run-getter this season with 201 runs. If the 33-year-old gets going, he can make short work of the chase pretty quickly.

MI would also hope that the likes of Quinton de Kock and Suryakumar Yadav make vital contributions as it would be great for the team's confidence. With RR bowling attack confident of defending the total, this promises to be an enthralling chase.