Mumbai, June 15: Ajinkya Rahane collected the Winner’s trophy, on team India’s behalf, and what happened next could well be written in cricket’s history books. Cricket is widely regarded as a gentleman’s game, and today, the spirit was seen in practice,== when Indian captain Rahane asked his opponent team, Afghanistan, to pose with them with the trophy. It was a heart-warming gesture from the Indian captain after they had beaten the Afghan team convincingly earlier today.

It is a rare gesture in the game of cricket when the winning team have called upon the losing side to join with them in the post-match photo session. However, Captain Ajinkya Rahane took a right step in a right direction by inviting Afghanistan players for posing with the victorious team.

It was Afghanistan’s first test match ever, and the beating that it received from the Indian camp would take a long time to perish. A defeat by an innings and 262 runs is not a small thing. However, this being their first Test match, the margin of the loss wouldn’t matter much.

Watch a Picture of Afghan Team Posing With Indian Team After the historic One-Off Test:

Nonetheless, the gesture shown by Ajinka Rahane would have lifted their spirits, and it was quite evident, in the video, when they posed together with the Indian team. Not only did they pose together, but also the Trophy was kept in front of them, in a mark of respect.

See Video of Indian Captain Ajinkya Rahane Invites Afghanistan Team to Pose With Them With Trophy:

At the post-match presentation, Rahane said, “This (historical win) feels special. It is always an honour to lead your country. We did not take the Afghanistan team lightly, and it was important for us to stick to the basics. The credit goes to Afghanistan. Their bowlers really well, and I am sure the Afghanistan team will go a long way.”

Afghanistan captain Stanikzai said, “We had never played a Test match before, and now we know what we have to do against a Full Member in the future. We were quite stunned by the Test match being ended in only two days, as our team is good. I am disappointed with the batting performances, but it was good learning for the future. I want to thank the fans for supporting both the teams.

After the post-match presentation, Shikhar Dhawan also caught up with his Indian Premier League’s (IPL) teammates in SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) during the photo-shoot. The gesture was a great move by Rahane as this test match was more than just a competition. It was Afghanistan’s debut test match and an announcement of its arrival to the international platform in Test Cricket!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 15, 2018 07:37 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).