For the first 25 balls of his stint against the USA on Wednesday, Shivam Dube looked completely at sea. He barely made good contact, and ate up dot balls.
There were fears that Dube’s struggles would cost India the Group ‘A’ ICC Men’s T20 World Cup match. All through this tense time, Dube remained confident. The required rate was manageable, so it was a matter of getting one big hit.
USA vs IND, T20 World Cup 2024: Arshdeep and Co. deflate United States as India confirms Super 8 qualification
The release shot finally came in the 15th over bowled by Corey Anderson. Dube sat back, picked the length, and swatted the speedster way into the stands.
With the pressure finally off, Dube and Suryakumar Yadav went on to make easy work of the target.
“I had to wait for the right ball. It was not easy to come in and start hitting. The plan was to take the game deep,” Dube said.
The pitch made it difficult to line up the power blows, Dube added.
“The ball was sticking and staying low. I don’t think any T20 World Cup has seen a pitch like this. From the same spot, one ball came on fast and another one stuck to the surface. It was very difficult to gauge,” Dube said.
-Arshdeep Singh impresses again-
Arshdeep Singh’s four for nine against USA gave him the best ever bowling figures by an Indian in an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup match. The previous best was R. Ashwin’s four for 11 versus Australia in the 2014 ICC World Twenty20.
Arshdeep enjoyed the success, especially since his family was at the ground. “It feels good when you perform well for the team. I’m very happy – my family was here, and they were really happy with my performance as well,” the left-arm speedster said in the post-match press conference on Wednesday.
Arshdeep also fancies himself as a batter, having been promoted ahead of Jasprit Bumrah in the Pakistan match on Sunday.
“You never know when the team needs those runs. It can be two runs, four runs, anything. I am trying to work as hard as possible with (batting coach) Vikram (Rathour) bhai regarding my batting,” he said.
“In the last game, Jassi (Jasprit Bumrah) bhai was supposed to go before me, but I just went in to bat after asking (captain) Rohit (Sharma). They were surprised, but now I told them that I will go up the order regardless of whatever you say. I will go at nine because I faced the quickest bowlers in the Pakistan game. I am very confident about my batting,” Arshdeep said.