Agencies
Mumbai: Former Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni might be considered as one of the best finishers in the world but he is equally a master when it comes to standing behind the stumps with gloves.
Dhoni, who was forced to miss his side’s humiliating eight-wicket defeat in the fourth ODI against New Zealand due to a hamstring injury, made a comeback for the fifth and final match against the Black Caps at the Wellington Regional Stadium on Sunday.
And the wicketkeeper-batsman returned to action with a bang as he showed his masterclass not only behind the stumps but was also seen guiding stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma in setting the field positions.
The 37-year-old, who has the most number of stumping to his name in international cricket with 190, once again showed his antics behind the stumps when he dismissed Jimmy Neesham during New Zealand’s chase of 252 runs.
The incident took place when Neesham was comfortably batting on 44 and he missed one of the deliveries from Kedar Jadhav, propelling the Men in Blue to opt for a leg before wicket appeal against the southpaw.
As Neesham took a few steps down the wicket, Dhoni rattled the stumps from behind to ran him out.
Dhoni’s masterclass drew accolades and appreciation from all over the world, with a special tweet from the International Cricket Council (ICC) who warned all the batsmen not to leave the crease when the Indian wicketkeeper-batsman is behind the stumps.
A Japanese multimedia artist, named Yoko, asked the Twitter for some advice which will help him shine and it was the ICC who wrote the most interesting reply saying, ”
“Never leave your crease with MS Dhoni behind the stumps!”the global cricket governing body wrote on their official Twitter handle.
India went on to win that match by 35 runs to clinch the five-match ODI series against New Zealand by a margin of 4-1. The two sides will now head into three-match T20I series, beginning February 6 at Wellington Regional Stadium.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Kashmir Monitor staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
