Watch: Dhoni shows sharp presence of mind with brilliant run-out
What's the story?
MS Dhoni left James Neesham totally flummoxed as he ran the New Zealand all-rounder out with astute presence of mind and skill. While the Men in Blue were appealing for a possible leg-before wicket, Dhoni was watchfully casting a keen eye on Neesham, who was looking for a cheeky single.
Amid the chaos, Dhoni collected the ball and without even taking a real glance at the stumps, smashed it to leave the batsman stranded.
In case you didn't know...
Not for the first time, the evergreen MS Dhoni has left us in awe with a brilliant piece of skill behind the stumps. Along with his batting, the veteran's lightning-fast stumpings, instructions and breathtaking catches are a well-known commodity in world cricket.
Although he is not the most conventional with his technique, Dhoni's street-smart capabilities and presence of mind make him one of the wisest cricketers to have played the game.
The heart of the matter
India entered the the fifth and final ODI with an unassailable 3-1 lead and upstaged the hosts once again by 35 runs. After having lost a flurry of wickets at the start of their innings, through a formidable yet solid partnership between Vijay Shankar and Ambati Rayudu, Rohit and co. piled up 252 on the board.
A stunning bowling performance granted them the victory, but this wicket of Neesham had class written all over it. And rightfully so, the entire credit must go to Dhoni for the scalp, as the all-rounder is more than handy with the bat.
In he 37th over of the game, Dhoni appealed for an LBW for the first couple of seconds, but after learning that umpire Shaun George was least interested, he took aim at the stumps and sent Neesham packing.
His direct throw meant that the Neesham had absolutely no clue of what was going around behind him, while he was trying to sneak a single. The crowd of course, exploded.
Watch:
What's next?
After having defended a below par total of 252 against the Black Caps, India head into the three-match T20I series, with the first one to commence on 6 February at 12:30 pm IST.