Toss Up Between Suresh Raina and Kedar Jadhav for 2nd ODI

New Delhi: It will be a selection dilemma for skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and coach Anil Kumble as a fit-again Suresh Raina is back in the nets having recovered from a bout of viral fever that kept him out of first ODI in Dharamsala.

With Kedar Jadhav picking up two wickets with his handy part-time off breaks, the same skill set of both the players is definitely going to be a factor as the team management decides to pick the XI for the second ODI against New Zealand on Thursday.

At the nets, Jadhav was seen bowling off breaks to both Raina and Dhoni for an extended period of time alongside other off-spinner Jayant Yadav.

Raina, who didn’t bat in UP’s Ranji opener against MP as he was running temperature, was forced to skip the first ODI. Back in the nets, he was seen playing lofted shot against spinners at will.

In fact Kedar, who was his like for like replacement, bowled him for a period of time at the nets. He was also given throwdowns by team’s expert Raghavendra, batting coach Sanjay Bangar and chief coach Kumble.

Dhoni batted the longest time at the nets. He faced Dhawal Kulkarni for a considerable period and also practised the pull shot against throwdowns. He then spent another 25 minutes batting against spin especially Jayant.

Dhoni was seen telling Jayant about specific field positions and bowl accordingly. During one such delivery, Jayant was seen asking his skipper: “So point stays up” which indicated that the skipper wanted him to not give him width outside off-stump.

Jayant altered the length and bowled a conventional off break slightly short of length. Dhoni came down the track but was too close to the delivery before checking his shot. There were other matchsimulations also during the session.

It was an optional session at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground as skipper Dhoni along with Raina batted for a considerable length of time.

Others who attended the session were Axar Patel, Mandeep Singh, Kedar, Kulkarni, Jayant. The likes of Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Umesh Yadav decided to rest.