India vs England 2021: Good Sportsmanship From Virat Kohli - Joe Root Lauds The Indian Captain For Helping With His Cramps

Indian captain, Virat Kohli has earned lots of respect once again with his sportsmanship towards his opponents when he helped Joe Root as the England skipper was cramping in the searing conditions in Chennai on Day 1 of the ongoing Test match between India and England.

Joe Root on his marathon form, after two hundreds in Sri Lanka in as many matches, notched up his 20th Test ton in Chennai on Day 1 playing in his 100th Test match for England. After notching up the three-figure score, Root decided to take cash in further by taking on the Indian bowlers who have toiled hard for the entire with just two wickets till then – a third would fall in the last over of the day.

On the last ball of the 87th over, the right-hander slog-swept Ravichandran Ashwin over the midwicket boundary for a maximum. In the process, Root also fell on the ground as he was in pain from his cramps after battling hard in the hot and humid conditions in Chennai.

Soon, Indian captain, Virat Kohli helped Root out with stretching his leg before the England team physio came. The Three Lions’ skipper after the match said that he was dehydrated and will take some rest before continuing to bat on Day 2. He also thanked Kohli for his instant support in the middle.

“Ya, I’ll be ready for more tomorrow. It was a little bit of a cramp, which was a bit frustrating. Very kind of Virat to help me out. Good sportsmanship from him as you would expect,” Joe Root told media on Friday.

“It was actually quite a nice day today, nice breeze throughout. I don’t think I took enough fluids today. I have to get some fluids in, and I could do that overnight. Got to make up for it, eat and rest well tonight,” he added.

#SpiritOfCricket at its very best ??#INDvENG @Paytm | @imVkohli pic.twitter.com/vaEdH29VXo

— BCCI (@BCCI) February 5, 2021

Virat Kohli was awarded the  ICC’s Spirit of Cricket award for 2019 for urging the fans to not boo Steve Smith during a World Cup group match between India and Australia. Smith was coming after a year-long ban for ball-tampering and fans booed him while he was fielding. The Indian skipper gestured to them to clap for Smith.

Joe Root notched up 150 on Day 2

Joe Root just could not stop raising his bat this year – after playing innings of 228 and 186 in Galle, the 30-year-old brought up his 150 in the first session of Day 2 on Saturday. While Root until the start of his freakish 2021, he has received a lot of flak for not being able to convert his fifties to hundreds.

However, notably, of his 20 Test tons, 10 of them have been  150 or more and another one 149*. Ben Stokes was at his aggressive self batting with alacrity smashing a quick fifty. Root, who made his Test debut in India in 2012, is playing his 100th Test match.

Also Read: The Indian Team Wouldn’t Have Won The Border-Gavaskar Trophy If Virat Kohli Would Have Led The Side In All Four Tests- Ashok Malhotra Lambasts The Indian Skipper