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India vs South Africa: MS Dhoni Turns Leg-Spinner During Practice Session

Ahead of the fifth One-Day International against South Africa at St George Park which is known to help spinners more, Dhoni was seen bowling leg-spin to India batsmen at the nets.

 If one has turned out to be a true ‘all-rounder’ in the game of cricket, in the sense of ‘Jack of all trades’, then it is surely Mahendra Singh Dhoni, a man with fewer words, but greater abilities. People have known him for his lightning-quick wicketkeeping abilities and his prowess with the willow and his spot-on decisions on DRS reviews and off late, fans have witnessed the veteran bowling leg-spin deliveries, but of course, at the nets. One such moment was on Monday in Port Elizabeth, ahead of the fifth one-day international match against South Africa in the six-match series.

CCI took to Twitter to share the video of Dhoni bowling some leg-spin deliveries alongside Axar Patel’s left-arm action. The caption went as – “Some left-arm spin from @akshar2026 and slow leggies from @msdhoni. It’s all happening at the spinner’s nets #TeamIndia #SAvIND.

It is although not the first of all instance of witnessing Dhoni bowling at the nets. Ahead of the Indore ODI against Australia in September, Dhoni was spotted accompanying Kuldeep Yadav in bowling leg-spin deliveries to batsmen during practice sessions. Then, prior to the start of the first ODI against Sri Lanka at home, he was seen delivering a few swingers to Axar Patel.

 

Well, Port Elizabeth is indeed a spin friendly track and thus wrist-spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav can revive themselves after the thorough beating they had received on the Saturday at Wanderers in the fourth ODI against the Proteas that witnessed the hosts clinching a five-wicket victory.

India have had a splendid journey in the ongoing ODI series. On the cursed track of Kingsmead, India rode on Virat Kohli’s 33rd ODI ton to bag a six-wicket win. In the second ODI, India chased an embarrassing target of 118 runs at Centurion to defeat South Africa by eight wickets. At Cape Town, the skipper’s 34th ODI ton ensured that the Men in Blue return with at least one hand on a silverware. With a 3-0 lead in the series, India stood one match away from maiden series victory in ODIs and also an assurance of the number one title in ICC ODI Rankings. However, their hopes were dashed. In a rare of all occurrences, South African middle-order lineup decimated the spin twins to keep their Pink Day winning streak intact.

On Tuesday afternoon, India will be up against South Africa in the fifth ODI at a spin-friendly St Goerge’s track, but the challenge for the visitors will grow stiff as they have never witnessed victory at the venue.

Credits: Times Now

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