XtraTime Web Desk: Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli won hearts of millions with a heartwarming gesture during the World Cup match against Australia earlier this month. When Kohli was batting against Australia in the middle the Indian spectators started chanting “cheater, cheater” after seeing Steve Smith, as he was a part of sandpaper gate ball tampering scandal which rocked the Australian cricket last year.
But Kohli asked the crowd to stop the “boos” and instead applaud the Aussie captain. Then he went on to shake hands with Smith.
Speaking on the incident, the Aussie batsman described it as a “lovely” gesture and said: “Yeah, it was a lovely gesture. It doesn’t really bother me what the crowd do to be perfectly honest, I’m just sort of blocking it all out but it was a lovely gesture from Virat, that’s for sure.”
India defeated Australia by 36 runs as Australia failed to chase down the mammoth total of 353. After the match, Kohli had said: “I just felt for him, and I told him, ‘I’m sorry on behalf of the crowd because I have seen that happen in a few earlier games as well’. In my opinion, that’s not acceptable.”
India are currently on top half of the table with 3 wins and a draw in four games. The men in blue will next face Afghanistan on Saturday.