TNPL: Arun Karthik wins hearts with his remarkable sportsmanship act

Match 13 of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) saw Madurai Panthers and Lyca Kovai Kings locking horns at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Although both teams were neck-to-neck for the major part of the contest, the Kings eventually walked away with a 19-run triumph. With this win, the Shahrukh Khan-led even advanced at the top of the team standings while Panthers remained at the penultimate position.

Although the Panthers couldn’t get the result in their favour, their wicketkeeper-batsman Arun Karthik won many hearts his sportsmanship act. He hugged opposition pacer Abhishek Tanwar after getting indulged in a verbal altercation with him. The incident occurred in the third over of the Madurai Panthers’ innings. Openers K Rajkumar and Arun Karthik attacked bowlers from the outset and scored runs all over the park.

However, the Kings breathed a sigh of relief when Tanwar drew the first blood in the third over. The fast bowler dismissed Rajkumar and his ecstasy was evident in his celebrations. However, things got a big ugly as Karthik wasn’t amused with Tanwar’s celebration. Subsequently, the duo got involved in a heated argument and the umpire had to intervene.

Arun Karthik’s act becomes the talk of the town

Such instances of verbal altercations aren’t rare on a cricket field. However, what Karthik did next was certainly not on the cards. Seconds after the argument, he went to Tanwar and hugged him. The right-arm pacer was also overwhelmed with the gesture as the two rivals shared a smile. The official Twitter account of TNPL shared the video of the whole incident. Netizens have also been lauding Karthik’s act.

Speaking of the match, the Kings posted 172/5 while batting first in Chennai. Sai Sudharsan and skipper Shahrukh Khan scored half-centuries while Abhishek Tanwar also chipped in with a handy 22-run cameo. In reply, Madurai Panthers put up a commendable fight. In fact, most of their top-order got starters. However, none of them were able to play an impact knock.

As a result, the Panthers were restricted to 153/8 in their allotted 20 overs, losing the game by 19 runs. Lyca Kovai Kings skipper Shahrukh Khan received the Player-of-the-match award for his quick-fire fifty.