The tempting clash between India and Australia in the T20 World Cup was interesting, where Shivam Dube, an all-rounder, came up with his remarkable hitting show. As Rohit Sharma charged ahead in setting up a daunting target, it was up to Dube & Hardik Pandya to ensure that India got across the line for the men in blue.
Dube, who has created recognition through his six-hitting abilities, did not disappoint as he unleashed a brutal six of Australian spinner Adam Zampa in the 13th over. The ball that Lance bravely hit went over the boundary, and only one man who was fortunate enough to catch it in the stands attempted to run. This relevant moment offered satisfaction and drew the attention of the former India captain, Virat Kohli, who appreciated the performance of the fans in the fielding aspect of the game.
These were Dube’s entertaining knock of 28 off 22 balls, which he scored in the powerplay, containing one six and two fours, and added a useful 20-run partnership with Kishan that helped India reach 205/5. With the bat, the young Pandya came in to bat at a crucial juncture, struck some handy blows towards the end of the match, and even contributed with the bat, scoring 27 off 17 balls, not out.
Of course, having saved the match and series with the bat, Dube was surely the match’s hero, but Kohli’s own failures cannot be ignored as, once again, he was dismissed for a duck.
The former skipper was the second Indian and overall the second cricketer in history to add two ducks in that particular T20 edition of the Cricket World Cup.
Leveraging this narrative, the ICC commissioned the coverage of the India-Pakistan match billed as the high-voltage clash between the cricketing giants of the two nations as the Indian fans were treated to a power-packed display of hitting and Kohli’s warm sportsmanship, which are some of the elements that make T20 World Cup interesting.
