Daryl Mitchell of New Zealand interacts with Eoin Morgan of England following the ICC Men's T20 World Cup semi-final.
Highlights
- In the first semi-final of the 2021 ICC Men's 2021 T20 World Cup.
- England and New Zealand were locked in a tight battle to reach the summit.
- England had posted a competitive 166/4 on the board courtesy of Moeen Ali's half-century.
New Zealand all-rounder batsman Daryl Mitchell won the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award for his gesture in the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup semi-final against England in Abu Dhabi. Kiwi cricketers have dominated this category of awards as Daryl is fourth from his country to win the prestigious award. Earlier, Daniel Vettori, Brendon McCullum and Kane Williamson have also had their hands on the award.
"It's an honour to receive the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award," Mitchell said in an official release. "To be part of that T20 World Cup in UAE was an amazing experience, and to receive an award like this is pretty cool."
"It's something that we pride ourselves on as New Zealanders, the way we go about playing our cricket, and yes, the Spirit of Cricket side. Personally, I felt I got in the way and we wanted to win on our own terms, and didn't want to be controversial in such a big game," he added.
In the first semi-final of the 2021 ICC Men's 2021 T20 World Cup at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, England and New Zealand were locked in a tight battle to reach the summit clash. Batting first, England had posted a competitive 166/4 on the board courtesy of Moeen Ali's half-century.
New Zealand were on course for the run chase with a well-settled Mitchell establishing a partnership with James Neesham, who was in blistering form. The incident occurred on the first ball of the 18th over bowled by Adil Rashid, with the score at 133/4.
Neesham bashed the ball down the ground and it would have been an easy single. But Mitchell, at the non-striker's end, refused to take the run, conceding that he had impeded Rashid - in a high-pressure chase, with a place in the World Cup final at stake, Mitchell's gesture oozed class.
Eventually, New Zealand ended up winning the contest, chasing the total down with an over to spare. Mitchell who opened the batting proved to be the match-winner, playing a memorable knock of 72* in only 47 deliveries, hitting the winning runs.
New Zealand would end up as the runners-up in the tournament, falling short at the final hurdle against Australia who won the match by eight wickets.
-With inputs from ANI
