AUS vs IND, 4th T20I: ‘Morne, Gauti bhai and Surya prepared a good plan for me,’ says Shivam Dube after bowling heroics

All-rounder Shivam Dube said the total posted by India was good enough considering the ground dimensions, and the bowlers executed their plans to perfection to beat Australia in the fourth T20I in Carrara on Thursday.

India defended a modest total with a stifling bowling performance for a 48-run win over Australia to take an unassailable 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

“167 on this ground is definitely a good score because the quality of bowling we have, the spinners, the fast bowlers… I trust them and the whole team trusts our bowlers,” Dube said at the post-match press conference.

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“Definitely, it’s a T20 game and any of the batters can come and smack, but on this ground, where the side boundaries are big, we had planned it very nicely and we had confidence that we can stop them.”

He further elaborated India’s bowling plans, saying, “The plan was to bowl on the sides which have bigger boundaries because it is difficult to hit big. I think the boundaries were 80m plus. We knew it wouldn’t be easy to hit, [regardless of] how much you connect. Plan was to bowl smartly and when a batter is set, force him to hit on the bigger sides than the small sides.”

Dube said head coach Gautam Gambhir, bowling coach Morne Morkel and T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav backed him a lot as a bowler, which gave him confidence.

“When I got the chance, I knew that I had to bowl, especially Morne, Gauti bhai and Surya prepared a good plan for me. Morne also helped me a lot. He gave some small, small tips which made my bowling better,” he said.

Promoted up the batting order to No. 3, Dube also played a decent hand with the bat, scoring 22 off 18 balls.

“In the nets, I practised a lot on how to deal with short balls because the bounce is more here as compared to India. It’s my first tour, but I am trying to settle down as soon as possible. Definitely, that was an important phase because at that time the scoring got slow, and I knew (Adam Zampa) was going to bowl. I never took chances against fast bowlers because they were bowling in the direction of the side boundaries. The plan was to rotate strike against the fast bowlers and attack the spinners when they come,” Dube explained.

Published on Nov 06, 2025