NZ's Mitchell refuses to run after blocking bowler, praised for sportsmanship

Cricket Desk: New Zealand cricketers have the image of 'nice guys' in the Gentlemen's Game. With skipper Kane Williamson at the helm, the Kiwis often draw praise for their humility and conduct, both on and off the field. Man of the match in the T20 World Cup 2021 semi-final against England, Daryl Mitchell, gave another example of the same on Wednesday.

Mitchell didn't just win the hearts of fans all over the globe with his match-winning knock of 72 off 47 balls but also with his conduct on the field. In the 18th over the match, Jimmy Neesham had pushed a ball straight down the pitch on the bowling of Adil Rashid. Mitchell was standing at the non-striker's end when Neesham played the shot.

It looked like Rashid would've gotten the hold of the ball had the non-striker Mitchell not come in his way. The situation gave the Kiwi pair the opportunity to take a single but Mitchell turned it down having realised that it was probably because of him that Rashid couldn't stop the ball before it went past him.

The gesture from Mitchell was praised by many, and the Kiwi opener was also asked about the same in the post-match press conference. In reply, the 30-year-old said that he didn't want to cause any controversy.

"I thought I probably got in the way of Rashid a little bit and I didn’t want to be the guy that caused a bit of a controversy, so I was happy to just (turn down the single). We all play the game in good spirit and I just felt like it was probably my fault so as opposed to try and take a run, it was better off to start again and carry on. I’m lucky that it didn’t make a difference (to the result)," he said.

New Zealand kept losing wickets but Mitchell played the role of an anchor despite coming in as an opener. He was at the center of two important partnerships with Devon Conway and Jimmy Neesham. In the end, Mitchell showed the world his hitting prowess as he took Adil Rashid and Chris Woakes to the cleaners.

The Kiwis wrapped up the chase of 167 runs with one over to spare.