XtraTime Web Desk: It’s no secret that India skipper Virat Kohli & Steve Smith never shared good relationship after the 2017 Bengaluru Test and we all know that Kohli said some hard words to Smith after his brain fade. However during India’s World Cup match against Australia on Sunday Kohli was totally a changed person and stopped the Indian crowd who were booing Smith for the sandpaper gate controversy. After looking at that Smith thanked Kohli for his gesture.
After hitting a century against England in the first warm-up game, Smith was booed to no end by the English fans but he dismissed that by saying he didn’t care. But when the Indian fans did go for the same formula, it created a very hostile atmosphere thanks to the army of Indian fans present at the venue. The incident in question occurred when Smith was fielding at deep and the Indian fans started chanting “cheater, cheater” in unison.
Virat Kohli, who was batting during that time, wasn’t impressed one bit and he came forward to stop the Indian fans. He rather asked them to applaud for him and enjoy the game, instead of booing Steve Smith.
Despite having an acrimonious history with the Indian skipper, Smith came forward and in a sweet gesture, he gave him a hug. That was applauded by the commentators and was another validation of why cricket is being called as a “gentleman’s game”.
With India fans giving Steve Smith a tough time fielding in the deep, @imVkohli suggested they applaud the Australian instead.
Absolute class ? #SpiritOfCricket #ViratKohli pic.twitter.com/mmkLoedxjr
— ICC (@ICC) June 9, 2019