Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has questioned the management for sending Shivam Dube at No. 8 position in the second T20I of the ongoing series against South Africa. India were bowled out for 162 in 19.1 overs, losing the game by a 51-run win.
Chopra opined that Dube coming in to bat or not would have not had any bearing on the match because of the lack of time to make an impact. Labelling him as the Men in Blue's "heavy artillery", the renowned commentator said that a high-scoring run-chase
such as the one in Mullanpur demanded the hard-hitter to face as many balls as possible.
"Axar played 21 balls, but only 13 balls were left when Shivam Dube got to bat. The match was actually over. Whether he came to bat or not would have made no difference whatsoever. So Shivam Dube wasn't utilised at all. This was the battle that had to be won from the front. Your heavy artillery should have been sent ahead. It was a 214-run battle. In such a scenario, if you save your resources that they would come later and do something, it will be too late by then," stated Chopra in a video on his YouTube channel.
Apart from Tilak Varma, who scored 62 off 34, the rest of the Indian batters faltered and were not able to put up a big score from their end. Shubman Gill was dismissed for a golden duck while Axar Patel's promotion to No. 3 also did not work out, aa he scored only 21 off as many deliveries. Hardik Pandya, who secured the Player of the Match in the series-opening T20I, scored an underwhelming 20 off 23 in the second while Dube was dismissed for 1 off 2.
The series stands at 1-1 after two matches. India will be aim to come back stronger in the third match of the series, scheduled to be played at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala on December 14.
