Shivam Dube may have had a forgettable outing in the third T20I against Australia but it was pretty much the opposite for the big all-rounder in the fourth match on Thursday. While he did concede 20 runs in two overs, Dube also took the crucial wickets of Australia captain Mitchell Marsh and Tim David, both big-hitters who could’ve hurt India after the visitors were restricted to a score of 167/8.
Dube said after the match that captain Suryakumar Yadav, along with head coach Gautam Gambhir and bowling coach Morne Morkel had devised a good plan for him to execute while bowling. He also said that Morkel, who had played 18 international matches in Australia during his stellar playing career, gave him some tips which proved handy. “When I got the chance I knew that I had to bowl, especially Morne, Gauti bhai and Surya prepared a good plan for me. Morne also helped me a lot. He gave some small, small tips which made my bowling better,” Dube told reporters after India’s 48-run win in the fourth T20I at the Carrara Oval on the Gold Coast.
Dube said that the team was confident that they had put up a good target for Australia to chase considering the conditions. “167 on this ground is definitely a good score because the quality bowling we have, the spinners, the fast bowlers…I trust them and the whole team trust our bowlers,” Dube said. “Definitely it’s a T20 game and any of the batter can come and smack but on this ground where the side boundaries are big, we had planned it very nicely and we had confidence that we can stos\p them.”
Dube said that India’s plan was to largely make the Australians target the sides, which were the bigger boundaries. “The plan was to bowl on the sides which have bigger boundaries because it is difficult to hit big, I think the boundaries were 80m plus. We knew it won’t be easy to hit how much you may connect. Plan was to bowl smartly and when a batter is set, force him to hit on the bigger sides than small sides,” he said.
