Perth: Once again bringing his street-smart side to the fore, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni kept for a few deliveries without pads as he gave his gear to Ajinkya Rahane standing at silly point against Ravichandran Ashwin in the World Cup match against West Indies here yesterday.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni

For four deliveries, Dhoni was without pads as he gave his to Rahane fielding at silly point.

In the middle of the 14th over, Dhoni felt the need to have a close in fielder to cash in on the bounce that Ashwin was getting. But since it was middle of the over, the umpires didn’t allow the substitute fielder to come with shin pads for Rahane.

Since a close-in fielder is more prone to getting hurt, Dhoni let Rahane wear it as he stood without any leg guards.

Probably gauging that a faster one from Ashwin could inadvertently hit him on the shin area, he told Raina to stand some 15 metres right behind him.

Once the over was completed, the umpires allowed the substitute to come out with shin pads for Rahane while Dhoni got back his own.