Aakash Chopra, a former Indian cricket player, has questioned the management’s decision to start Shivam Dube at number eight in the second Twenty20 International in the current series against South Africa. India lost the match by 51 runs after being knocked out for 162 in 19.1 overs.
Due to the paucity of time to make an influence, Aakash Chopra believed that Dube’s decision to bat or not would not have affected the outcome of the game. The well-known pundit referred to him as the Men in Blue’s “heavy artillery” and stated that a high-scoring run chase like the one in Mullanpur required the hard batter to face as many balls as possible.
When Shivam Dube came to bat, there were only 13 balls remaining after Axar had played 21. In reality, the match was over. There would have been no difference at all whether he came to bat or not. Shivam Dube was therefore not used at all. This was a front-line struggle that needed to be won. You need to have dispatched your heavy artillery first. The fight was 214 runs.
In a video on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra said, “If you save your resources in the hope that they will come later and do something, it will be too late by then.”
The other Indian batsmen struggled and failed to score a significant amount, with the exception of Tilak Varma, who scored 62 off 34. Axar Patel’s move to No. 3 did not work out either, as he only scored 21 off as many deliveries, while Shubman Gill was dismissed for a golden duck. While Dube was bowled for 1 off 2, Hardik Pandya, who won Player of the Match in the first T20I of the series, produced a lacklustre 20 off 23 in the second.
After two games, the series is tied at one. In the third game of the series, which is set for December 14 at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala, India will try to bounce back stronger.
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