India in debt to secret weapon

Kedar Jadhav was picked in India's limited-overs side in 2014 as a middle-order batsman after he had piled up tons of runs in domestic cricket for Maharashtra state.

And having donned the gloves for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League to allow the athletic AB de Villiers to patrol the outfield, Jadhav was also seen as a back-up wicketkeeper to Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

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But few knew of Jadhav's hidden talent of bowling off-spin, which has caught even the New Zealand batsmen by surprise during the ongoing one-day series.

After all, the stocky 31-year-old had not bowled in seven previous one-day internationals before the series and had taken just one wicket in 71 first-class matches.

Thrown the ball in the first match in Dharamshala, Jadhav grabbed two wickets off successive balls. He held a return catch to dismiss Jimmy Neesham and then had Mitchell Santner caught behind by Dhoni off the next.

In the second match in New Delhi, Jadhav claimed Tom Latham leg-before and then showed his prowess with the bat by making 41, albeit in a losing cause.

But it was in Mohali on Sunday that Jadhav rattled the Black Caps with 3-29 in five overs on a decent pitch where the tourists scored 285 and India won with 10 balls to spare following Virat Kohli's masterful 134-ball 154 not out.

Dhoni brought Jadhav on in the 11th over ahead of front-line leg-spinner Amit Mishra and he struck gold in his second over by trapping skipper and star batsman Kane Williamson leg-before for 22.

Williamson, who had hit a century in the previous match, attempted to sweep a slower ball that did not turn, missed the line because he played too early and was plumb in front.

The captain took Jadhav off immediately despite the key wicket and did not call him back till the 30th over when the Black Caps had moved to 3-154.

Off the fourth delivery, Corey Anderson went to hit a full toss over the cover region, mistimed the shot and gave a chest-high catch to Ajinkya Rahane at mid-off.

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In his next over, Jadhav got rid of top-scorer Latham (61), whose eyes lit up seeing a juicy tossed-up delivery and went for a cover drive, only to find Hardik Pandya standing in the way at cover.

"I guess my action, the change of pace and the height at which I bowl makes it difficult for batsman," a beaming Jadhav said. "We don't have off-spinners in the side, so I have to take the responsibility especially when left-handers are batting."

Jadhav's golden arm has worked wonders for India in the absence of prolific off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who was rested for the one-dayers along with left-armer Ravindra Jadeja to keep the spin duo fresh for next month's Test series against England.

Dhoni said he was convinced part-timers like Jadhav and Rohit Sharma had a role to play in one-day cricket.

"The part-timers will have to feature," the World Cup-winning captain said. "It’s important that batsmen who can bowl spin, should bowl, because you may not be left with many options if a regular bowler has an off-day.

"Unless you give them more opportunities, they don’t take bowling very seriously. It’s like throwing them at the deep end of the pool.

"On a wicket where there is some assistance, part-time spinners can contribute a lot. Let’s hope Jadhav turns up as a good allrounder for us, someone who can bowl whenever it’s needed."