19-year-old Sam Konstas proved to be a pivotal figure on his international debut, as Australia defeated India at the MCG to take a 2-1 lead at the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. Throughout the fourth Testmatch in Melbourne, Konstas was seen interacting with the crowd, while fielding near the boundary ropes. Then on Day 5, he was requested by the home side’s fans to take it a notch higher to mock the Indian spectators and Virat Kohli, by imitating the former skipper’s shoulder bump. It was an animated scene, as Konstas responded to requests from fans and imitated his iconic, but controversial, shoulder bump with Kohli.
Konstas was in sizzling form on his debut, as he replaced Nathan McSweeney in the playing XI. The move was criticised by some former players, who felt McSweeney deserved more time, as even the other Aussie batters like Usman Khawaja were in poor form. But Konstas ended up silencing those words, with a brilliant half-century in the first innings which set the template for the match.
Sam Konstas and Virat Kohli’s altercation
Konstas’ 60 off 65 balls proved to be the kind of start which Australia needed in the first innings, and it led to Khawaja (57) and Marnus Labuschagne (72) finding form to get half-centuries. During his knock, Konstas also ended up having a controversial altercation with Kohli. In between overs, while both teams were changing sides, Kohli walked towards Konstas and bumped him on the shoulder. The duo were involved in a heated exchange after that, with the on-field umpire and Khawaja needing to intervene. Meanwhile, Steve Smith got his second ton of the series, hammering 140 off 197 balls as Australia posted 474. In response, India managed to reach 369, courtesy of a maiden ton by Nitish Kumar Reddy.
Leading by 105 runs, the Aussies managed to post 234 in the next innings, despite Jasprit Bumrah wreaking havoc in an attempt to give India a fighting chance. Bumrah ended up taking five wickets in the second Australian innings, but Labuschagne built on his new-found form, and got a gritty knock of 70 off 139 balls, which helped Australia post 234, setting a target of 340 runs.
It looked like a steep task for India, but also considered possible. But Pat Cummins and Scott Boland had other plans, cruising past the Indian batting order, with three-wicket hauls respectively. Yashasvi Jaiswal’s valiant knock of 84 runs off 208 balls was in vain as India once again folded for 155, losing by 184 runs.
