Shivam Dube's maiden T20 WC fifty powers India to 193/6 against Netherlands
Ahmedabad, Fenruary 18
India's crisis man Shivam Dube delivered yet again with a majestic half-century, which helped his side to reach 193/6 against the Netherlands in their last group stage fixture of the ongoing T20 World Cup on Wednesday in Ahmedabad.
Dube slammed his maiden fifty in the T20 WC in just 25 balls. Dube smashed 66 runs off 31 balls, including 4 fours and 6 sixes. Dube, along with Hardik Pandya, stitched a brilliant partnership of 76 for the fifth wicket.
India captain Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and elected to bat. Abhishek Sharma's nightmare continues with three matches, three ducks in the. After two straight zeroes, he looked jittery and tried to swing his way back into form, but Dutch off-spinner Aryan Dutt's delivery slipped past his bat and rattled the stumps.
Dutt troubled the Indian batters early on and also dismissed Ishan Kishan (18) as the ball trickled onto the stumps--India finish powerplay at 51/2.
Roelof van der Merwe, 41, pulled off a stunning, diving catch at long-off to end the budding partnership between Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma (31). India is 74/3 after 10 overs.
After a quiet few overs, India launched into the attack in the 12th over, with Yadav picking up a six on the leg side. Shivam Dube then got into the act, hitting two sixes and a four, as India amassed 19 runs in the 13th over.
Despite Yadav departing for 34, Dube carried on in the same vein, muscling the ball all around the park. India took the driving seat in the final five overs as it added 75 runs to take their total past 190.
For the Netherlands, Logan van Beek (3/56), Aryan Dutt (2/19) and Kyle Klein (1/38) were among the wickets.
— ANI
Reader Comments
So happy for Shivam! He's been our crisis man this whole tournament. But seriously, what is happening with Abhishek Sharma? Three ducks in a row is worrying. The team management needs to have a chat with him before the knockouts.
Good total on the board, but our top order is a real concern. We can't rely on Dube and Pandya to bail us out every single time. The Dutch bowlers, especially Dutt, exposed some weaknesses early on. Need to fix this before the semis.
That catch by van der Merwe at 41 years old was unbelievable! Respect to the Netherlands for putting up a fight. But Dube's sixes were just too powerful today. Hope he carries this form forward. #MenInBlue
Watching from the US. The last five overs were pure entertainment! 75 runs is a massive boost. Dube's confidence after hitting those first two sixes was visible. The Dutch fielding was excellent though, made India work for every run.
Solid performance, but let's be honest, the scorecard flatters us a bit. 193 is good, but it came from 74/3 after 10 overs. The middle overs acceleration was brilliant, but the top-order collapse is a pattern now. Need more consistency.
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