The modern-day stalwarts, Virat Kohli and Steve Smith never shied away from giving each other neck-to-neck competition in international cricket but apart from the rivalry, have also shared many “wonderful moments” in the cricket field. The International Cricket Council (ICC) took to Twitter to recall one such moment that took place on this day last year during the 2019 World Cup.

Captioning the throwback picture on Twitter, ICC wrote: “#OnThisDay last year, Virat Kohli and Steve Smith shared this wonderful moment in #CWC19 #SpiritOfCricket. The incident unfolded during a World Cup league stage encounter between India and Australia at The Oval.”.

#OnThisDay last year, Virat Kohli and Steve Smith shared this wonderful moment in #CWC19 🙌#SpiritOfCricket pic.twitter.com/LImy8i7ncK

— ICC (@ICC) June 9, 2020

During India’s innings, Smith had was immensely booed by the Indian fans at the venue while he was fielding on the boundary. Kohli stepped in to silence the majority Indian crowd at The Oval, asking them to clap for the Australian instead. Tweeting about the same, ICC had written, “With India fans giving Steve Smith a tough time fielding in the deep, @imVkohli suggested they applaud the Australian instead. Absolute class”.

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In January, when asked about Kohli’s gesture to ask fans to show him support during the World Cup, Smith said it was really nice of the India skipper. 

Smith had explained, “In the World Cup it was really nice of Virat to do what he did. He did not have to do that and yeah it was a lovely gesture and really appreciated that.”

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While India crashed out of the World Cup after their semi-final loss to New Zealand, Kohli won the ‘Spirit of Cricket’ award for his gesture in England. Smith and Kohli have always been known for sharing a good camaraderie off the field.