IPL 2022: Shivam Dube leads CSK to first victory after beating RCB

Chennai Super Kings all-rounder Shivam Dube achieved his career-best score of 95 runs in this year’s Indian Premier League. Dube smashed a 46-ball 95 with eight sixes and five fours, leading the team to post 216/4 against Royal Challengers Bangalore. With this, Chennai registered their first victory of the IPL 2022 season.

The 6-foot southpaw became the ‘Man of the Match’ after Chennai outperformed Bangalore by 23 runs on April 12. He put on 165 runs for the third wicket alongside teammate Robin Uthappa, who also recorded his highest IPL score of 88 off 50 balls.

Dube on senior southpaw Singh

Dube thanked and gave a shout out to former batsman Yuvraj Singh during the post-match presentation. He said that he saw the fellow southpaw senior as his "role model" and that people often point out the many similarities between their batting styles.

"Yuvi (Yuvraj) pa is always a role model for a left-hander. Many people told me that I bat like him. As the situation and captain and coach tell me, I am ready to bat anywhere," he said.

He also mentioned how M. S. Dhoni, a former captain of the Indian men’s national cricket team, has helped him better his game.

"We were looking for the first win and I am really happy that I contributed for the team. It’s an honour for me. I am more focused this time and focusing on basics. I spoke to many seniors – Mahi bhai also helped me to improve the game. He said, ‘Just be focused, just be still, just let the skill work in the game.’ I wanted to time the ball really well. I tried to maintain my balance."

Sanjay Manjrekar on Dube

Amongst those who believe that Dube and Singh have similar batting styles is Sanjay Manjrekar. The former Indian batter evaluated that Dube’s style of stroke-play is similar to that of Singh and that Dube’s performance at the Dr. DY Patil Sports Complex quite shoved Uthappa’s innings in the back.

"He’s got this natural gift of hitting the ball a long way, Yuvraj Singh had it, Shivam Dube has it," Manjrekar said. "He’s also looking a little fitter and leaner, maybe stronger. And that shot off Wanindu Hasaranga, there was nothing wrong in that delivery, just about short of a length because he didn’t want to pitch it right up, but Dube went on the backfoot and hit it a long-distance."

"Those two shots tell you this guy is not just a hitter, he hits some incredible shots. That’s why this innings has been able to overshadow another fantastic inning that we saw," Manjrekar concluded.

Dube is currently the second-leading run-scorer in the IPL. He scored 207 runs across five matches, with an average of 51.75 and a 176.92 strike rate.

Ravindra Jadeja's first IPL win as captain

CSK captain Ravindra Jadeja also celebrated his long-awaited first win as a captain. After four losses in succession, he said he is still learning as a captain and "to get things going".

"First of all, this is the first victory as a captain ever. I would like to dedicate to my wife because first victory is always special," Jadeja said after CSK limited RCB to 193 for 9 while chasing 217 to win.

"Previous four games, we couldn’t cross the line. But as a team, we came good. As a captain, I am still picking brains of the senior players. Mahi bhai is there, I always go to him and discuss. Moulding into a new role, it’ll take time to get things going. I am still learning and trying to get better with each game."