Virat Kohli has been blamed for his antics against Sam Konstas by Michael Vaughan on day one of the fourth Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) 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 batsman, 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.
By striding straight into the young batsman during the change of ends between the 10th and 11th overs of the Australian innings, Kohli intensified the situation. Replays showed that Kohli was completely conscious of his actions whereas Konstas was focusing on his bat.
He was completely wrong: Michael Vaughan slams Virat Kohli
Michael Vaughan, the former captain of England, claimed that Kohli was solely to blame, implying that the ‘King’ of cricket had been uneasy due to the 19-year-old’s daring batting.
Konstas hit two sixes and six boundaries to reach 60 off just 65 balls. The Indian spinners were demoralized by his bold reverse scoops off Bumrah, which produced three boundaries, including a six in the eleventh over.
“He’s completely acted wrong. 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 said on Fox Cricket.
Former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar stated that it would be interesting to observe how the two players were sanctioned by the match referee at the conclusion 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, 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.
Australia made 311/6 at stumps on day 1 at MCG thanks to half-centuries by half-centuries from Sam Konstas (60), Usman Khawaja (57), Marnus Labuschagne (72) and Steve Smith (68*).
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