When Shivam Dube walked out in the 15th over against Pakistan in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 Group A clash, India had just suffered a momentum swing. Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya had fallen off consecutive deliveries, and the score read 126/4.
Pakistan's spinners were slowly tightening the screws.
Dube responded with 27 off 17 balls at a strike rate of 158.82 - not headline-grabbing numbers in isolation - but an innings that ensured India did not stall in a decisive phase. He rotated strike early, absorbed pressure, and then targeted the shorter boundary to push India towards a competitive 175 before being run out late in the innings.
It was a contribution that may not have dominated the scorecard but carried structural value, a fact that wasn't missed by the team management, who awarded him with the medal for India's Impact Player in the post-match dressing room huddle.
And this performance was not just an outlier. In fact it's a pattern that traces back to the IPL 2023 final, where Dube struck an unbeaten 32 off 21 to finish as CSK's second-highest scorer on the night. That season revived his white-ball credentials and paved the way for a return to India's T20I setup after a three-year gap.
Since then, his numbers in high-pressure games have followed a familiar script.
In the 2024 T20 World Cup Final, he was India's third-highest scorer, adding 27 off 16 balls on a surface where only three batters were able to reach double-digit scores. That knock in Bridgetown proved crucial to India lifting their second T20 World Cup trophy.
Fast forward to the 2025 Asia Cup final against arch-rivals Pakistan. Chasing 146 on a tricky surface in Dubai, most batters fell cheaply. Dube walked in when the team were 77/4 and finished as India's second-highest scorer with a handy contribution of 33 off 22 balls, leaving India within 10 runs of victory when he departed in the penultimate over.
In fact, across these four major fixtures - 2023 IPL final, 2024 T20 World Cup final, 2025 Asia Cup final and now an India–Pakistan T20 World Cup clash in 2026 - Dube has scored 119 runs off 76 balls at a combined strike rate above 156.
None of the innings crossed fifty. None required him to bat through 15 overs. But each arrived at moments when tempo risked dipping.
That may be his value.
India's T20 structure relies heavily on middle-overs stability, particularly against spin. Dube's left-handed power-hitting offers a counterbalance, preventing stagnation between overs 7 and 15 while allowing stroke-makers at either end to play with freedom.
The sample size remains modest. Four innings do not confirm anything, but in knockout cricket, where phases often matter more than aggregates, repeatable impact under pressure becomes significant.
In a line-up filled with headline-makers, Dube's contributions are rarely the loudest. Increasingly, however, they are becoming some of the most timely.
ALSO READ | T20 World Cup: Can Pakistan Qualify For Super Eights After Defeat Against India?
Essential Business Intelligence, Continuous LIVE TV, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
