On a day full of inspirational cricketing results – England's sensational Test win in Hyderabad and West Indies’ fairytale win at the Gabba – India’s white-ball all-rounder Shivam Dube discovered his own combative instincts to lead a counterattacking 178-run seventh wicket partnership with Shams Mulani here on Sunday to keep Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy contest against Uttar Pradesh going into the fourth day at the Wankhede Stadium.
Dube’s third first-class hundred (117 - 130b, 9x4, 7x6) and yet another half-century by crisis man Mulani (63) helped Mumbai recover from 86/6 in the second innings and finish on 303/8. UP, 177 runs behind, would still believe they have their nose in front with the pitch not crumbling to the expectations of the home side.
Earlier in the day, swing bowling ace Bhuvneshwar Kumar and young pacer Aaqib Khan found their areas to bowl unchanged marathon spells of 10 overs each, accounting for five Mumbai batters between them. Dusting off the disappointment of hamstrung skipper Ajinkya Rahane's (9) run out following a mix-up, Dube weathered the early storm and waited for the pacers to tire before coming into his own in the post-lunch session.
Carrying the confidence from his recent white-ball international performances – he has been filling in admirably in Hardik Pandya’s absence – Dube began to free his arms and reverse the pressure on the bowling side. Dube and Mulani batted through the second session at a scoring rate of 4.24 as the tall left-hander began depositing the spinners for maximums. Once the shine was off the ball, Dube was even able to launch the experienced Kumar over the straight boundaries by holding his shape.
{{/usCountry}}Carrying the confidence from his recent white-ball international performances – he has been filling in admirably in Hardik Pandya’s absence – Dube began to free his arms and reverse the pressure on the bowling side. Dube and Mulani batted through the second session at a scoring rate of 4.24 as the tall left-hander began depositing the spinners for maximums. Once the shine was off the ball, Dube was even able to launch the experienced Kumar over the straight boundaries by holding his shape.
{{/usCountry}}From a position of immense strength, Dube’s counteroffensive had set UP back so much that Rana toyed with some leg-side negative lines with his off-spin – wide was called twice. Rana also employed quirky fields, including a straight long-off, but Dube still found the gap and cleared the fence. “My third hundred, but definitely my best one,” he said after the day’s play.
Staying true to his game and picking his moments to attack became key to set up his most satisfying red-ball hundred. “It’s no different. It’s the same thing. There are five fielders there (in limited overs) and here there are nine fielders on the boundary,” he explained.
Dube, aware of his ability to clear the fielders and the way the long-from game is headed, is hopeful of earning a Test cap one day. “Playing Test cricket is a big thing. When I was thinking about playing for India, I was not thinking about T20 and ODI, it was Test cricket,” he said. “As an all-rounder, I know this cricket suits me a lot.”
With the ball, Dube has extracted movement in this match and pocketed 3 wickets. With Mumbai likely to defend a middling total, the final day’s play at his home ground will present Dube a chance to walk the all-round talk.