Shivam Dube faced four deliveries and scored two boundaries, besides adding a couple of leg byes to further India‘s chase of 196 against West Indies when his team needed 17 off 10, having walked in fresh after the dismissal of Hardik Pandya. His batting partner was a well-set Sanju Samson, who finished off the chase with a six and a four to remain unbeaten on 97 off 50.
Gautam Gambhir keeps the efforts of Dube and Samson on an even keel.
Without Dube’s two fours, it was quite possible that India wouldn’t have been able to chase down the target in their must-win Super 8 clash of the T20 World Cup and consequently, Samson’s 97* may not have been hyped as much as it’s now since it came in a thrilling five-wicket triumph.
“Glad you’re talking about every contribution, because for too many years, we’ve only spoken about certain contributions,” Gambhir said, taking a sly dig at the superstar culture. “This is a team sport, and this will always remain a team sport. For me, I think Shivam’s, those two boundaries are as important as Sanju’s 90, because if he wouldn’t have been able to hit those two boundaries, probably that 95 (97), you won’t have even spoken about. So it’s not only about 97 – yes, he played a special innings, but those small contributions actually help you win games as well.”
“The big contribution makes headlines. The small contribution, the contribution that can help the team win, cross that line, is going to be very important. And that’s why I say that this is going to be the philosophy going forward till I am there,” he added.
India will now start gearing up for their semi-final clash with England, scheduled to be played at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday. This will be the third straight occasion that India are facing England at this stage of the tournament.
