The run chase was well and truly on last night. The Kings XI skipper, Adam Gilchrist, was admonishing the cricket ball to all corners of the picturesque HPCA Stadium. As a hardcore CSK supporter, I couldn’t bear to watch my team gasping for its last breaths in this edition of the IPL. And then it happened…
Anirudha Srikkanth dived at the boundary to save another scorching drive from Gilchrist. He managed to save the ball from crossing the line, but seemed to have hurt his shoulder badly… he was writhing in pain, unable to get up and throw the ball back into play. The batsmen had by then crossed over for two runs… and the third run was there for the taking. But Gilchrist refused to take the extra run!
When asked about the incident at the post-match presentation ceremony, Gilchrist casually answered, “A fielder was injured and hence I did not take the third run. I took no major decision, it was something that I chose to do so it’s no big deal.”
But believe me, it IS a big deal. A VERY BIG DEAL!!!
Defeat is always difficult to swallow… but it goes down the throat a little easier when one loses to a true sportsman.
As they say…
It’s nice to be important, but even more important to be nice!
