Steve Smith Waxes Lyrical On Virat Kohli Despite Defeat, Gives Massive 'The Best The Game Has Seen' Praise

Following his team's loss in the semifinal of the ICC Champions Trophy, Australian skipper Steve Smith hailed Virat Kohli as the "best chaser the game has ever seen". In a high-stakes clash dominated by echoes of the past, India avenged its 2023 final heartbreak by sending Australia through the exit door with an exhilarating four-wicket triumph in Dubai on Tuesday night. Virat's chase masterclass once again grabbed the spotlight as his perfectly-calculated knock of 84 runs guided India to a four-wicket win over Australia, lifting them from 43/2 to a successful run chase of 265 runs, which was proving to be tricky initially. Once again, the 36-year-old made a tough run-chase look like a cakewalk and re-wrote several records in the process.

Speaking after the match in the post-match presser, Smith said about Virat, "He is arguably the best chaser the game has seen. He has done it numerous times against us. He controls the tempo of the game really well," the Australian skipper said.

Smith hailed India for managing to keep the run-rate in check throughout during the run-chase and felt Aussies were a wicket or two away from changing the game.

"But yeah, KL played really nicely at the end and Hardik did as well. So yeah, we took it as deep as we could, but yeah, they obviously chased really nicely," he added.

Speaking on playing in Pakistan's Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore and at Dubai International Stadium, Smith said that both pitches were "completely different".

"This one is quite slow, two-paced, took some spin. I think the Gaddafi track is arguably one of the best one-day wickets in the world for batting. The ball skids on nicely, the outfield is lightning and yeah there is definite differences there," he added.

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