Defending 34 in the penultimate over, Shivam Dube became an instant villain in the minds of CSK fans. His military medium pace was attacked with ease as Dube conceded 25 runs allowing LSG to seal the game. It was his second game in yellow. The first game was not so great as well with Shivam Dube struggling to make three runs and leaking with the ball again. Two games in, he seemed like a poor option for CSK in the middle order.

Shivam Dube came into the spotlight earlier due to his 3-D skills. He can hit the ball a long way and often hears comparisons with Yuvraj Singh due to his style of play. The elegance and style of footwork along with the power and height makes him look like Yuvraj Singh when going for his shots. As a bowler, Shivam Dube can be quite handy as well. He isn’t the fastest of bowlers and doesn’t have too many variations, but can get through a few quiet overs when the batters aren’t looking to go after him. When bowling on larger grounds, his bowling has fetched wickets as well and his accuracy allows him to attack the stumps nicely.

After struggling in two games, Shivam Dube found himself in a hopeless situation as he came in to bat when the side was 43-5 chasing 180 against PBKS. He had Dhoni at the other end. With Dhoni as his partner the approach was simple, take the game deep. Shivam Dube managed to play out a few overs and then started going for his shots. He cleared the fence with ease, and kept Chennai in contention. He couldn’t take Chennai home, but found some valuable batting form in the innings.

Two games later, Chennai were still winless and Shivam Dube walked out with the side two down just outside the powerplay. He had Uthappa with him, and the dressing room was starting to get nervous looking at the situation. The pair took their time and reached the 10 over mark with 60 runs on the board. After the ten over mark though, Shivam Dube started the onslaught.

He took on Wanindu Hasaranga and Shahbaz Ahmed as both batters settled into a nice plan. With Dube handling spinners, Uthappa took on the pacers and quickly overtook Dube as both began to race each other to a higher score. Dube who was promoted ahead of sixes started the six-hitting onslaught.

With a strong base like Yuvraj Singh, he cleared the fence comfortable, and most of his sixes were on the larger side of the distance reading. While his game against spin looked good, Shivam Dube is known to be vulnerable against pace and bounce. The vulnerability didn’t show though as Dube was able to go after the likes of Siraj and Hazlewood. He hit a 102 metre six of Hazlewood in the last over, and missed his hundred by just five runs.

Along with him, Uthappa joined the party as he rolled the clock back with a vintage knock. Together the pair hit 17 sixes and made 156 runs in the last ten overs. They batted with incredible intent and laid out a strong plan in their partnership to help get CSK their first win.

With Shivam Dube coming in earlier, his batting displayed flexibility and the captain will be pleased to see that he has options with regards to Shivam Dube. Despite the poor over, Shivam Dube is a handy bowler as well, giving additional options. With CSK still looking to find out how to fill the Deepak Chahar sized hole, they will be happy to see Dube’s flexibility giving them another dimension with the batting line-up.