Shivam Dube’s pyrotechnics with the bat during the last IPL earned him a recall to the national team, ending a three-year wait, and the lanky all-rounder, eyeing a spot in India’s T20 World Cup squad, gave the BCCI selectors enough reasons to be convinced of his power-hitting abilities with a whirlwind half century that eventually powered Chennai Super Kings to a 63-run win over Gujarat Titans at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

Going by stats, Dube has struck 57 sixes since IPL 2022, to match Andre Russell and Liam Livingstone during this period. On top is Jos Buttler with 59.

On Tuesday, as the action shifted to Chennai, where last IPL season’s finalists CSK met Titans in a league encounter, Dube came in at No.4, and got going from the first ball, striking Sai Kishore for two consecutive sixes to jeopardise the opposition’s bowling plans.

Failing to control Dube’s carnage, Gujarat Titans skipper Shubman Gill had to bowl out his pace options — Mohit Sharma and Spencer Johnson and leave Rashid Khan till the 19th over of the Chennai innings, which eventually reached an imposing 206/6.

Coming in to bat at the fall of Ajinkya Rahane (12) in the 11th over, the Mumbai left-hander added 23 runs with captain Ruturaj Gaikwad before stitching a 51-run partnership with New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell to firmly put CSK on the driver’s seat. In no time, the 30-year-old Dube got to his 7th IPL fifty and first of the 2024 season off 22 deliveries.

Dube eventually blazed 51 off 23 balls, laced with two fours and five sixes, before failing to Rashid’s googly in the 19th but ensured his job was done, and in a way cleared the audition for the T20 World Cup. More than that, Dube’s knock highlighted the importance of role clarity in modern-day T20 cricket, and India could very well take a leaf out of CSK’s book and take him along to the showpiece tournament in the US and the West Indies where the pitches may very well be slow and spin-friendly.

Earlier, Rachin Ravindra and Gaikwad got CSK off to a flier after being put to bat. The New Zealander provided the impetus to the CSK innings, making the most of the powerplay but missed out on a half-century, falling to Rashid off the second ball of the last over of the powerplay on 46 off 20. Gaikwad, who was dropped early on, capitalised on the second chance, and slammed an identical 46 off 36 deliveries to lay the platform for Dube and the others to explode.

Towards the end, Sameer Rizvi (14 off 6 balls) slammed Rashid for a couple of sixes to announce his arrival in the IPL while Ravindra Jadeja slammed 7 off 3, to help the home side to the mammoth score.

In reply, Gujarat Titans always played catch-up and the regular fall of wickets further dented their chances as they eventually ended 143 for 8. Sai Sudharsan, who was brought in as the Impact player, top-scored with a 31-ball 37, while Wriddhiman Saha and David Miller contributed with identical 21 even as the CSK bowlers kept it tight to help the side to their second successive victory in the tournament.