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Follow UsT20 cricket is a different sport altogether. Many years ago, you would not have imagined a batter win the player-of-the-award for a seven-ball innings. Glenn Phillips did that against Rajasthan Royals in Match 52. This is a format that demands more impactful runs than any other sport.
On Wednesday, Shivam Dube did a similar job for Chennai Super Kings against Delhi Capitals in Chepauk (May 10). In a game where the average run-rate was 7.7, the tall left-hander batted at a strike-rate of 208.3. Even though his knock lasted only 12 balls, Dube’s three sixes cracked the game for Chennai. MS Dhoni also smashed a 9-ball 20 but Dube’s knock came in the middle-overs against the opposition spinners on a slow surface.
And that is where his USP lies.
He is the perfect player to solve the ubiquitous problem of teams slowing down during the middle-overs. The only phase of a T20 innings where the bowlers are supposed to hold the upper hand, it is perceived as inevitable that the run-rate will drop. This IPL season has witnessed more aggression from the batters but the middle-overs still harbor the lowest run-rate (8.3) across the three phases.
That, however, is not an issue for Dube. He averages 28 against pace at a strike-rate of 147.4. The similar numbers for spin are 44.7 and 171.9. Among the 30 batters who have scored over 100 runs against spin, the southpaw has the third-highest strike-rate.
He is a marauder of spin bowling.
Built like a bouncer outside an exorbitant South Delhi club, Dube has long limbs. He doesn’t move his feet. He doesn’t need to. He can turn a good length delivery into a fullish ball with his extensive stride. Long levers add a few yards into his stroke when he nails it, and he nails it most of the time. The pitch doesn’t matter to him as much. This package makes him a six-hitter.
Delhi’s spinners were going fine. There had been no boundaries for the last 24 balls when Dube walked in to bat in the 10th over. Axar Patel then served one in his radar. It was only his second ball of the innings but it didn’t matter to the Mumbai-born player.
Full, in line with the stumps and Dube dispatched it for a towering six over long-on.
The below graphic tells you the tale of his success against spin this season. Anything in line with the stumps or a set of stumps outside the off-pole will be hammered irrespective of the length. The 29-year-old has a strike-rate of 272.7 off the full length, 156.5 off the good length and 157.5 off short deliveries against spin.
Two overs later, Lalit Yadav served two full-length deliveries outside the off stump. Too easy for Dube. Two more sixes down the ground. Chennai’s run-rate lifted from 6.5 at the point of his arrival to 7.6 in a space of four overs. Dube had done his job. He put his team on par with the run-rate and cashed in on Delhi’s weaker bowling link. Too many part-time off-spinners get away on such slow tracks. Not on Dube’s watch.
"He [Dube] is someone who can hit very cleanly. He has an issue with the fast bowlers but he's a clean hitter against the spinners. We feel that he's somebody who can deliver and who can get those extra runs in the middle overs,” Dhoni said after Chennai’s win over Bangalore in Match 24.
Consequently, CSK have used Dube as a spin-basher in the middle overs. He scored 52 off 27 balls in that match. He has the most runs for CSK in the middle-overs and has the highest strike-rate. He has a high dot-ball percentage but he goes TICK, TICK, BOOOM. He is one of the best middle-overs batters in this tournament.
He was quite good last year too. Showing similar attributes, Dube averaged 28.9 at a strike-rate of 156.2 against spin. He clobbered RCB for an unbeaten 95 off 46 deliveries and took 26 off 12 from Wanindu Hasaranga.
It adds to CSK’s folklore of materializing the full potential of a player. Dube was a different batter for his previous franchises - Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals.
RCB tried using him as a finisher. RR did attempt making Dube their designated six-hitter but for some reason, it only worked for CSK. Maybe there is something in the air of the four-time champions’ dressing room that keeps rejuvenating careers.
The left-hander has also worked on his game against pace. He has a strike-rate of 152.9 against pace for CSK, as compared to 133.3 for RR and 112.7 for RCB.
Dube is Chennai’s six-machine. His six tally this season is more than twice the number of fours - 11 fours and 27 sixes.
It is vital for the spinners to stay away from his range. As the beehive graphic above shows, Dube’s strike-rate drops significantly when bowled wide outside the off stump.
It takes his arc out of the equation. All his 14 sixes against spin have come in the long-off to the deep mid-wicket arc.
For pacers, it is important to crank up the pace a little. Between 130 to 140 kph, he strikes at 159.5. But when bowled over 140, the same number plummets to 116.7. Delhi clearly missed Anrich Nortje against Dube in this contest.
Generally, batting assessments are incomplete without mentioning the average. But not with Dube. He is all about strike-rates. Every team needs one batter like this to break the shackles. Even a knock of three sixes in quick succession is enough.
T20 is a different sport. And Shivam Dube is a perfect representative of that.
