Watch: Kapil Dev mankads Peter Kirsten, Kirsten fumes in response
When India were bowled out for 147 in the second ODI of their tour of South Africa in 1992, you would have been forgiven for switching off the TV and doing something else.
However, had you done so, you would have missed a controversial, tense chase, even if the eventual six-wicket margin doesn’t suggest it. At one point, the Proteas were 70-4, with the second wicket to fall Peter Kirsten, run out by Kapil Dev at the non-striker’s end as the great India all-rounder ran into bowl.
Several things in the incident stand out. Kapil holds three fingers up to Kirsten, indicating he had warned him before attempting the controversial dismissal method. This refers not to the game itself, but to Kapil’s warnings across the tour. Kirsten’s angry reaction is also noticeable, with the South African copping a fine of 50 per cent of his match fee.
The controversy was far from done. Kepler Wessels, the other batsman at the crease at the time, was accused by the India team of deliberately hitting Kapil in the shins with his bat as he turned for a second run. Wessels conceded that he had hit Kapil, but claimed he had done so inadvertently. With match referee Clive Lloyd having not seen the incident, and the TV cameras following the ball after it had been struck, the truth could not be established.
Kirsten has since said he “never thought” Kapil would Mankad him, despite the warnings. “In my case with Kapil Dev, he did warn me in the game before,” he told India Today in 2018. “I still never thought he would do it but he did.”
Kirsten confirmed that he holds no ill will towards Kapil over the incident. “People tend to chat about it at social events,” he said. “Kapil and I have chatted about it over the years. So it does stick with you and the apologies do come out. But as the years go by, you become friends. Kapil and I have spoken about it. It’s all patched up.”
Watch the controversial moment below:
When Kapil went the Mankad way…
📍 St George's Park, Port Elizabeth
📹: @80s90sCricketpic.twitter.com/Ucwgv9Zt35
— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) August 27, 2020
