When Nepal lost a cricket match, but won everyone's hearts with a spirit of cricket gesture

Nepal lost a closely-fought Twenty20 International game against Ireland but they may have won the hearts of the entire cricket world. In a rare on-field instance that would perfectly embody the spirit of cricket, Nepal wicketkeeper refrained from running out an Ireland batsman who had the bowler obstructing him while taking a run. “Yesterday was a really special day. It was a magic moment in the game,” Andrew Leonard, the Irish cricket commentator, who was on air at that time, told TOI on Tuesday.

“It all happened in a split second. Having followed Nepal cricket closely, instinctively I knew the keeper was not going to take the bails off and was going to do the right thing. I am so glad that he did. It is great credit to him as well as captain Sandeep Lamichhane, who asked the keeper not to rattle the stumps.” The incident occurred off the second ball of the 19th over, off Kamal Singh Airee, a right arm medium pacer. Batsman Mark Adair’s attempted heave did not go too far. As the bowler rushed to collect the ball in his follow through, he tripped an onrushing non-striker Andy McBrine who, explicably, failed to reach the batting crease. Wicketkeeper Mahamad Asif Sheikh decided against taking the bails off. “As a team we believe in honesty and always want to play within the spirit of the game. It’s a great character shown by all the boys on the field by greeting the other team. As soon as I saw McBrine fall down, I told Asif not to dislodge the bails and it’s amazing to see he reacted to that quickly and that shows how good this team is,” Lamichhane (21) told this website from Muscat. Added Asif (22), “Actually, he (McBrine) was running in his line and our bowler accidently crashed into him. He threw the ball towards me