Indian captain Virat Kohli and his men wreaked havoc at The Oval on Sunday, scoring a whopping 353 against a fiery Australian bowling attack. Shikhar Dhawan scored a ton, and his knock was followed by captain Kohli’s 82, which guided India to the grand total.
Apart from his knock, Kohli also showed why he remains one of the most respected personnel in the sport. The likes of David Warner and Steve Smith haven’t really received a great reception since returning back to the ODI circuit following the entire ball-tampering saga.
And the same was the case when Steve Smith was deployed near the boundary line during the Indian innings at the Vauxhall end. He was bound to receive flakes from the fans, and those sitting near made sure they throw everything at their disposal to bring the Aussie’s morale back to the ground.
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
A journalist, sitting at the stand, noticed the crown referring Smith as ‘cheater’ and this is when Kohli decided to enter the fray and asked them to stop the chant.
Meanwhile, after deciding to bat first, the Indian openers – Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan – played a 127-run stand, while the likes of MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya played their bit part as well, as India posted a massive 353 on board.
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Dibyangshu Sarkar
