Cricket the winner after Dhoni's tremendous gesture

Bell was left fuming after originally being given out

MS Dhoni's decision to withdraw his appeal for Ian Bell's dismissal in the second Test today was one of the best acts of sportsmanship in living memory.

Bell was "run out" in astonishing and unlikely circumstances on the last ball before tea on 137 after a sublime innings.

Batting partner Eoin Morgan's shot looked like it had gone for four, with Indian fielder Praveen Kumar seemingly conceding the boundary after fumbling the ball and then ambling to pick it up.

The batsmen ran three, and Bell, thinking it was four and therefore tea, strode up the wicket and towards his dressing room. However, the ball had not actually hit the boundary rope and so India's fielders removed the bails, with Bell well out of his crease and in the laws of the game out.

That led to some confusion and after several minutes of deliberating, the third umpire ruled Bell was out, with the batsman, his team-mates and fans aghast at the decision. It would have been a hugely unsatisfactory way to end a quite phenomenal innings.

Bell claimed the umpire had "called over" and fans booed India off the field, while England players looked at their Indian counterparts with disdain from the balcony.

England's players were clearly disappointed when Bell was given out

The umpires and Indian players then returned to the field after tea to a chorus of boos from the crowd, while England players appeared to be sarcastically applauding them from the dressing room. However, that applause later transpired to be heartfelt.

During the tea break, Dhoni and India withdrew their appeal after conversations with England and the umpires. They didn't have to withdraw it but the fact they did is a victory for cricket, the "gentleman's game".

Within the laws of the game, India would have been well within their rights to uphold their appeal but they ran the risk of staining their reputations had they allowed Bell to be dismissed.

Bell was clearly careless and clumsy not to wait for official confirmation the over was complete, but it was obviously an honest mistake and even the Indian fielders seemed to think it was a four.

One thing is for sure, he will never make a mistake like it again. This was a one-off and a situation which will surely never be replicated.

It would have been easy for Dhoni to accept the wicket because it would have helped his side enormously in the context of the game, but he recognised the significance of the situation. The spirit of the game was at risk and he saved it.

The incident would have been talked about for years but in one act of generosity, Dhoni defused the situation and ensured there was to be no bad blood between the sides.

Dhoni and his team come out of this with great credit

Circumstances certainly helped him, as the tea break allowed him to consult others, think about it and make the correct decision. Had it been at the end of an over halfway through the session, he would have had little time to clear his head.

Even so, most captains would still have upheld their appeal and so Dhoni and India will have gone up in most people's estimations by withdrawing it.

They have had a lot of criticism for their perceived lack of commitment to the series and their refusal to use the Decision Review System (DRS), but this was a tremendous act of sportsmanship to improve their popularity significantly.

This is a great series between two excellent sides and this flashpoint will only help it even further.

It will get people talking about it even more and increase the interest in the series, so this incident will not do any harm at all, especially as the spirit of the game was kept intact.

One thing made abundantly clear by the whole episode though was the need to keep fans in the stadium fully updated with what is going on.

They booed the umpires and India's players back onto the field after the tea break, an act which was extremely embarrassing given the fact India had just reprieved Bell with a magnificent example of sportsmanship, and the fans should have been told about that decision before anybody took to the field. They should be the first to be notified of any major decisions.

England fans showed their displeasure at the original decision

It was a farcical moment, with Dhoni going from pantomime villain to hero in a manner of seconds, and all it would have taken was a small announcement to bring clarity for the paying fans.

The umpires and India, particularly Dhoni, handled the situation excellently though and come out of the incident with an awful lot of credit.

The whole situation could have got out of hand but the correct decision was made in the end, even though India would have been well within their rights to uphold their appeal.

It truly was a one-off which could have became a major incident, so cricket and the spirit of the game is the real winner here.

Dhoni has set an example for his fellow captains and it is an example everybody should follow.