Shivam Dube was the center of social media backlash after the all-rounder gave away 46 runs in just two over during India’s win over Zimbabwe in a crucial Super 8 clash of the T20 World Cup 2026 in Chennai on Thursday. On a belter of batting track where the Indian batters scored a mammoth 256/4 after being sent into bat first, Dube was completely off color with the ball at the M Chidambaram Stadium, a venue that is home for him in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Dube was first brought into the attack in the 15th over. After a two in the first ball, Brian Bennett smashed Dube for a six and two fours in the next three deliveries. The Indian bowled three wides and a no ball before Bennet finished the over with a huge six to take 26 runs in an over.
With India confirming the win, Dube was given the ball to bowl the final over. Although he dismissed Tashinga Musekiwa, thanks to a brilliant one-handed catch by Sanju Samson, Dube was smashed for two sixes and a four to conceded another 20 runs as Zimbabwe managed 184/6 in 20 overs.
In fact, the 46 runs conceded by Dube is the most conceded by a bowler in the first two overs of a T20 World Cup match. The 26 runs conceded by Dube in the most expensive over by an Indian bowler in T20 World Cups after Yuvraj Singh’s 25 in an over against New Zealand in 2007.
Despite India’s win, Dube’s wayward bowling didn’t go well with the fans who took to social media.
What India needs to do for a semifinal spot?
The 72-run win helped India to stay afloat in the race for T20 World Cup 2026 semifinals. While Zimbabwe are already eliminated from the race and South Africa booking a spot in the last four, it all comes down to the India vs West Indies clash on March 1 in Kolkata to determine the second team to progress in the knockouts from Group 1.
For India, they need to win against West Indies and qualify for the semi-final. For West Indies, one point is needed to enter the knockouts owing to their better net run rate than that of India.
Suryakumar Yadav blames bowlers
Speaking after the game, India captain Suryakumar Yadav blamed the bowlers for leaking too many runs. “We could have been more clinical with the ball. A win is a win. We will tighten our screws when we play the West Indies,” said the India skipper referring to a virtual quarterfinal.
“I don’t want to take credit away from Zimbabwe batters, they batted smartly. We could have been little bit smarter with our options,” added Suryakumar. “I think we wanted to leave everything behind. We didn’t think too much about what we did in the league stage or in the last game in Ahmedabad. Our video analyst had prepared a slide for all the batters and bowlers, highlighting what we’ve done well over the past year.
“We looked at that, took a lot of positivity from it, and came here with clarity. With contributions from the top order right down to number seven, I think there was hardly anything missing in our performance,” he said.
