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India's run in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2021 came to an end as they played their Super 12 game against Namibia on Monday. With Pakistan and New Zealand qualifying for semi-finals from their group, it wasn't the tournament that team was hoping for in Virat Kohli's final assignment as captain in shortest format of the game. However, sports is unpredictable and it was a major setback for everyone to see Men in Blue failing to go ahead in the competition.
But despite all the trolling on social media and criticism by cricket fraternity, what has stood out is the way Indian players have carried themselves after the first two losses. They bounced back and played some brilliant cricket to defeat Afghanistan, Scotland and Namibia to end their campaign. And while it was not enough for them to clinch the trophy, they did win hearts with their attitude.
Pant steals the show with his act of sportsmanship
In a wonderful incident, India's swashbuckling wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant gave a demonstration of the same on Monday. During Namibia's batting, the 24-year-old accidentally stepped on the bat of Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton when he had dived to complete the second run.
Instantly, Pant touched the bat of the batsman to show respect towards the cricket equipment which caught everyone's attention. The fans were delighted to see the youngster acknowledging this very small aspect of the sport which was indeed quite heartwarming to watch.
Watch the video here:
Tendulkar has often talked about importance of respecting equipment
Cricket, and sports in general, is all about respect. It is often said that the players must respect each other but it is very crucial to respect the game and its equipment as well. There have been many legendary cricketers who have talked about the importance of the same, including Sachin Tendulkar.
Few years back, cricketer Parvez Rasool had said, "One important thing which I learnt from Sachin Tendulkar was to give respect to my cricketing equipment. He told us that after getting out, some batsmen throw their bats on the ground or hammer them on their pads, which is not a good thing. He said he has never done that because a batsman gets out due to his mistake and not because of his bat and we all should respect the equipment."