Steve Smith and David Warner had been subject to booing and such chanting during World Cup 2019.
Virat Kohli showed his class when Indian fans were booing and chanting at Australia's Steve Smith during the India vs Australia match in World Cup 2019 on Saundy. During the match, Steve Smith was sent to field at the deep near the boundary line at the Vauxhall end and the Indian contingent present in the stands started booing Smith. There were some chants of ‘cheater’ as well.
According to an Australian journalist, Indian skipper Virat Kohli made notice of this and gestured at the crowd not to boo Smith. He signaled at them asking to clap for Steve Smith instead.
With India fans giving Steve Smith a tough time fielding in the deep, @imVkohli suggested they applaud the Australian instead.
— ICC (@ICC) June 9, 2019
Absolute class #SpiritOfCricket #ViratKohli pic.twitter.com/mmkLoedxjr
1. Virat Kohli shows his class
)
Sam Landsberger first brought this attention and tweeted, “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 tweeted.
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
According to his Twitter bio, Landsberger is cricket journalist for Herald Sun. His tweet suggests that he was in the stands during the game. (Image: AFP)
2. Fans laud Virat Kohli
)
Virat Kohli got a lot of love from fans on social media for his gesture.
[#SpiritOfCricket] Virat Kohli turned to the stand where Steve Smith was fielding in the deep & gestured the fans to cheer for him when he saw them booing Steve in a hideous manner. @BCCI @ICC @cricketworldcup #ViratKohli #TeamIndia #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/NbpXNoQXTn
— Saksham Alag (@saksham_alag) June 9, 2019
Crowd at The Oval boos Steve Smith's entry. Virat Kohli clearly not impressed, asks them to stop. Nice. #IndvAus
— Karthik Lakshmanan (@lk_karthik) June 9, 2019
During the 1st innings of the match, Indians fans were calling Smith a cheater. Kohli got to the fans and asked them to applaud Smith instead. What a gesture. Legend in making. pic.twitter.com/VgIAtjOj4I
— PSL Memes (@PSLMemesWalay) June 9, 2019
Kohli asking the fans not to boo Smith and applaud him instead. #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/wXJV4wyEKq
— Brashna Kasi (@Brashnaa) June 9, 2019
3. Warner, Smith have faced similar chants in World Cup 2019
)
Steve Smith and David Warner have been getting similar reaction during the World Cup matches. Smith and Warner were banned for a year over their roles in the ball-tampering scandal which erupted in Cape Town last year. Both men returned to the Indian Premier League in 2019 to play for their respective teams and were selected for the World Cup. In England, Steve Smith was booed when he hit a hundred during a warm-up match. Against West Indies, Smith was booed once again when he raised his bat to celebrate a fifty.
