Edgbaston: It is being said that it was Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s brain that helped India beat Bangladesh in the semi-final on Thursday.

When Bangladesh batsmen Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim put on a 123 runs partnership, it looked like India could face a huge total. Dhoni, known as Mr Cool, calmed Indian skipper Virat Kohli with some valuable tips.

Kohli could be seen getting restless and anxious when Bangladesh were in full flow. It was this moment that Dhoni told Kohli to try out a non-conventional bowler Kedar Jadhav.

As a captain, Dhoni has often got vital breakthroughs with bowlers whom he has surprisingly introduced though they were not regular bowlers.

After the match Kohli revealed: “When moves like this pay off, I won’t take the whole credit. I asked MS (Dhoni), and we both decided that Kedar would be a good option for the moment, and he bowled really well. I mean, credit to the bowler. He doesn’t bowl much in the nets, but he’s a smart cricketer. He knows where to trouble the batsmen, and if you can think like a batter when you’re bowling, it’s obviously a bit of an advantage to any bowler; and I think he executed perfectly.”

It was interesting to meet Jadhav after the match and ask him how he took the wickets of Iqbal and Rahim. He too spoke about Dhoni’s role. “I don’t practise bowling, but since the time I have been in the Indian team, I have spent a lot of time with Dhoni. I’ve tried to learn as much as I can from him. He shares with me a lot of the knowledge he has. Even while bowling we are just looking at each other, and we have that bond where from his eyes I can read what he wants me to do. I bowl that delivery and most of the times it has worked.”

Jadhav bowls off break, and he spoke about how he plays the role of a bowler. “I have been bowling in the nets. In previous series too I have been bowling for my team and have taken wickets. Before this game I had six wickets, and most of them are pure batsmen. It’s not like I was getting the wickets of tail-enders. I had that confidence in my bowling and knew that a batsman would find it difficult to try big shots against me because of the variations I have, especially the pace variations.”

Jadhav also revealed that growing up playing cricket with a tennis ball has helped him. “My bowling is all about reading what the batsman is trying to do. When I want to execute something, I can do it. I think it was one of those days where I could read them well and could execute what I wanted to do.”