Sam Konstas made 60 in 65 balls on his Test debut for Australia.
Multiple former cricketers have reacted to Virat Kohli's shoulder barging into 19-year-old Australian opener Sam Konstas on day one of the 4th Test in Melbourne on December 26, 2024.
On Boxing Day morning, Virat Kohli made headlines for all the wrong reasons when he purposefully made physical contact with the rookie starter. When he struck the first batter, who had been controlling the Indian bowling assault, Kohli seemed to be trying to scare Konstas, but he may have gone too far.
Just hours after collecting his first Baggy Green, the 19-year-old was playing brave cricket, and Mohammed Siraj tried to agitate him. Konstas' unconventional strategy of trying to reverse scoop Jasprit Bumrah, the top fast bowler in the world, shocked the Indian players.
Then during the changer after the 10th over, Kohli took things to another level by shoulder barging Konstas on purpose while walking from one end to another.
Former cricketers Sunil Gavaskar and Michael Vaughan criticized Virat Kohli's aggressive on-field confrontation with 19-year-old Sam Konstas.
Sunil Gavaskar said it would be intriguing to see how the match referee sanctioned the two players at the end of the day’s play.
"It’s the heat of Test match cricket. But, this can be avoidable. I mean, you are walking in a busy street, you see somebody coming towards you, and you sway away. There’s nothing. It doesn’t make you smaller if you sway away. You don’t want to see things on the field of play. Definitely not.
My first instance of this, without seeing the replay, was both were looking down. I thought both didn’t see each other coming. I thought Konstas was looking at his bat, Kohli was looking at the ball. But, I think that footage will tell you. We will see this evening who gets fined more," Gavaskar told Star Sports.
On the other hand, England’s Michael Vaughan stated that the fault was of Kohli in its entirety and stated Konstas’ fearless batting had unsettled the 'King' of world cricket. The debutant scored 60 in 65 balls including a reverse scoop of Jasprit Bumrah for a six.
“He’s completely acted wrong. I don’t know why a senior pro who’s played for so long – he’s a King – why’s he’s been rattled by a 19-year-old. Sam Konstas did absolutely nothing wrong there. Virat veered towards him. You can’t do that, you’re just not allowed to do that,” Vaughan told Fox Cricket.
Meanwhile, Australian batting star Alyssa Healy condemned Kohli's behavior, saying it was unbecoming of a player of his ccaliberand experience.
“It is probably more disappointing than anything else that an experienced player, one of your best players in the country, is quite visibly looking at the wider picture and made a beeline for the youngest player on the opposition,” Healy said.