Spirit of Cricket: Virat Kohli rushes to help Joe Root, who falls on the ground in pain

On the opening day of the first Test between India and England in Chennai, captain Virat Kohli won hearts all over again for showing great sportsmanship.

Root, who came in to bat at No. 4 after England opted to bat on Friday, batted for long hours before he got cramps in the penultimate over of the day.

Root slog swept Ravichandran Ashwin before the English skipper fell on the ground in pain. Kohli ran to his counterpart and helped him stretch his legs. That certainly helped Root, who ended the day on 128 not out.

For the sportsmanship showed by Kohli, the Indian captain was hailed on social media.

Watching Kohli help Root, cricket fans of reminded of MS Dhoni. The former Indian skipper had done exactly the same for South Africa’s Faf du Plessis during an ODI at the Wankhede Stadium.

Interestingly, at the same Chennai venue in 1997, a gritty Rahul Dravid was helped by Pakistan’s wicketkeeper-batsman Moin Khan. Batting for almost 90 overs in the Chennai heat, Dravid scored 104.