Shivam Dube, a name that won't always be in the headlines, but those who follow cricket very closely know the value of his contributions. From a crucial 27 off 16 balls in the final of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 to two vital fours in the second-to-last over against the West Indies in the virtual quarter-final of the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup, Shivam Dube has repeatedly stepped up when it mattered most.

Those two boundaries removed all the pressure off Sanju Samson in the final over and almost confirmed the win when Hardik got out in the same over. Dube has been a key contributor in big moments, even if his impact often goes unnoticed.

Jasprit Bumrah on Shivam Dube’s 2 Crucial 4s: ‘Stats Won’t Show It, But They Changed the Final Over’ in India’s Win Over West Indies

India defeated the West Indies by 5 wickets in their last Super 8 game at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on Sunday night to qualify for the semi-finals. Sanju Samson becomes the hero for India with an unbeaten 97 runs off 50 balls to chase down the target of 196 in 19.2 overs.

This scorecard says it's a comfortable chase for India, especially when India needed 17 runs off the last 2 overs, and well-set Sanju and the finisher Hardik Pandya were batting. But it becomes tricky when Samar Joseph dismissed Pandya on the second ball of the over after bowling the first one a dot. Now India needed 17 from 10 balls, and the new batter Shivam Dube was on strike. At that crucial moment, one poor shot or even a couple of dot balls could have put all the pressure back on India in the final over. But Shivam Dube made sure that did not happen. He smashed the first ball for 4 to release the pressure. Then Shamar bowled a dot, but Shivam hit one more boundary on the fifth ball and took 2 runs off the last ball of the over.

Due to Dube’s two crucial boundaries, India now just needed the 7 runs off the last over, and Sanju Samson finished the game with a 6 and 4. Those two crucial boundaries release all the pressure of the last over.

In an ICC interview, Jasprit Bumrah mentioned two boundaries of Shivam Dube as the turning point of the game. He said, "The 2 fours that Dube hit—in the cricketing books & stats, nobody will really appreciate that, but the people who really know cricket, the 2 fours really didn't set the pressure on us for the final over."

India head coach Gauntam Gambhir also praised Shivam Dube’s two boundaries in the press conference, saying, “For me, Shivam, those two boundaries are as important as Sanju’s 97. If he wouldn’t have hit those two boundaries, probably that 97, you wouldn't have even spoken about it."