On This Day: When Kapil Dev ‘Mankaded’ Peter Kirsten in 1992 — Fiery exchange caught on camera | Watch | Cricket News
NEW DELHI: On this day, 33 years ago, fans witnessed one of the most fiery moments in ODI cricket when Kapil Dev ran out Peter Kirsten at the non-striker’s end during India’s 1992-93 tour of South Africa. The incident, later labelled a textbook ‘Mankad’, came during the second ODI in Gqeberha on December 9, 1992 — and remains one of the most debated dismissals of Kapil’s career.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!In the ninth over of South Africa’s chase, Kapil spotted Kirsten repeatedly backing up too far before the ball left his hand. Having warned him in the previous game, the Indian great decided he had seen enough. The Haryana Hurricane slowed his stride, stopped for a moment, and whipped off the bails at the non-striker’s end. The umpire raised his finger immediately, leaving Kirsten stunned and walking back, disgruntled and visibly annoyed.
What followed was drama that cricket cameras captured in full. South African captain Kepler Wessels and Kirsten exchanged a few heated words with Kapil, which only provoked the Indian pacer further. An angry Kapil gestured with raised fingers, signalling how many times he had warned Kirsten.While critics then debated spirit versus law, Kapil needed no warning to justify the act. Under the MCC law (now 38.3.1), a bowler can run out a non-striker at any moment before releasing the ball if the batter is outside the crease. The dismissal, earlier classified under “Unfair Play”, was later separated from that stigma following repeated controversies — most notably when R Ashwin ran out Jos Buttler in IPL 2019. Ashwin later revealed that Kapil Dev had personally backed him during the criticism storm.Peter Kirsten himself admitted years later that Kapil had indeed warned him. “I would be lying if I say Kapil didn’t warn me. He did,” Kirsten said. He insists there are no hard feelings today. “We made up over a drink,” he joked.Watch the moment that sparked a timeless cricket debate:
