Chennai Super Kings registered their second victory of IPL 2024 on Tuesday after they defeated Gujarat Titans at Chepauk. Asked to bat first, CSK posted a whopping total of 206/6 in 20 overs with batter Shivam Dube scoring 51 off 23 balls. Later, GT stumbled in the chase as the hosts restricted them at 143/8, claiming a victory by 63 runs. It was a dominating show by the Ruturaj Gaikwad and co as they comfortably edged past GT.
Dube, who bagged the Player of the Match award for his quick knock, left everyone utterly impressed with his performance. Recently, former South Africa batter AB de Villiers stated that the atmosphere at CSK camp has helped Dube show his true mettle.
"It's fantastic to see Shivam like this. He never really broke free in the RCB changing room. He was quite a shy guy, worked really hard, and asked a lot of questions back in the day. I think he did a bit of learning there but never felt comfortable," said De Villiers on Jio Cinema.
"He talks about being free in CSK, and that is the magic recipe that MSD, Gaikwad, Stephen Fleming, and all the guys from the past have set up over there. It's a workhorse of a franchise that just makes it work every time, every single season, with new players who feel free to express themselves," he added.
Dube started his IPL career in 2019 with Royal Challengers and stayed with the franchise for two seasons. However, he only managed to score 169 runs in 15 matches. In 2021, he was signed by Rajasthan Royals, where he scored 230 runs in 9 matches.
He was signed by CSK during the mega auctions of 2022 and it turned out to be a game changer for Dube. In the same season, he scored 289 runs at a strike rate of 156.
Former India batter Aakash Chopra also backed Dube for a spot in the Indian team for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
"Although I should talk about Ruturaj Gaikwad as well because he batted well and maturely after getting a life, I am going to go with Shivam Dube. How well is he playing? The number at which Shivam Dube bats, around No. 5 or No. 6, is there any Indian who hits sixes better than him?" Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
"He hits sixes into the stands while standing in his position. No one has that much strength and no one hits that consistently as well. He used to have a problem against short balls but it's not there anymore. I do not see anything lacking at this point in time. Keep him around the T20 World Cup team," the former cricketer added.
(With ANI Inputs)