On June 9 2019, India faced the challenge of Australia in the 50-over World Cup held in England and Wales. The Indians ended up defeating the Kangaroos by 36 runs at The Oval in Birmingham, thanks to Indian skipper Virat Kohli played an inspirational knock of 82 runs to make sure ‘Men in Blue’ gets over the line. However, the victory wasn’t the real highpoint of the day; in fact, some other moment grabbed the maximum eye-balls that day.
There was a moment when Aussies were fielding, and few Indian cricket team fans started sledging and teasing former Australia captain Steve Smith. The Sydney-born was making a comeback in the international side after facing a suspension for a year due to the infamous ball-tampering scandal against South Africa during the Cape Town Test in 2018.
Some Indian fans were continuously booing Smith, but then Kohli, who was batting at one end stood up for his competitor and signaled towards the crowd to stop their actions. Kohli asked his Indian supporters to appreciate Smith by clapping for him.
From the time, the friendship between the two modern-day greats has only grown, and Smith recently opened up about the same. The New South Wales cricketer termed Kohli as a ‘terrific guy’ and revealed that they have been exchanging messages in recent times.
“I had few conversations with him (Virat) off the field, few messages here and there in recent times just to see how things are going in India. He is a terrific guy, and we both play hard out on the field and play as well for our respective teams and its part of the game,” said Smith on Star Sports’ show ‘Cricket Connected’.
During the conversation, Smith also appreciated Kohli’s gesture to Indian fans during the World Cup encounter last year. The Worcestershire batter hailed Kohli for his ‘amazing’ captaincy and said he along with other Aussies couldn’t wait for India to visit Australia later this year.
“Virat’s gesture in the World Cup to the Indian fans that were giving Me (Smith) and David Warner little bit of a stick, I appreciated that, and I share that with him straight up. He is a terrific guy, and the way he has led the Indian Team has been amazing, they are amazing side and can’t wait to play them when they come out to Australia this year will be something incredibly special,” added Smith.
