Virat Kohli makes a stand against Indian fans for Steve Smith

Virat Kohli defied thousands of Indian cricket fans at the World Cup, putting them in their place and protecting Aussie rival Steve Smith.

Thumbs up to you too, Virat. (Photo by Adrian DENNIS / AFP)

Virat Kohli was public enemy No. 1 in Australia last summer — as he so often is when he travels Down Under — but he may be able to shed that reputation after a classy act on Sunday.

The Indian captain showed his true character during a World Cup clash against the Aussies in London when the man who used to be his direct counterpart was copping some serious heat.

Steve Smith has been booed all tournament — an expected response to his return from a 12-month ban for his role in the ball tampering scandal.

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The reception he and David Warner copped in Bristol was nothing short of vicious, the boos were far more subdued in Nottingham against the West Indies — and at the Oval, Kohli took it upon himself to silence the haters.

There was barely a gold shirt to be seen in the stands as a sea of blue made up the hugely pro-Indian crowd. Fans had largely been content to cheer their side rather than boo the Aussies but that all changed when Smith found himself down at the third man boundary late in the Indian innings.

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Nowhere was safe but this particular pocket of Indian cricket lovers had been in full voice all day and the former Australian captain felt their wrath. Boos rang out but Smith took them well, offering a smile in response.

Soon after Smith was sent to the boundary, Hardik Pandya was dismissed for a rapid 48 off just 27 balls and that’s when Kohli acted. He turned to the boisterous section of the crowd that was hounding Smith and gestured for them to stop booing.

Kohli waved to get the fans’ attention, held his arms out in dismay, then pointed towards Smith and clapped his hands, suggesting his legion of followers should be applauding, not booing the Aussie superstar.

As the Aussies congregated in the middle to celebrate Pandya’s wicket, Kohli sought Smith out and shook his hand as the former skipper gave him a smile.

It was all class from the Indian captain as he tried to put an end to the ugly trend that has haunted the Aussies since Smith and Warner re-entered the fold.

KOHLI: ‘IT’S NOT ACCEPTABLE’

Respect. (Photo by Dibyangshu SARKAR / AFP)

Kohli said after the match he feels for Smith and believes the ill will being sent his way in England is “not acceptable”.

“Look, I think what’s happened has happened like long back, the guy is back, he’s trying to play well for his side. Even in the IPL I saw him, it’s not good to see someone down like that, to be honest,” Kohli told reporters.

“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. What’s happened has happened. Everyone has known that. He’s come back. He’s worked hard. He’s playing well for his side now.

“So just because there’s 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 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.

“So I just felt for him, and I told him, I’m sorry on behalf of the crowd because I’ve seen that happen in a few earlier games, as well, and in my opinion that’s not acceptable.”

MAXI: ‘I’M NOT SURPRISED BY THAT’

India's captain Virat Kohli shakes hands with Australia's captain Aaron Finch. (Photo by Dibyangshu SARKAR / AFP)

Glenn Maxwell only found out about Kohli’s gesture after the match but said it came as no surprise to people who know the Indian leader off the field.

“It’s nice to hear that and I’m not surprised by that, because we do get along as individuals with him really well off the field,” Maxwell said. “What happens on the field, that’s for everyone else to write about.

“All we want to do is play our cricket hard and he does that, he plays his cricket hard, gets in the opposition’s faces but off the field, I’m not surprised by that at all.”

Kohli’s batting resembled his behaviour as he scored a classy 82 from 77 deliveries, anchoring India’s innings while Shikhar Dhawan (117), Pandya (48) and MS Dhoni (27) all blazed away around him.

Smith also had a profitable day with the bat, top scoring for Australia with 69 off 70 balls but it wasn’t enough to help his side over the line.

Chasing India’s 6/352, the Aussies were pegged down by the opposition seamers early in the innings and left themselves with too much to do. Smith, Usman Khawaja (42) and Maxwell (28) tried to lift the run rate as the innings wound down but the asking rate was too much and Australia lost by 36 runs.