The exchange between Virat Kohli and Sam Konstas on Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test between Australia and India at the MCG on Thursday did not impress Sunil Gavaskar. Early in the first session, Kohli and Konstas got into a physical altercation, with the former India captain supporting the Australian young player.
Nobody knows if it was deliberate, but based on the replays, it looks like Kohli started it to try to get inside the head of the 19-year-old opener who was making his Test debut.
While Kohli was shifting positions on the field with the ball in hand, Konstas was making his way to his partner in between overs. The two got into a furious argument after colliding on their journey. Even Usman Khawaja helped defuse the situation by wrapping his arms around Kohli’s shoulders after the umpires stepped in.
Expect some fines: Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar declared the entire episode uncalled for and appeared quite certain that punishment would be meted out after the day’s play, which did not sit well with half of the people who created the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Speaking about the incident during the lunch break, Gavaskar said on Star Sports: “My first instinct, looking at it without seeing the replays, was that both were looking down, so they didn’t see each other coming. Konstas was looking at his bat; Kohli had the ball in his hand, and he was doing something. But with that footage, we’ll see who gets fined more this evening.”
“Really, this can be avoidable. I mean, it’s like you are walking in a busy pedestrian street, and you see somebody coming at you, you just sway away. There’s nothing; it doesn’t make you smaller if you move away. That’s the thing. And you don’t want to see these things on the field. Definitely not,” he added.
Konstas scored an incredible half-century off just fifty-two deliveries after attacking India’s captain, Jasprit Bumrah. With Australia’s score at 89, left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja eventually removed Konstas for a 65-ball 60 in the 20th over.
In this crucial fourth Test, his explosive performance—which featured six boundaries and two maximums—put India behind.
Virat Kohli has been fined 20% of his match fees and a demerit point was added to his record. This was the first time since 2019 that Kohli was reprimanded by ICC.
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