Young Australian hitter Sam Konstas has shown time and time again that he intends to do more than just talk to his bat. On the last day before stumps on the first day of the 5th Test between Australia and India on Friday, Konstas unnecessarily annoyed Jasprit Bumrah over a question that didn’t even concern him. Right after the incident, Bumrah removed Konstas’ opening partner Usman Khawaja from the striker’s side, provoking an act of aggression from the Indian pacer, prompting Virat Kohli to join in as well.
It all happened in the penultimate delivery of the day when Khawaja took some time to get ready at the striker’s end, disrupting Bumrah’s rhythm. However, non-striker Konstas got involved in the incident by uttering a few words to Bumrah, annoying the pacer.
In the next delivery, Bumrah had Khawaja caught at slips, thanks to KL Rahul’s brilliant effort.
After taking the wicket, Bumrah charged at Konstas at the non-striker’s end as part of his celebratory act. Kohli, who is known to wear his heart on his sleeve, also came running from the slip cordon and seemingly charged at Konstas.
Earlier, India once again disappointed with the bat, scoring a total of 185 runs on the board, that too after stand-in skipper Jasprit Bumrah contributed 22 runs with the bat. Rishabh Pant was India’s best hitter on the opening day, scoring 40 runs before giving in to his attacking instincts again. Kohli, on the other hand, disappointed again by scoring just 17 runs before being dismissed again after delivery.
India had benched Rohit Sharma due to poor form, but his replacement Shubman Gill also failed to make his start count, scoring just 20 runs before being dismissed by spinner Nathan Lyon .
Bumrah’s solitary wicket before stumps on day one set the desired platform for India heading into day two. India were hoping for a few quick wickets at the start of the second day.
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