WATCH: MS Dhoni captains India in Rohit Sharma’s absence vs New Zealand

Dixit Bhargav
|PublishedFeb 08, 2019

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND – FEBRUARY 08: Rishabh Pant and MS Dhoni of India celebrate winning game two of the International T20 Series between the New Zealand Black Caps and India at Eden Park on February 08, 2019 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

MS Dhoni captains India: The veteran wicket-keeper batsman was seen leading the side in Rohit Sharma’s absence at Auckland.

During the second T20I of the ongoing India’s tour of New Zealand at Auckland, former India captain and current wicket-keeper batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni once again donned the captain’s hat as he led the side in the absence of captain Rohit Sharma.

On the fourth delivery of the 16th over, New Zealand all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme smashed a Hardik Pandya delivery straight to Sharma in the cover region. While Sharma grabbed a fantastic catch, the fierceness with which the ball was hit forced him to briefly leave the ground in a bid to visit the Indian physio.

Dhoni, who last captained India in a T20I against West Indies at Lauderhill in 2016, was once again seen taking on-field decisions. The sight of the legendary cricketer calling the shots went down as the highlight of the match for his plentiful fans.

Talking about the match, India sealed a 159-run chase in the penultimate over of the match without much discomfort. After a 79-run opening partnership between captain Sharma and his partner Dhawan (30), it was the wicket-keeper batsman-duo of Dhoni and Rishabh Pant who stitched together a 44-run partnership to win the match for India.

Having lost the last match by a whopping 80 runs, India did well to register a 7-wicket victory today. With the series level at 1-1, one expects the deciding third T20I to be a riveting contest.

In which was his 200th match as ODI captain, Dhoni had come into picture as a captain during the Asia Cup last year when the team management had decided to rest Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan in the match against Afghanistan.

Watch the full video below:

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.