Indian skipper Virat Kohli stood up for former Australian counterpart Steve Smith, stopping the jeers of Indian fans at the Oval.
Smith was met with a chorus of boos when he was sent out to field at the boundary during the World Cup clash between Australia and India on Sunday.
In the meantime, Kohli came to Smith’s rescue, gesturing at Team India’s supporters to leave Smith alone and instead cheer on his own innings – something pointed out by several reporters at the ground.
Sam Landsberger noticed this from the stands and took to Twitter to applaud Kohli.
“Wow. How good is this from Virat Kohli? Steve Smith is sent to field on the boundary and immediately cops the most hideous boos from the Indian fans. So Kohli turns to that stand and gestures for them to clap Smith. #CWC19,” he wrote in his tweet.
Wow. How good is this from Virat Kohli? Steve Smith is sent to field on the boundary, and immediately cops the most hideous boos from the Indian fans. So Kohli turns to that stand and gestures for them to clap Smith. #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/GBTPaolOXh
— Sam Landsberger (@SamLandsberger) June 9, 2019
Kohli and Smith are often regarded as the two best batsmen of this era and it was refreshing to see a tough competitor come out to support his rival.
The Indian talisman received a lot of love for his gesture as well.
That is definitely Kohli. He's 1 of the greatest leaders cricket has had
— Paul Stevens (@StevoSorrento) June 9, 2019
~He's so kind
~Very good person
~legend for the reason#ViratKohli #TeamIndia#INDvAUS #KingKohli— Nilesh P (@nileshvirat18) June 9, 2019
https://twitter.com/atul4314/status/1137712582675050498
Kohli gains more respect from India and give a big lesson for them who understand behaviour respect of Cricket game.🏏👍
— Singh Mamta (@Mamta_S14) June 9, 2019
