Former Indian wicket-keeper bat Parthiv Patel has showered praise on Shivam Dube after the fourth T20I against New Zealand. Dube joined forces with Rinku Singh when India were tottering at 63-4 in the run-chase of 216 at Visakhapatnam on Wednesday.
However, Dube was able to hit the ground running as he batted at his absolute best. The pugnacious southpaw scored a blistering knock of 65 runs off just 23 balls with the help of three fours and seven sixes. But barring Dube, none of the other Indian batters could get going, and he played an instrumental role in getting India to 165.
Parthiv Patel said on Star Sports, “We speak about the T20 World Cup. What will be the positives? So, the time that Shivam Dube spent, it was a big positive. It’s not that he did that today and shocked us. We know it’s his ability, and he can bat in that manner.
“Earlier, there was a question when you spoke about two years ago that when short delivery would be bowled; he used to get out against fast bowlers. But now there are no such questions. He’s proven himself consistently. Speaking about T20, it’s the format of specialists, and Shivam Dube is an ultra pro max specialist when spinners come, he walks out to bat in the middle and always gets success and did that today as well.”
On the other hand, former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar also showered praise on Dube for his blistering knock. Gavaskar said Dube can build as well as finish the innings, too.
He said on JioStar, “Having come in earlier, he won’t see himself only as a finisher anymore. He’ll believe he can build an innings and finish too, especially in pressure situations.
“I thought he grabbed the opportunity really well. As you said, when you bat at six or seven, you’re probably getting three or four overs with a strong India batting line-up. But this time India lost early wickets, and he had to come in sooner. He showed intent from the very first ball – the first ball six was one of the longest you’ll see, right into the second tier.”
The fifth and final T20I between India and New Zealand will be played at Thiruvanthapuram on Saturday.
