"Felt Like Ranji Trophy": Shivam Dube On His Batting Struggles On New York Pitches

Accustomed to batting on belters in India, big-hitting all-rounder Shivam Dube conceded that the two-paced tracks for the T20 World Cup matches in New York left him bamboozled to such an extent that it almost felt like playing a Ranji Trophy game. The Chennai Super Kings star regained some form with a 35-ball 31 in the seven-wicket win over a fighting USA team that propelled India into the event's Super Eight stage on Wednesday. The World Cup would move entirely to the West Indies with the Super Eight games.

"I was struggling with my form and focusing on my process," Dube said about his successive failures against Ireland and Pakistan at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium here.

"But here, there was no pressure. All the support staff and coaches backed me and told me, 'It's difficult, but you have the ability to hit sixes, so apply it.' "I've never doubted myself for what I've done in the past. I just think that these conditions do not demand what I've done at CSK. These conditions require a different approach, so I was batting differently today," he added.

Dube still has a long way to go before truly justifying his selection ahead of another power-hitter Rinku Singh, who is in the reserves.

After being named in India's main World Cup squad, Dube managed just 36 runs from five innings in the IPL. His woes continued in the World Cup, where he scored 14 (practice match against Bangladesh), 0 not out, and 3 in three outings before finally delivering a composed knock on Wednesday.

Chasing a modest 111, India were reduced to 44/3 in the difficult drop-in Nassau pitch. Dube also found the going tough and struggled to time the ball, taking six deliveries to open his account.

From being nine off 15 balls, Dube