The much anticipated First Test match between India and England commenced in Chennai at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. It was a day of extreme hard-work for the home team as they managed to pick only 3 wickets on the first day. England Captain, Joe Root scored a sublime 100 in his 100th Test match, and in the company of opener, Dom Sibley has laid a strong foundation for the visiting team.
The England captain was at his fluent best throughout the day as he carried his splendid form against Sri Lanka and stayed unbeaten on 128 runs off 197 deliveries. The day could have been even more worse for India had Jasprit Bumrah not trapped Dom Sibley in front of the stumps. England, nonetheless ended Day 1 on 263-3.
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The day entirely belonged to Joe Root who scored a sizzling century but Indian skipper Virat Kohli too had his moment in the day. Kohli won hearts with his heartwarming gesture towards Root at the end of the day. Virat Kohli was widely lauded by fans and experts for his act of sportsmanship. He also displayed a tremendous amount of humbleness towards his contemporary who also happened to be the opposition captain. This impromptu act from Kohli drew widespread applause.
Chennai is famous for its burning heat. It saps the energy out of players no matter how fit you are. Root found himself struggling with cramps as the constant running and batting in the hot and humid temperature of Chennai started taking a toll on him. The England skipper had slog-swept Ravichandran Ashwin for a six late in the day, but he couldn’t bear the pain and fell with cramps.
ICC acknowledges Virat Kohli for this sweet gesture:
Virat Kohli realised that Joe Root was in severe pain and he quickly reached out to Root and asked if he needed some help. After a brief chat between the two players, Kohli helped Root by holding his leg up in the air. This helped Root as he was able to stretch his legs. The clip of this sweet gesture by Kohli to help Root relax a little quickly went viral on social media as many fans lauded the Indian skipper for his sportsmanship. The English skipper also appreciated Kohli for his gesture when he addressed the media post the day’s play.
The ICC also acknowledged Kohli’s sportsman spirit by sharing the clip on its official Instagram handle. It captioned the video saying, “When England captain Joe Root was struck with cramps, Virat Kohli was the first to his aid. A heartwarming Spirit of Cricket gesture.”
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However, this post from ICC didn’t go well with cricket’s eternal cry baby, Stuart Broad. He mocked the ICC for making a mountain out of a molehill. The pacer commented that he had carried out drinks for the players in the game and he too should be getting the Spirit of Cricket award. Broad was quoted saying, “I ran a drink out too, spirit of cricket award?” While a fan quickly reminded the cricketing world that MS Dhoni had similarly helped Faf Du Plessis when he suffered from cramps.
