There were plenty of talking points from India's comprehensive victory over Australia, but the biggest moment of the day came when Indian captain Virat Kohli walked across towards the crowd and asked them to stop booing Steve Smith. Instead, he even gesticulated to them to clap for the former Australian skipper.
Addressing media after the match, Kohli said that he sympathised with Steven Smith and even apologised on behalf of the crowd after the former Australia captain was not only booed but also heckled by the India dominated crowd at the Oval.
'I didn't want them to set a bad example'
The Indian captain was batting when Smith ran across towards the boundary to the field. The crowd started chanting, "Cheater!" repeatedly but Kohli, in the middle, gestured to the India insignia on his helmet, pointed towards the crowd and asked them to quit all the negative chanting.
"Just because there are so many Indian fans here, I just didn't want them to set a bad example, to be honest because he didn't do anything to be booed in my opinion," Kohli said.
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
"He's just playing cricket. He was just standing there, and I felt bad because if I was in a position where something had happened with me and I had apologised, I accepted it and I came back and still I would get booed, I wouldn't like it, either," he further added.
Kohli also said that he apologised on behalf of the crowd as he felt really bad. He also added that he had seen similar kind of behaviour in the early games and according to him, it was not acceptable.
Both Steve Smith and David Warner have been booed and heckled repeatedly on the field ever since they have made their comeback after serving their respective bans over the ball-tampering scandal at Newlands last year.
"Even in the IPL I saw him, it's not good to see someone down like that, to be honest. We've had issues in the past. We've had a few arguments on the field. But you don't want to see a guy feeling that heat every time he goes out to play," the Indian captain further added.
Glenn Maxwell, who came to know about Kohli's gesture after the match, said he was not surprised with the Indian captain as he is aware of the person behind the aggressive Kohli on the field when he lets his emotions pour out in the heat of the battle.
