14 Spirit of Cricket moments that won the hearts of the fans

Cricket is a wonderful sport which has captured the imaginations of millions of people with its rich legacy. Although, it’s a die-hard game in which every cricketer steps on to the field with one and only aim of winning the game and making his country proud. And it’s very obvious that there cannot be a bigger honor than representing your nation. But yet there is something called spirit of cricket which goes beyond everything and asks every individual to play the game fairly and respect the opponents. Winning matches and being the best in the world is one thing and winning the hearts of the millions of fans with respectable deeds is another. There have been some glittering moments on the field of cricket which commands a different sort of admiration altogether and never retire from our hearts. Today, we present 14 Spirit of Cricket moments that won the hearts of the fans: 1. Flintoff consoling Brett Lee: Andrew Flintoff consoling Brett Lee. (© Getty Images) Ashes cricket is epitomized as the fiercest battle on the 22 yards with both the English and Aussie side fighting it out to the hilt. In Ashes 2005, one of the most thrilling encounters in the history of Test cricket occurred at Edgbaston in which England won the nail-biter by 2 runs. Lee couldn’t win the Test for his nation and was heart-broken. Amidst of all the English cricketers who were celebrating, Flintoff went up to Lee and consoled him which was as heart-warming sight as any you would ever see in the game. 2. Elliott rendering his hand to Steyn: (© Getty Images) After Elliott smacked the winning six off Dale Steyn in the showdown semi-final match of the World Cup 2015, Steyn was crestfallen. But Grant Elliott proved that the spirit of cricket is beyond victory when he held his hand out to help Steyn get up from the ground and acknowledged his sincere effort which unfortunately wasn’t enough to take his side over the victory line. 3. Silence of the Kiwi side after Hughes demise: (source) There are strong reasons why Kiwis command high levels of respect in the cricketing community. Their team was in deep sorrow after the tragic death of the Aussie cricketer Philip Hughes as such that they decided against celebrating any wicket or milestone whatsoever throughout the Test match at Sharjah in which they won comprehensively. 4. Gilchrist walking-off in the semi-final match: (source) In big matches like World Cup semi-finals, generally a team doesn’t leave any stone unturned to win the match. But then there are players like Adam Gilchrist for whom fairness and integrity are way ahead of other things. The Aussie legend in a very unlike Australian way walked off even after the umpire had rejected Sri Lanka’s appeal. His teammates were shocked with Gilly’s walk but he upheld the spirit of the game. The Australian’s on many occasions had dethroned sportsmanship to win games. 5. Dhoni calling back Ian Bell: Just before the Tea break at Nottingham, Ian Bell was adjudged run-out after he thought that tea had been called and the ball was dead and started walking towards the pavilion but the umpires hadn’t called for tea and the Indian team didn’t waste any time in dislodging the bails. As per the laws, Bell was out but on request of English captain Andrew Strauss, Dhoni withdrew the appeal though he could have gone the other way around as well in a match in which India’s were struggling which is a testimony of how high Dhoni holds the spirit of the game and moral values. 6. Courtney Walsh not mankading Jaffar: Courtney Walsh (Photo Source: Getty Images) The West Indian great Courtney Walsh put up an epic piece of sportsmanship when he lost a match for playing in the right spirit. We are talking about the World Cup 1987 Pakistan v West Indies match in which Pakistan needed 2 runs off the final ball. Walsh could have easily mankaded Jaffar on the non-striker’s end but he didn’t and as a result Pakistan won the match and reached the semi-final of the World Cup. 7. Sachin Tendulkar accepting Lee’s apology: We all know that Sachin Tendulkar has literally broken all the batting records in cricket history but despite all the achievements and adulation, he is a very down-to earth and is an apt picture of someone who played with the right spirit. During a ODI match, Brett Lee bowled a ferocious beamer to Tendulkar which hit him very hard. But Sachin didn’t reacted violently rather graciously accepted his apology, as the ball had slipped out of Lee’s hand rather than being an intentional attempt to hurt him. 8. Vettori not appealing for run-out: In an edge of the seat thriller match between New Zealand and Zimbabwe, there was a collision between New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori and Zimbabwean batsman Malcolm Waller due to which the batter at non-striker’s end got run-out as he was standing in the middle of the pitch. But in an instant Vettori withdrew the run-out appeal and admitted his mistake to the umpires due to which later, he was honored with spirit of cricket award. 9. Kanhai helping Gavaskar on the field: Have you ever heard about a player helping or advising the player of the opponent team during the match time? Don’t scratch your head in wonder folks, I am talking about the West Indian batting great Rohan Kanhai who always advised Sunil Gavaskar when he was troubled by the West Indian quick’s even on the field during live matches. Little Master was a big fan of Kanhai. Both the players had a great amount of respect for each other up to an extent that Gavaskar named his son after Kanhai’s name. 10. Vishwanath reprieving Bob Taylor: This is a classic incident on the field of cricket which is very rarely seen or heard before. Bob Taylor was given caught behind by the umpire but the Indian captain Gundappa Vishwanath didn’t think that Bob had nicked the ball and went up to Taylor to enquire about the same. When the batsman told him that he didn’t edge the ball, Vishwanath requested the umpire to reverse the decision which forced the umpire to rule him not-out. It was a deed which earned him many accolades throughout the cricketing community. 11. Kulasekara walking off after being given not-out: (source) This incident took place in the Quarter-final match of the World Cup 2015 when Nuwan Kulasekara was adjudged not-out by the umpire. The South African’s didn’t have any reviews left, so Kulasekara could have chosen to stay on the crease but he didn’t, which highlights the dignified manner in which this Sri Lankan cricketer loves to play the game. Nuwan is a handy lower-order batsman and could have added some useful runs with the bat but for him the spirit of cricket was bigger than anything else at that moment. 12. Shahid Afridi’s moment of sportsmanship: In a ODI match against New Zealand, the Kiwi bowler Jacob Oram bowled a very lethal beamer to Afridi which directly hit him on his shoulders. Afridi was in dreadful pain which was ever so evident through his facial expressions. Afridi is renowned for his brash attitude on the field but this time around instead of picking up a fight, he patted the Kiwi bowler and very sportingly accepted his apology to calm things down. 13. Protea players paying tribute: (© Getty Images) After winning the Quarter-final match of the World Cup 2015, the South African team was over the moon as they had beaten a team in an eliminator match for the first time in their World Cup cricketing history. But yet they were very gracious after the win. Quinton de Kock instantly hugged Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara in acknowledgement of his respect for him while AB de Villiers paid tribute to Mahela Jayawardene by hugging him and congratulating the legends on their glorious careers. As both Sanga and Mahela were to retire at the end of Sri Lanka’s world cup 2015 journey. 14. Rohit Sharma withdrawing run-out (mankad) appeal against Dasun Shanaka During the first ODI between India and Sri Lanka at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati on January 11, 2023, Rohit Sharma withdrew the appeal after Mohammed Shami run Dasun Shanaka out towards the end of the innings. Sri Lanka had been chasing a huge target of 374, but Indian bowlers restricted them well to take an upper hand. Nevertheless, skipper Shanaka kept up with his good form in the game and kept piling up runs on board. When he was on 98*, Shami attempted the run-out to dismiss him, but the Indian skipper's gesture of letting Shanaka complete his century won many hearts. Shanaka sent to ball over the fence on the next ball to get a ton. Also Read – 9 Most emotional speeches in Cricket History

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14 Spirit of Cricket moments that won the hearts of the fans

MS Dhoni was also voted as the winner of the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award of the Decade for his gesture of calling Ian Bell back.

4. Gilchrist walking-off in the semi-final match:

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