Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batter Shivam Dube faced the ire of the fans after his batting failure against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Wednesday, April 12, in Chennai. He scored eight runs off nine balls after coming in at the No. 4 position in the second innings.
RR batted first in the contest after losing the toss. On the back of Jos Buttler's half-century, they managed to reach 175/8 in 20 overs. In reply, in-form batter Ruturaj Gaikwad had an off day as he got out cheaply in the third over.
Ajinkya Rahane (31) came in at the No. 3 position and once again looked in good touch. Ashwin dismissed him in the 10th over to give RR a massive breakthrough. With the match evenly poised, Shivam Dube joined Devon Conway at the crease after Rahane's departure.
The lanky southpaw struggled for timing and ate up balls, increasing the required run rate. Ashwin pulled the curtains on his innings in the 12th over via LBW dismissal.
Fans were disappointed with Dube's approach while chasing a decent total as he stalled the innings with his sedate knock. They trolled him through their reactions on Twitter.
Here are some of them:
CSK lost the match by 3 runs after middle-order batters Shivam Dube and co fail collectively vs RR
After Dube's dismissal, the required run rate pressure got to the batters, as it resulted in the loss of multiple wickets. Devon Conway, Mooen Ali, and Ambati Rayudu reached the pavilion one by one after failing in their pursuit of a big shot.
MS Dhoni (32*) and Ravindra Jadeja (25*) tried their best till the final ball, but CSK eventually fell five runs short of the target. Dhoni reflected on the loss after the match, saying:
"I think in the middle, we needed a bit more strike rotation. I don't think there was a lot for the spinners. Yes they were experienced spinners and they bowled the right lengths but I felt in that period we had too many dot balls. With the set batter and the new batter going in I don't think it was too difficult. So the ownership has to come from the batter."
CSK will next face the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday, April 17.
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