How Dhoni, Jadhav set the perfect trap for Kane Williamson

What looked like poor captaincy and lack of planning from India’s part by letting the game drift after the early strikes was actually a trap set for New Zealand captain Kane Williamson.

With four sweepers in place and no sign of seam, the New Zealand pair of Kane Williamson and Tom Latham had slowly started to regain their footing in the match. After losing three wickets for 38, the right and left combo of Williamson and Latham had not only steadied the ship but they had also milked the Indian spinners with utmost ease. The game had just shown first signs of breaking free from India’s firm grip or so thought most of us including the commentators.  

What looked like poor captaincy and lack of planning from India’s part by letting the game drift after their early strikes was actually a trap in which the New Zealand captain fell. And needless to say, MS Dhoni was the mastermind behind it.

Despite having only 252 to play with, stand-in captain Rohit kept Kedar Jadhav on from one end. The latter, going at an economy rate of 5 runs per over, was just thing New Zealand needed to get their chase back on track. But Dhoni knew it would be difficult for the attacking Blackcaps pair to keep nudging singles off Jadhav, the temptation to go over the top was far too irresistible and so it happened.

In the 26^th over, Williamson’s patience gave in and he went for a short-arm pull. The ball, however, did not bounce as much as Williamson expected because of Jadhav’s lo round-arm action. The New Zealand captain did not get all of it and in the end, provided a simple catch to Shikhar Dhawan standing at deep mid-wicket. The jubilation on Dhoni's moves coupled by Jadhav's dance was a clear giveaway that was exactly the thing India had planned for.

pic.twitter.com/x3A5L0vELL

— Baahubali (@bahubalikabadla) February 4, 2019

The 67-run fourth wicket stand was broken and it was a result of patience captaincy and equally good bowling. The wicket turned out to be a big turning point in the match as the Indian spinners ran through New Zealand's lower middle order bowling them out for 217 and win the fifth ODI by 35 runs. The victory meant India won the series 4-1.