It was at the end of the tenth over in the morning session of the opening Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) when Virat Kohli and the 19-year-old debutant opening batter for Australia were engaged in a heated altercation in the middle.
Konstas had an impressive start with the bat as he smashed a 60-run knock in 65 deliveries with the help of a flurry of boundaries and over boundaries as he ramped the premier pacer of the Indian side, Jasprit Bumrah, multiple times for a few fours and sixes. Virat Kohli saw the entire knock unfolding from the other slip corridor.
The former Indian captain was switching ends at the end of the over when he deviated from his route of walking and bumped into the shoulder of Konstas, who was taken aback by the entire scenario and got engaged in a heated scenario.
Also Read: Virat Kohli Fans Abuse Sam Konstas On Social Media After Shoulder Barge Incident In MCG Test
In the end, the opening batter of the side, Usman Khawaja, and the third umpire, Michael Gough, came to cool them down. In the end, Virat Kohli was fined 20% of his match fees and received a demerit point from the International Cricket Council, which was his first offense in the last 24 months.
Harsha Bhogle shares his view on Virat Kohli and Sam Konstas’ altercation
The penalty was seen differently by many of the players, where the former captain of the Indian side, Sunil Gavaskar, reckoned that it was just a slap on the wrist from the authority to the Delhi-born while the former captain of Australia, Ricky Ponting, wasn’t satisfied too and felt that the batter was saved in the process.
The renowned commentator of India, Harsha Bhogle, felt that even though most of the fans would be saying that the Delhi-born was walking and Konstas should have moved away, the visuals were there to see.
He also reckoned that by this move, the Indian side has confirmed that the 19-year-old debutant got under their skin with the impressive knock of 60 runs.
“I was very disappointed upfront with what followed. From the camp of Virat Kohli, it was said that look, he was just walking and Konstas should have moved away. I think the visuals were there, and I was disappointed for two reasons. One is because he is a senior player, but more importantly, walking into Konstas, you are telling a kid on debut that he has got under your skin.” Bhogle expressed at the end of the first day’s play in the fourth Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
The veteran also shed light on how the senior batter would be satisfied to get saved with a mild punishment in the entire incident as most of them were in the commentary box, and the former players expected a bigger punishment from the authority.
“I read that he has been fined 20% of his match fees and given one demerit point. If I were Virat Kohli, I would be laughing in my hotel room, getting away from it. We all were in the commentary box, and there were senior people, not just me. There were lots of senior people and great players, and everyone was expecting a bigger punishment.” Bhogle concluded.
Virat Kohli displayed great patience in the batting for his 36 runs in 86 balls with the help of four boundaries before he nicked off Scot Boland just 20 minutes before the end of the day’s play.