Virat Kohli asks the Indian contingent to stop shouting “cheater” at Steve Smith - The twelfth Man Times

Steve Smith and David Warner have had to face the brunt of the fans for their wrong-doings. The fans in England have been constantly booing at them and putting them into an uncomfortable situation. When Australia took on India in London, the situation was no different for the former Australian skipper. Steve Smith was sent to field at the deep near the boundary line at the Vauxhall end. Immediately, the nonchalant Indian contingent present in the stands started booing at Smith.

The aficionadi shouted at him referring to him as a ‘cheater’. Indian skipper Virat Kohli made notice of this and took action immediately. He actually turned to that stand and gestured at the crowd not to boo at Smith. Instead, he signaled at them asking to clap for Steve Smith winning the hearts of the fans. It was great to see the Indian skipper express concern for his Australian counterpart and the fans absolutely loved it. Something of this sorts, coming from Virat, was unexpected and even took a few by surprise.

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It is not only his exploits on the cricket field but also his nature that has made Virat Kohli arguably the most adored and popular cricket star in the world. Currently the top-ranked batsman in ODIs and Tests, the India skipper wears his hearts on sleeves but is known for his humility otherwise. While Kohli has made many of his opponents angry with his aggressive nature on the field, he is still being lauded by many for being a different character altogether off the field.

Talking about the game, the Indian batsmen were absolutely on fire after the team won the toss and elected to bat first. The openers laid a wonderful 127-run partnership and set to tone for the finishers. Shikhar Dhawan was excellent in the game and registered his 17th ODI century, his third in a World Cup game. While Rohit Sharma scored a fifty, skipper Virat Kohli anchored the innings and got out in the final over after scoring 82 runs. Hardik Pandya played a quick fire 48 off just 27 balls to propel India past 300 run mark. Cameos from MS Dhoni and KL Rahul at the end, saw India score 352/5 in their 50 overs.