5 instances of sportsmanship between rival countries
The history of cricket has been witness to several great rivalries over the years, the most epic ones being those involving some of the popular cricketing nations. When you think of rivalry between teams, the first two that instantly come to mind are the iconic Australia-England rivalry and the fierce India-Pakistan rivalry.Other than that, there have also been other memorable ones such as the ones India and Pakistan have had with the Australians respectively. While there have been quite a few ugly on-field moments between players of rival countries, we have also witnessed several heartening gestures of sportsmanship on certain occasions.The most recent instance that comes to mind is James Faulkner helping Virat Kohli get back on his feet after the latter slipped and fell down. Just a few days ago, Kohli had given Faulkner a piece of his mind during one of the ODI matches.Here are 5 great instances of sportsmanship between rival countries:
#1 Virender Sehwag - Shoaib Akhtar
Pakistan’s Shoaib Akhtar shared a great equation with quite a few Indian players in terms of rivalry during his playing days, but none greater than the one he had with Virender Sehwag. Both these players loved getting at each other on the field and had some duels that fans of either country will never forget.
However, there have also been occasions when the two have shown a certain amount of mutual respect for each other. One such instance came during the ODI series in Pakistan’s 2007/08 tour to India when Akhtar fell to the ground and Sehwag extended his hand to help the paceman get back on his feet.
This was a proof of the great camaraderie which exists between Indian and Pakistani players amid all the tension that surrounds an Indo-Pak clash.