One of the significant moments of the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 took place on the opening day of the fourth Test between India and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground when the 19-year-old debutant opening batter of the home side smashed the visiting pacers around the park to put them under immense pressure.
Sam Konstas was seen to be engaged in a controversial heated argument with Virat Kohli, who deviated his path to bang into the shoulder of the young New South Wales batter. Both turned around to glance at each other before throwing a few words. Later, the other opening batter, Usman Khawaja, and the third umpire came to solve the issue.
The right-handed young batter, during an interaction with the broadcaster, felt that the emotions got the better of both players before the opener changed his view and has come up with a bold replay in his recent interview with 7News.
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“No, I have no regrets. I like to live by that, and it was so special. I’ve watched it so many times, I’m not going to lie.” Sam Konstas, the teenager, looked back at the incident.
The 19-year-old in the series was part of the two Tests in Melbourne and Sydney to smash 113 runs in four innings at an average of 28.25 and a strike rate of 81.88 with the best score of 60, that came during the first innings of the Boxing Day MCG Test.
Brad Haddin saves Sam Konstas to put the entire blame on Virat Kohli
It was just the two of his 13 first-class encounters for the NSW, as Sam Konstas has grabbed 831 runs in 22 innings at an average of nearly 40 with a strike rate of 54.49, thanks to four centuries and a couple of half-centuries at the best score of 152.
It was a moment that divided the opinion of Indian and Australian fans, experts, and media. The home papers went a step forward to label the former Indian captain as a ‘clown’ in their newspaper.
The former wicket-keeper batter, Brad Haddin, has put the blame entirely on Kohli’s shoulder. The veteran reckoned that the latter had turned out to be a frustrated figure of late, not just because of the aggressive batting of Sam Konstas but also of his lean patch in the longest format.
Kohli has gathered only 190 runs in nine innings in his potential last trip down under at an average of 23.75 with the best score of an unbeaten 100 runs. This has come on the back of his 93 runs at home, where he struggled with an average of 15.50 against the New Zealand spinners.
The former Indian captain, Sunil Gavaskar, also criticized Kohli for his act with Sam Konstas. The 36-year-old was fined 20 percent of his match fee and was also handed one demerit point by the International Cricket Council (ICC). Nothing was charged against Sam Konstas.
Many predicted that Kohli would have faced a suspension, but that didn’t happen as he was charged with a Level 1 offense. The Level 2 offenses carry a penalty of three to four demerit points, which would lead to a suspension of one Test match.
Sam Konstas has been included in the two-match Test series for Australia in Sri Lanka, starting on January 30. He will be up against the spin challenge, but eyes will be on his performance as the selectors aim to find a perfect replacement for the side’s opening combination.