Fans mercilessly trolled Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Hardik Pandya after Chennai Super Kings (CSK) all-rounder Shivam Dube produced a blazing knock against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) this week.

Shivam Dube, who's creating a lot of buzz due to his explosive batting in the IPL, making his case stronger for selection in the national squad for the forthcoming T20 World Cup, smacked a blistering 66 off 27 balls at the Chepauk on Tuesday.

On the other hand, Hardik Pandya has been woefully out of form – both with bat and the ball, with some reports suggesting that his World Cup spot was under immense threat because of Shivam Dube's heroics in the elite T20 competition.

He's managed to score only 151 runs at a mediocre average of 21.57 with the highest score of 39 in the eight matches he's played in the tournament so far.

In the bowling department, the Gujarat-born all-rounder has hardly bowled and when he has taken up the ball, he has gone for plenty of runs.

Hardik Pandya has picked just four wickets in eight games but what would be worrying the Mumbai Indians management is his economy rate. In the 17 overs, Hardik Pandya has bowled, he has been virtually clobbered by opposition batters, allowing them to cherry-pick him for sixes and boundaries. The result is that he has given away runs at almost 11 per over.

In contrast, Shivam Dube has made 311 runs in 8 matches, including three half-centuries in IPL 2024. But what's impressive in his numbers is his strike-rate, which stands at 169.95 at present.

After his innings against LSG, Shivam Dube revealed that he was enjoying his time in the middle with crowd support playing a key role in boosting his confidence while hitting the ball to all corners of the park.

“Especially the support from the crowd is amazing. We love to play in Chennai. All grounds are like home grounds but this is what pushes me a little more. Rutu needed 1 over to recover after playing for a long time so I decided to take the bowler on,” Shivam Dube told Star Sports.

Despite his superlative display against LSG, Shivam Dube wasn't the star of the day. It was his CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad and Marcus Stoinis, who were the more talked about players as the two struck quickfire centuries against each other's sides.

After the KL Rahul-led LSG opted to field at the Chepauk, CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad came out all guns blazing, producing a spectacular knock laced with 12 gorgeous boundaries and three sixes to remain unbeaten on 108 off 60 balls.

Notably, this was the first time a CSK captain has made a hundred in the IPL.

Before Ruturaj Gaikwad's century against LSG, the highest score by a CSK skipper in the prestigious T20 tournament was 84* and there are no prizes for guessing that it belonged to MS Dhoni.

Since the IPL's inception in 2008, MS Dhoni was the leader of the franchise till the start of the current edition of the competition when he handed the charge of the side to Ruturaj Gaikwad.

During his long 14-year tenure with CSK, MS Dhoni couldn't make a ton, and his highest score for CSK in the IPL is an unbeaten 84.

However, one must not forget that while Ruturaj Gaikwad opens the innings for CSK, MS Dhoni is a lower-order batter who hardly gets enough deliveries to post a three-figure score in the tournament.

Besides Ruturaj Gaikwad's record hundred, Shivam Dube's 66 off 27 balls helped CSK to 210/4 in their allocated 20 overs.

Ruturaj Gaikwad may have trumped MS Dhoni to become CSK's highest scorer as skipper, but his hundred eventually went in vain as LSG's Marcus Stoinis came up with a ruthless ton, smashing an unbeaten 124 off 63 deliveries to seal a comprehensive six-wicket win for the visitors.

With the loss, CSK dropped out of the top 4 in the standings, while the LSG jumped to fourth on the table.

The defeat also means that CSK's journey in IPL 2024 gets tougher from here as they have to ensure a minimum of four victories from the remaining six games to qualify for the playoffs.

Ruturaj Gaikwak and his men would desperately like to be in the playoffs this season, considering it could be the last time MS Dhoni would be donning the CSK jersey as speculation is rife that he could be hanging his boots after the event.

Meanwhile, Ruturaj Gaikwad recently revealed how he would want to be remembered as the leader of the franchise.

“I don't want to be a specific kind of character. Just like to flow things as they're flowing. Keep the culture of the CSK basically going. That's what I feel. The success we've had, the things we have been doing, I don't want to change a single bit of it. I just want to come there, take my own decisions and just give as much freedom as possible because that's what has been happening from when I joined CSK. Nothing really changes and I'm enjoying myself,” Ruturaj Gaikwad said.