'He told to support, really appreciate it': Smith recalls classic WC moment, hails Kohli

Virat Kohli and Steve Smith are one of the greats of modern-day cricket. Kohli and Smith belong to the same batch of ICC U-19 World Cup 2008 wherein Virat led the Indian team to a World Cup win, whereas on the other hand, Smith played as a right-handed batsman for Australia. The former Indian captain has many records to his name in international cricket and has dominated world cricket for over a decade. Smith on the other hand is the world's number two Test batsman. 

3 things you need to know 

• Team India batter Virat Kohli recently surpassed Sachin Tendulkar to become the fastest Indian batter to reach 13,000 ODI runs 
• Virat Kohli also scored his 47th ODI hundred in the IND vs PAK Asia Cup 2023 match 
• Steve Smith on the other hand scored a century in the WTC 2023 Final against India this year 

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Steve Smith hails Virat Kohli after remembering ODI World Cup 2019 moment 

Indian cricket team batter Virat Kohli and Australia batsman Steve Smith have shared a brotherly bond with each other since their U19 days. From on the field, both the batsmen have shown their friendship on the field, One such moment took place during the India vs Australia ODI World Cup 2019 match. 

Steve Smith had just come into international cricket after serving a one-year-old ban due to the sandpaper gate scandal in the year 2018. Smith, along with David Warner and Cameron Bancfort was involved in ball-tampering and faced a lot of criticism from cricket experts and fans. 

(Team India batter Virat Kohli and Australian batsman Steve Smith during the BGT 2023 series / Image: BCCI) 

During the India vs Australia ODI World Cup 2019 match, which was played at the Kennington Oval ground in London, the Indian fans booed Steve Smith during Team India's first innings. India batter and then captain Virat Kohli didn't like the act and asked the Indian fans to stop and applaud the Australian batsman. 

Speaking on Star Sports Steve Smith said: 

It was a very nice moment from Kohli in the 2019 World Cup, crowd was booing me and he told the crowd to just support him, What is wrong with him. That was great from Virat, really appreciate it. Virat Kohli is an incredible player. He always step up and delivered in big games. He has done it again and again for India in big games - there are not many bigger players than Kohli. 

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Team India to face Australia in the first match of the ODI World Cup 2023

The Indian cricket team is all set to face Australia in their opening match of the ODI World Cup 2023. The match will take place on October 8 at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The 'Men in Blue' under the leadership of Rohit Sharma will aim to end their 10-year-old ICC title drought and repeat the 2011 ODI World Cup heroics.