The ex coach turned commentator revealed an interesting Kohli-Smith conversation from the marquee WTC final at The Oval.
Steve Smith’s strange rush of blood and haywire stroke that resulted in a poor caught dismissal on Day 3 of the World Test Championship (WTC) final at The Oval led to an amusing conversation between the Australian giant and his Indian counterpart Virat Kohli.
Kohli funnily rubbed it onto his modern-day peer and friend the wicket off left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja late on Friday (June 9), where Smith advanced at the ball with the intention of hitting one over the field for a four or six but could only miscue one into the hands of the short mid-wicket fielder.
As it happened, Jadeja spotted Smith coming at the ball a fraction of a second earlier and threw it wider off the arc, which meant the Aussie great could only find the splice of his willow. The ball then swivelled away in the air but ultimately landed in the hands of Shardul Thakur.
But as much as the nature of his dismissal would’ve left Smith fuming, especially after he had done the hardwork and reached 34 in the third-innings, it is a word from Virat Kohli that would’ve rubbed salt into his wounds for the wicket.
The conversation between the two legends from the WTC 2021-23 final was revealed on air early on Day 4 of the Test by ex Australian opener and coach Justin Langer, who told the viewers Kohli told Smith it was a “rubbish shot” from him against the Indian left-arm spinner.
Langer then revealed Smith only admitted the word of his Indian counterpart by responding with a “yeah, fair enough”. The former head coach said knowing Smith, if it was anyone other than a player with as rich a body of work as Kohli, he would’ve recieved a nasty jibe from the Aussie No.4.
“I was talking to Steve Smith in the morning, and Virat Kohli just walked up to him and said, ‘rubbish shot’,” Langer said on air.
“And Smith.. if it had come from any else in the world, Smith would’ve said ‘whatever’, but coming from Kohli, he goes ‘mmm.. yeah, fair call’.”
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Kohli’s “rubbish” remark only came out from friendly vibes he enjoys with Smith, especially since he publicly supported the Australian cricketer in the aftermath of the contentious 2018 ball-tampering saga.
During the 2019 World Cup, Kohli even urged the crowd at The Oval to cheer for Smith when he spotted a section of fans hurling boos his way for the Cape Town incident and calling him a cheat.
