Lucknow Super Giants opener Quinton de Kock garnered applause from the Punjab Kings team and from the fans alike for showing great sportsmanship spirit by deciding to walk despite the umpire not giving him out.
De Kock was batting well and was set on 46 from 37 balls, looking ominous to help LSG to a big total. However, his knock was cut short, four runs away from a fifty when he chose to walk off after edging Sandeep Sharma through to wicket-keeper Jitesh Sharma even though umpire Ulhas Gandhe stayed still.
It was length delivery from Sandeep moving across that had Quinton de Kock cramping for room as he tried to slash it on the offside, but could only manage a faint outside edge. Sandeep and wicket-keeper Jitesh were confident of the edge and were vociferous in their appeal but the umpire was unmoved.
Quinton de Kock, though, conceded his dismissal and walked off removing his gloves, getting a pat on his shoulder from Sandeep for his honesty. It would although wouldn’t have mattered had de Kock not chose to walk as Punjab had their reviews and given the strength of the appeal from Jitesh and Sandeep, PBKS would have reviewed it and found de Kock out.
Nonetheless, this good fair play shown by the South African cricketer was lauded by fans on Twitter. Netizens praised de Kock for showing great sportsmanship.
Here are some of the reactions:
great #honesty player.
Quinton de Kock #LSG #LSGvsPBKS #out https://t.co/8dKDT9Nofm— Hitesh Atara (@hiteshraghu1c) April 29, 2022
Really great sportsmanship from Quinton de Kock. Umpire not given out but he knows got inside edge and he walks backs to the pavillion. Even Sandeep Sharma appreciates this and pat on Quinton de Kock’s shoulder. #LSGvsPBKS #KLRahul #dekock pic.twitter.com/qHnpND1PTx
— PrabuDS
(@dsthala25) April 29, 2022
(@dsthala25) Great sportsmanship by Quinton De Kock. He knew he knicked it and went away himself.
Reminded me of another great left-handed legend wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist.
— Abhishek Ojha (@vicharabhio) April 29, 2022
It is left to the individual to walk or not. But good to see Quinton de Kock showing sportsman spirit.
— Bharath Ramaraj (@Fancricket12) April 29, 2022
Appreciation tweet for Quinton De Kock for being true to his conscious & choosing sportsmanship. MI blood forever
— Ƥ (@Pallette_) April 29, 2022
Some People questioned De Kock’s sportsmanship when he used his smart brain to take wicket of Fakhar Zaman.
But today De Kock showed his sportsmanship— Cricket
Lover // Bumrah Is GOAT (@CricCrazyV) de Kock’s dismissal, however, triggered a collapse for Lucknow as they slipped from 98/14 to 111/6 in space of four overs. Some late hits by Holder, Chameera and Mohsin Khan helped them reach a par total of 153.
