India’s Shivam Dube (PTI Photo) India may have secured a comfortable win over Zimbabwe, but not everything went perfectly on the night. All-rounder Shivam Dube endured a tough spell with the ball as he conceded 46 runs in just two overs in the sixth variant bowling. While he had previously made useful contributions when called upon by captain Suryakumar Yadav, this outing was far from ideal.Dube looked lacking in rhythm and control and struggled to maintain a consistent line and length. He failed to hit the offside cut strip regularly and complicated matters with four wides and several no-balls. Fortunately for India, net run rate was no longer a factor in their semi-final equation. Otherwise, such an expensive spell could cause complications.
India landed in Calcutta for WI-or-die clash | The semi-finals are on the line
Analyzing the performance on his ‘Cheeky Cheeka’ show, former India opener Krishnamachari Srikkanth acknowledged that it was a good batting surface but raised concerns about Dube’s accuracy.“I don’t think the bowling is a problem. It was a good track. My only problem is the sixth bowler. Did you see where Dube was bowling? He was looking at the sixth stump. I haven’t seen bowling like that,” he said on ‘Cheeky Cheeka’.Srikkanth suggested that India’s big total allowed them the freedom to experiment and offer more overs to Dube, with the primary objective being to win rather than increase the run net.“I think they had the luxury of runs so they wanted to practice bowling. The clean run question was out of the window. It was just about winning the match,” he added.Looking ahead, the former captain exuded confidence in India’s balance and depth, insisting the side remains firmly on course despite an earlier defeat to South Africa.“I said even after losing to South Africa, India would win in Chennai and be on course to win the cup. They are a gun team. Arshdeep bowls well, Bumrah bowls well, Varun and Hardik are decent. You won’t have to try six bowlers against West Indies. We can look at that when the semi-final comes, if necessary,” he said.
