West Indies secured a six-wicket win in the second T20I in Ranchi to level the series 1-1. India amassed 249 on the board from their 20 overs thanks to Sanju Samson’s knock of 82. There were several other useful contributions from the batters as the side posted their highest-ever team total against the rivals.

Shivam Dubey was sent to bat at number four, and the 33-year-old scored just seven runs from ten balls with one boundary. His struggles ended when he was castled by Roston Chase on the third ball of the 14th over.

According to former India batter Abhinav Mukund, it was Dube’s innings that halted the team’s progress to a higher score. “It is a stadium where the toss is a massive factor, so the Indian side knew they had to score as much as they could and ended up with 249 on the board. The slowdown in the middle-order probably hurt India. Dube slowed down in the middle, and it seemed like an experiment.”

He then went on to say, “Happy to see that the Indian side is ready to try such things in a bilateral series, as far as their top seven are concerned. But they also face the pressure of winning every game, and if that doesn’t happen, then questions are asked about such decisions. West Indies were hitting a six in every over, and again the question arises if India were able to hit enough.”

Gautam Gambhir backs decision to promote Dube

India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir faced the media after the second T20I in Ranchi. He was asked to give his thoughts on sending Shivam Dube to bat at number four.

“We have used Shivam like that before as well, in the T20 World Cup and other matches. It wasn’t like a one-off decision. This is international cricket. Sometimes things go your way, and sometimes they don’t. We may have lost momentum in this game, but we have also gained momentum in other games where he has put the bowlers under pressure by taking them on.”

The 44-year-old added, “More importantly, we have always been flexible with our batting order and will continue to do so. I have been saying the same thing since I took over as the coach. Only the openers are permanent, and the rest of the batting order should be flexible.”