When David Warner stooped to conquer IPL’s 7000-run mark

MUMBAI: David Warner took a break from the competitive action on field to produce a moment of sporting excellence. In the tenth over of the Sunrisers Hyderabad versus Gujarat Lions match on Sunday, the Australian opener paused mid-run to hand Basil Thampi his shoe.

At strike, Moises Henriques hit a ball down the ground which fast bowler Thampi dived at in an attempt to stop it. He missed the ball and his shoe fell off in the process.

David Warner halted between the wickets to pick up the shoe and hand it over to Thampi before completing the run.

The crowd in the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad erupted in loud cheer on seeing the gesture of sportsmanship.

Even the coaching staff of the Sunrisers team was glad to see David Warner extend a hand of support to his Indian opponent just weeks after the much publicized bad blood between India and Australia during the Border Gavaskar Trophy four-match Test series.

WARNER IN 7000 CLUB

Sunrisers eventually won the match by nine wickets to post victories in their first two games as defending champions.

Warner’s unbeaten 76 and 108run partnership with Henriques (52*) helped the team win the match in just 15.3 overs and also helped him achieve a personal landmark. The southpaw became only the second Australian and the fourth player overall to score 7000 or more runs in the T20 format of the game.