ICC delivers ‘Spirit of Cricket’ Award of the Decade to MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni has received the ‘Spirit of Cricket Award’ of the decade from ICC, beating his former teammate Virat Kohli.

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MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni has received the ‘Spirit of Cricket Award’ of the decade from ICC, beating his former teammate Virat Kohli. Kohli was one of the finalists for his genius gesture at the 2019 World Cup, where he asked Indian fans to stop cat-calling Steve Smith.

Dhoni won the award for his gentle act of calling back England's batsman Ian Bell during a controversial run-out. The incident had occurred in the third innings of the Nottingham Test back in 2011.

MS Dhoni withdrew his run-out appeal

MS Dhoni had withdrawn his run-out appeal against Ian Bell in the second of the four-match series against England in 2011. India had a forgettable tour of England during that series and was playing the Test at Trent Bridge. The umpires declared Ian Bell out according to the cricket rules. It led to loud boos from the English crowd.

During England’s second innings before the Tea break, Eoin Morgan flicked 1 off Ishant Sharma towards deep square-leg. Praveen Kumar made a good save and threw the ball back to the wicket-keeper Dhoni. Morgan and Bell duo had, however, thought that the ball had crossed the boundary rope. By the time the ball was tossed back towards MSD, Ian Bell was seen jogging leisurely, assuming that it was the end of the session.

However, MS Dhoni dislodged the stumps and then appealed for a run-out. After a bit of pause, the umpire ruled the decision in favor of India. He gave Bell a run-out and the decision led English fans to loudly booing Dhoni and the Indian squad. The fans continued booing even after the Indian team got back on the field for the final session. Then all booing turned into cheers suddenly after they saw Ian Bell returning on the field to bat.

During the Tea break, Dhoni had withdrawn the appeal and Bell got a lucky escape. Bell was finally dismissed at 159. However, the half-century from Eoin Morgan <70>, Matt Prior <73>, and Tim Bresnan <90> took England’s score to 544. India received an unlikely target of 477. India could manage only 158 runs and lost the game by a large margin of 319 runs.

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