As the reserve day of the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) final commenced at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton, the Indian skipper, Virat Kohli, before the start of play, shook hands with New Zealand wicket-keeper batsman BJ Watling, who is playing his last Test match. Kohli’s gesture for Watling on his final day as a Test player won the hearts of fans around the world as they flooded social media, hailing the sportsmanship of the Indian skipper.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) took to Twitter to share the video of a “nice gesture” from the Indian skipper as he congratulated Watling on his last day as an international cricketer. Captioning the video, ICC wrote: “A nice gesture from the Indian skipper congratulating the @BLACKCAPS wicket-keeper on the final day of his international career.”
Virat Kohli 🤝 BJ Watling
A nice gesture from the Indian skipper congratulating the @BLACKCAPS wicket-keeper on the final day of his international career 🙌#WTC21 Final | #INDvNZ | #SpiritOfCricket pic.twitter.com/zcI47UFPAp
— ICC (@ICC) June 23, 2021
Praising Virat Kohli, a fan wrote: “Wonderful sportsmanship spirit by Virat Kohli, he’s congratulating BJ Watling on a fantastic career.” “Virat Kohli congratulates BJ Watling on his last day in his Test career – brilliant gesture from the Indian captain,” another one joined in.
Wonderful sportsmanship spirit by Virat Kohli, he's congratulating BJ Watling on a fantastic career. #WTC21final #WTC21 #WTC2021 #WTCFinals #ViratKohli #ICCWorldTestChampionshippic.twitter.com/vH37WvZ7GA
— Bibekananda Sahu 🇮🇳 (@IamBibeka) June 23, 2021
Nice of Virat Kohli to walk upto BJ Watling and shake hands before the first ball is bowled.
Amazing Gesture ❤️👏🏼#WTCFinal pic.twitter.com/cL4448gkwf
— Kanav Bali🏏 (@Concussion__Sub) June 23, 2021
Virat Kohli Shake hands and wishes to Bj Watling, today is the last day of Watling's Test Career.
My Man Always Great Respect Player ❤️#WTC2021 #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/gN3Q6Miptb
— 🇵🇹 NZ_𝙎𝙠𝘪𝘢𝘯 ʬ (@JustinOffcl_) June 23, 2021
Kohli could only manage to add five runs to his overnight score of eight on Day 6 of the WTC final. He was dismissed by his Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) teammate Kyle Jamieson.
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Kohli edged one straight into the hands of Watling behind the stumps off Jamieson. Soon after Kohli’s dismissal, the tall New Zealand pacer sent Cheteshwar Pujara back to the pavilion.
Jamieson, who picked up his fifth five-wicket haul in Tests in the first innings of the WTC final, had also accounted for Kohli on Day 3. The ongoing summit clash has been marred by rain and bad light. Two days — Day 1 and Day 4 — were washed out due to teh persistent rain without a ball being bowled at The Ageas Bowl.
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India was bundled put for 217 in their first innings after being put in to bat by Kane Williamson. In reply, New Zealand put on 249 runs on the board thanks to Devon Conway’s half-century and handy contributions from Williamson and Jamieson.
