T20 World Cup 2021: Gautam Gambhir questions David Warner ‘sportsman spirit’ for hitting Mohammad Hafeez’s ‘double-bounce’ ball

Australia went on to defeat Pakistan by five wickets and one over to spare to book their place in the final to face New Zealand for the T20 World Cup 2021 title on Sunday (November 14). Gautam Gambhir wasn’t pleased with the decision from David Warner which, according to him, was against the spirit of the game.

Australia's David Warner hits 'double-bounce' ball of Mohammad Hafeez for a six. (Source: Twitter)

Former India opener and Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir slammed Australian opener David Warner’s act of hitting ‘double-bounce’ ball for six. Warner, who scored 49 in the second ICC T20 World Cup 2021 semifinal against Pakistan, hit off-spinner Mohammad Hafeez’s ‘double-bounce’ delivery for a six in the match.

Australia went on to defeat Pakistan by five wickets and one over to spare to book their place in the final to face New Zealand for the T20 World Cup 2021 title on Sunday (November 14). Gambhir wasn’t pleased with the decision from Warner which, according to him, was against the spirit of the game.

One of Warner’s sixes came against a ‘double-bounce’ delivery from Hafeez. The ball seemed to have slipped out of the Pakistani spinner’s hand, taking two bounces, before reaching the Aussie southpaw. Instead of leaving the ball, Warner took it on the second bounce and smashed it over the mid-wicket boundary for a huge six.

While the delivery from Hafeez and the result of it became a topic of memes for social media lovers, Gambhir hit out at Warner for taking advantage of the opportunity. Gambhir also tagged Ravichandran Ashwin to seek his opinion. The off-spinner, however, hasn’t replied to the cricketer-turned-politician’s post as yet.

“What an absolutely pathetic display of spirit of the game by Warner! #Shameful What say @ashwinravi99?” Gambhir tweeted.

What an absolutely pathetic display of spirit of the game by Warner! #Shameful What say @ashwinravi99? pic.twitter.com/wVrssqOENW

— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) November 11, 2021

The video of the bizarre incident was uploaded by the ICC on Instagram with the following caption: “A double-bouncer hit for six! A gift for Warner.”

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Interestingly, the umpire even signalled the delivery as a No-Ball since it bounced twice before reaching the batsman. However, the free hit just yielded 2 runs for Warner.