Top 5 sportsmanship moments in Indian cricket

Sportsmanship is important in any game you play, whether it is cricket, or football, or basketball, etc. Without sportsmanship, the game is no more a gentleman’s game, it is just another war cry. With sportsmanship, the players play within the confinement of the game. Cricket is another game which has shown sportsmanship moments and continues to do so in each match.

There have been a lot of moments in the past that show that cricket is a gentleman’s game. Adam Gilchrist walked off in a semi-final match, even though the umpire did not give him out, guard of honour which multiple cricketers have received by their opponents, etc. Even if the players sledge the opponent, at the end of the day, it is all left behind on the field and is not taken off the field, mostly.

Indian cricketers have also set a benchmark for the younger generation about sportsmanship. India have produced absolute gentlemen of the game such as Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, etc. Indian cricketers have always shown the world how they play cricket, which most of the fans admire all over the world.

Here are 5 sportsmanship moments in Indian cricket, which won the respect of fans and players all over the world:

1. Gautam Gambhir giving his Man of the Match award to Virat Kohli

One way to boost up a youngster’s confidence is giving him chances and giving him an opportunity to prove himself. However, another way is a teammate giving him his Man of the Match Award to the youngster. Gautam Gambhir did exactly that for his fellow Delhiite, Virat Kohli. Gautam Gambhir gave his Man of the Match Award to the youngster, Virat Kohli against Sri Lanka, back in 2009.

Many would remember the altercation between Kohli and Gambhir, but not many would remember this humble gesture by the former Indian opener. What makes this gesture even more special is that it was Virat Kohli’s maiden ODI century. The knock was overshadowed by Gautam Gambhir’s career-highest in ODIs as he scored 150 runs in the match. However, the left-handed opener did not let it happen and brought the current Indian captain into the spotlight again.

India were 2-1 up in the series and winning this match would seal the series for India. Sri Lanka scored 315 runs, putting India under the pressure of a massive run chase. Things became worse for the home team as India lost both the openers at just 23. However, youngster Virat Kohli, along with the veteran Gautam Gambhir, steadied the ship and added 224 runs for the 3rd wicket. Kohli scored a century, whereas Gautam Gambhir scored 150 runs, his career-best. India won the match by 7 wickets, thanks to the heroics of the Delhi boys.

2. MS Dhoni giving captaincy to Sourav Ganguly in his last Test

MS Dhoni and Sourav Ganguly are two of the most loved, respected and best captains India ever produced. While one took charge when the team was in absolute shambles, the other won India trophies after trophies. Dada passed the baton on to MS Dhoni to take Indian cricket to new heights.

Other captains came too, but nobody was a long term option. ‘Dada’ and Dhoni have always helped the Indian team reach new heights and they announced India’s candidacy to the world through their captaincy alone.

It was Ganguly who brought Dhoni into the ODI team and gave him a chance up the order to prove his talent. It was only fitting that MS Dhoni repays the favour to ‘The Prince of Calcutta’. The wicketkeeper-batsman did that in style and made Dada’s retirement as special as it could be. Dhoni convinced Sourav Ganguly to take charge of the team on the last day of his international career.

Ganguly retired in 2008, against Australia in Nagpur. Mahendra Singh Dhoni offered Sourav Ganguly to take charge of the captaincy and showed a heartwarming gesture towards his senior. Ganguly led the team for a while, made bowling changes, made field placements and gave the fans a chance to relive the old days. India won that match by 172 runs and sealed the test series 2-0.

3. MS Dhoni lets Virat Kohli take the winning run

Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni are two of the biggest names in Indian cricket. When MSD left the captaincy, it was Virat Kohli who took over. Kohli has always been supportive of his former captain and has backed him up when everyone was criticising him. And why not? MSD had done the same thing for the Delhiite in the past.

One of the incidents which show mutual respect and sportsmanship is when MS Dhoni defended the ball to make sure that Virat Kohli hits the winning runs because he deserved it. The incident took place in the semi-final– India against South Africa in World Cup T20, 2014. India chased the target in the final over as India needed just one run to win and reach the finals. They faced Sri Lanka in the finals and lost the match.

In the match, Virat Kohli scored 72 runs off just 44 balls and chased the mammoth total set by South Africa with ease. MS Dhoni gave Kohli a “gift” in the match by letting him hit the winning runs. The last ball of the 19th over, MS Dhoni simply dabbed the ball towards short mid-wicket to bring Kohli on strike in the next over. He hit a boundary to finish things off and won the Man of the Match award.

4. Virat Kohli calls Indian physio to check on Nayeem Hasan

Most people know Virat Kohli as an arrogant brat or an “over-aggressive” player. However, Virat Kohli does things which win everyone’s hearts instantly, even if they are rivals. One such incident that won everyone’s heart was him calling out Indian Physio to check up on Nayeem Hasan. The incident took place during the historic Day-Night test match between India and Bangladesh at Eden Gardens, 2019.

During the match, Nayeem Hasan got hit by a brutal bouncer from Mohammed Shami. However, Bangladesh did not have a physio at that moment because he was attending to Liton Das. Liton Das also got hit by a bouncer by the same bowler and physio was busy attending to Liton. Virat Kohli, however, showed his class and asked the Indian Physio to come out and attend to the youngster.

With this brutal bouncer hitting Nayeem, it was important to check up on him and treat him. Virat Kohli’s sportsmanship and class got Nayeem checked up in time. In that match, Nayeem got replaced by Taijul Islam and Mehidy Hasan Miraz replaced Liton Das. India won the test match by an innings and 46 runs.

5. Virat Kohli asking Indian fans to stop booing Steve Smith

Another one of the class incidents involving Virat Kohli is when he asked Indians fans to not boo the Australian. The incident took place during the group stage match between India and Australia in the 2019 cricket World Cup. Indian fans had come to cheer for their team in numbers and were booing Steve Smith. However, Kohli addressed the crowd and asked them to show respect instead of booing the right-hander.

World Cup 2019 was the first time India met Australia with Steve Smith and David Warner. Warner and Smith were serving their ban for the Sandpapergate incident. Following their return, both of them had been received negatively by fans all over the world. Since their return to international cricket, both of them had to face the hostility of the crowd.

With the Indian skipper asking Indian fans to respect Steve Smith, the booing reduced for the Australian. According to Steve Smith, it was a lovely gesture and he appreciated the step taken by the Indian captain. In the match, India won by 52 runs after scoring a mammoth total of 356 runs. Shikhar Dhawan was named the Man of the Match for his brilliant century.