IPL History: Five best acts of sportsmanship
The 12th edition of Indian Premier League got underway on 23rd of March with CSK defeating RCB by 7 wickets in a low scoring affair. The matches following that saw some big-hitting by Andre Russell and Rishabh Pant who single-handedly contributed for their team’s victory.
Victories and defeats are a part of the game, but the character of a player on the field can be an example to others. In order to promote sportsman spirit, the Fair Play Award was awarded after every season of the tournament for the team with the best record in terms of fair play. The winner is decided based on the points they get in every match which is allocated by the umpires. They have criteria like good rapport with the opposition, adhering to the rules as well as respecting the decision of the umpires which account to points.
CSK have won the Fair Play Award six times in twelve seasons. In 2018, Mumbai Indians took home this award. Let us look at the five instances where the spirit of the game was held high.
#1 David Warner stops midway while taking a run to hand the bowler his shoe
This was SRH’s second match of the 2017 edition in their backyard. After a convincing victory against RCB in the opener, they faced Gujarat Lions. Having won the toss, the hosts put the opposition into bat. They managed to score just 135 runs in 20 overs, thanks to some inspirational bowling by Rashid Khan and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar. The target was very gettable with David Warner and Moises Henriques taking the team home after losing Shikhar Dhawan early in the innings.
One incident that was appreciated was the gesture shown by Warner during the chase. It was the tenth over of the match when Moises Henriques pushed the ball down the ground bowled by Basil Thampi. The bowler, in an attempt to stop the ball, lost his shoe in the process. Warner, who was at the non-striker’s end, stopped between the wickets to hand over the shoe and completed the run. Henriques was stunned for a moment, not aware of what had happened.
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