Dube Steps up to Once again Fit CSK Like a Glove

Dube steps up to once again fit CSK like a glove

Shivam Dube is a spin master. CSK and the other nine teams in IPL are aware of it, as are their fielders, who are constantly circling the boundary, inches from it, in hopes of a mis-hit. Left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore of GT could also see it. As on the first two balls he hit to the CSK hitter, Dube’s big-hitting arc evaded him.

In the one-on-one match that saw Dube come to the middle. Rashid Khan—possibly the finest spinner in the format—finished far behind Sai Kishore.
Shubman Gill had to use his bowling options carefully as long as the spin buffer was in place because of Dube’s boisterous arrival. He had faith that his most seasoned spinner could fight through adversity and win. But on Tuesday night, that was not the case. Rashid, a cunning spinner, hit his opening ball to Dube at 99.9 mph. He retracted his length to avoid the enormous reach of the 6’4″ tall hitter. He attempted a bluff in the same over, going full and loopy from around the stumps, and was despatched over long-on to the stands.

The one they faced on Tuesday, though, came with a levelling-up game. “When opponents attempted to bowl the short ball, he would either defend or move aside if you go back a year or two.” Dube made the introduction a very specific, and perhaps limited, skill set to CSK, and they managed to maximize it last season when he hit spin at a strike rate of 176.46, which is 18.14 more than his overall figure.

He also carried the burden of a weakness: he was vulnerable to bowlers who hammered the deck and caused the ball to rise quickly towards him. That was all he had before he entered, set, and played a few shots against it. The bowlers are still attacking him with the same strategy now, but he can score off of it and find boundaries if he places himself in the proper spots, according to Michael Hussey, the batting coach for CSK.

“Dube deserves a great deal of credit from me. He has gone off and, in his own time, fought furiously against the short ball. not [just] in this moment. He puts a lot of effort into it here as well. Getting the throwers (Throwdown specialists) to pass him a lot of short passes,” Hussey continued.
Gill’s go-to weapon against Dube’s alleged vulnerability was the left-arm quick Spencer Johnson, who often ran in the mid-130s. However, in the fifteenth over, Dube drew him up. He spotted the short balls coming from a mile away, and pulled him for a six. Mohit Sharma pounded the deck harder and tried more back-of-the-hand shots. It also flew into the bleachers when he came at Dube. Dube performed admirably, never being trapped at the crease against pace as he had in the past.

Just six balls, including the wicket ball, of the 23 that Dube faced to score 51 came from spinners. Although GT’s evidence-based planning was sound, the improved batter disproved it.
In just three dot balls against fast bowlers, Dube amassed 31 runs off of 17 deliveries. “He has realized that he needs to get better at it and that teams will target it. He has been putting in a lot of overtime. Well done for the way he’s acting. Now he’s playing confidently. “Hussey said, “And against spin, as we saw tonight, he’s as dangerous as ever.”
Due to his skill set and the definite role that his third IPL team since 2019 has given him, Dube made it abundantly evident last season that bowling spin was suicide. He has already shown in two games this time around that it is pointless to constantly bombard him with short, fastballs.