The Indian skipper, after the end of the over, was seen signalling towards the crowd to stop booing and asked them to applaud the former Australian captain.
Why Virat Kohli asked Oval crowd to cheer Steve Smith 😊
Smith, who was fielding at third man during India innings, was jeered by fans who were heard chanting 'cheater..cheater' from the stands.
It didn't go down well with Virat Kohli.
The Indian skipper, after the end of the over, was seen signalling towards the crowd to stop booing and asked them to applaud Smith.
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NEW DELHI: Australian cricketer Steven Smith on Sunday received a rough welcome from the Indian fans during Australia's ICC World Cup 2019 clash against India at the Kennington Oval in London.
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Smith, who was fielding at third man during India innings, was jeered by fans who were heard chanting 'cheater..cheater' from the stands.
Even when Smith showed some good fielding skills, the crowd chose not to applaud him.
However, it didn't go down well with India captain Virat Kohli.
The Indian skipper, after the end of the over, was seen signalling towards the crowd to stop booing and asked them to applaud the former Australian captain.
"I just felt for him, and I told him, 'I'm sorry on behalf of the crowd because I have seen that happen in a few earlier games as well'. In my opinion, that's not acceptable," Kohli said in the post match press conference.
"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. He's just playing cricket.
He (Smith) 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," Kohli added.
Seeing Kohli's gesture, Smith walked up to him and shook hands with the Indian captain.
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