Shivam Dube Was The Real Game Changer

'He has been working hard on his bowling. This was a perfect game for him.'

India extended their stranglehold over Pakistan with a commanding six wicket win in the Super 4s Asia Cup clash in Dubai on Sunday in a game where Shivam Dube quietly stole the spotlight with the ball.

Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill's dazzling 105 run opening stand hogged the headlines, but Dube's 2/33 was the game-changer when Pakistan batted.

Dube's introduction not only broke Pakistan's momentum but also applied the brakes on their scoring. After being 90/1 in 9.3 overs, the Pakistanis scored 31/3 in the next 6.3 overs, going 39 balls without a boundary.

After losing opener Fakhar Zaman (15) early, Sahibzada Farhan (58) and Saim Ayub (21) put on a 72 run partnership to lift Pakistan to 93 for 1 after 10 overs before Dube broke the stand.

He forced Ayub to play a false shot; it was a heavy ball that forced Ayub to go for a one-legged pull shot but was brilliantly snaffled by Abhishek, who sprinted from the deep and took a superb diving catch inches off the ground.

Four overs later, he got his second wicket when Farhan, who after a 34 ball 50, couldn't get big shots going as Dube cleverly used the change of pace to deceive him and was easily caught by Varun Chakravarthy.

Dube conceded just 16 runs in 3 overs and claimed the wickets of both set batters during this spell.

Only towards the end, Skipper Salman Agha (17* off 13 balls) and Mohammed Nawaz (21 off 19 balls) got a few runs but couldn't consistently hit big shots save in the last over from Dube which cost him 17 runs.

This is the second time in the tournament that the Mumbai batter has contributed with the ball.

In India's tournament opener against the UAE he had figures of 3 for 4 in 2 overs. While he didn't bowl in the earlier game against Pakistan, he went wicketless against Oman giving 31 runs.

With India's win on Sunday, Dube now has an unbeaten run of 34 T20Is.

Dube downplayed the personal milestone, telling Sony Sports: 'Beating Pakistan twice in this tournament is really good but it's more important to win the tournament,'

'Well done Abhishek, well done Gill but let's not forget Dube's contribution today. Crucial. Pakistan was better tonight but India just have too much ability!' Commentator and former India player Sanjay Manjrekar tweeted.

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'Game changer move! Since Surya brought Shivam Dube into the attack, momentum has completely shifted,' Irfan Pathan observed in a tweet during the match.

Captain Suryakumar Yadav pointed out that Dube has been working on his bowling.

'Shivam Dube's spell was a turning point in the game,' SKY told journalists after the game. 'He has been working hard on his bowling. This was a perfect game for him.'

'He always wanted to bowl two overs minimum, but he got four today, and he was very happy. He was very clear with his plans. This makes my job easier,' SKY added.

'The captain and the coach told me earlier itself that I will bowl (at the Asia Cup) and that they are confident about me,' Dube had said after the UAE game.

'My bowling coach (Morne Morkel) has told me a lot of things. I was preparing for this for a long time, that I will get an opportunity to bowl and when it comes, I'll be ready. What happened today is because of that preparation.'