Shivam Dube may have had a forgettable outing in the third T20I against Australia, but it was quite the opposite for the senior all-rounder in the fourth match on Thursday. While conceding 20 runs in two overs, Dube also took the crucial wickets of Australia skipper Mitchell Marsh and Tim David, both senior batsmen who could have hurt India after the visitors were restricted to 167/8.
Captain Suryakumar Yadav along with coach Gautam Gambhir and bowling coach Morne Morkel have come up with a good plan for him to implement while bowling, Dube said after the match. He also said Morkel, who won 18 caps for Australia during his impressive playing career, had given him some advice that had proven useful. “When I got the opportunity, I knew I had to bowl, especially since Morn, Joti bhai and Suriya prepared a good plan for me. Morn also helped me a lot. He gave me some little tips which made my bowling better,” Dubey told reporters after India’s 48-run win in the fourth T20I at Carrara Oval on the Gold Coast.
Dube said the team was confident they had set a good target for Australia to chase given the circumstances. “167 on this ground is definitely a good score because the quality of our bowling, the spinners, the fast bowlers… I trust them and the entire team trusts our bowlers,” Dubey said. “Sure it’s a T20 game and any of the batsmen can come and bat but on this ground where the side boundaries are big, we planned it very well and had confidence that we could stop them.”
Dubey said India’s plan was largely to have the Australians target the flanks, which are the larger boundaries. “The plan was to bowl to the sides that have bigger boundaries because it’s difficult to hit the big ones, and I think the boundaries were over 80 metres. We knew it wouldn’t be easy to hit as much as you can deliver. The plan was to bowl smartly and when the batsman is caught, force him to hit on the bigger sides than the small sides,” he said.
(Tags for translation)Shivam Dubey
