“Opposition swarm non-striker like that…”: Australian coach McDonald accuses India of “intimidating” Konstas

Sydney [Australia], January 4 (ANI): Following the end of the day’s play during the fifth Test against India, Australian coach Andrew McDonald accused Team India of trying to ‘intimidate’ youngster Sam Konstas during their wicket celebrations, ESPNCricinfo reported.

A dominant day with the ball saw India run through the Aussie lineup and skittle them out for just 181 runs and end the second day of play at 141/6, with a 145-run lead.

During the first day of play, 19-year-old Konstas got involved in a verbal exchange with Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, leaving the latter visibly agitated.

This was followed by the last ball of the first day, in which Bumrah got Usman Khawaja nicked to KL Rahul at the slips, delivering a strong reply to the Aussies.

As the wicket fell, Bumrah advanced towards Konstas with noticeable aggression and gave him a stare. The whole team gathered around Konstas while aggressively celebrating the wicket.

Speaking about the Bumrah-Konstas episode that happened the previous day, McDonald was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo, “My conversation with him (Konstas) was around whether he is okay. Clearly, the way India celebrated that was quite intimidating. It is clearly within the laws of the game, the rules and regulations. There have been no charges laid, but to have an opposition swarm the non-striker like that, we have got a duty of care to our player to make sure he is okay and in a headspace to go out there and perform.”

On whether India had crossed the line, McDonald said, “It is clear that’s acceptable because there were no fines or punishments, so I will leave that up to the ICC (International Cricket Council) – Andy Pycroft being the match referee – and the umpires out there. If they thought it was satisfactory then I suppose that is the benchmark we are playing towards.”

Konstas has also met some criticism for his run-ins with Indian stars.

Speaking before day two’s play, former Australian captain Ricky Ponting said on Channel 7, ” I did not like Konstas getting involved. That was not his battle to fight. It was between Khawaja and Bumrah. So, for the young man there, I hope that there was some talking to from the Australian dressing room last night because he should have stayed out of it, let his senior player try and handle the last couple of balls. And of course, when you play with the game, the game has a way of coming back and biting. That happened to Khawaja last night.”

Also, former Aussie cricketer Tom Moody had said, “Sam Konstas has much to learn. I hope the dressing room is offering that guidance without suppressing his confidence and youthful enthusiasm. #AUSvINDIA”

Konstas scored 23 runs in 38 balls, with three fours, including a scoop shot against Bumrah, before edging to Yashasvi Jaiswal in the slips and falling to Mohammed Siraj. Bumrah, fielding at mid-on, did not go to India’s huddle after the wicket and appeared to walk in Konstas’ direction.

Cricket fans would describe Konstas’ debut during the previous Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) as ‘pure cinema’ and no doubt it was one. The 19-year-old came to the senior side with plenty of hype around him after winning the ICC U19 World Cup with Australia and delivering some fantastic hundreds in first-class cricket, including one against India during a pink-ball warm-up Test while representing Prime Minister’s XI at Manuka Oval, which saw him take on Indian stars like Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Harshit Rana etc.

In his first meeting against a full-strength Indian side, Konstas showed immense confidence, unafraid of trying some unorthodox shots. In order to build pressure on the youngster, Virat involved the good old tactic of using his trademark aggression, bumping into Konstas, and making shoulder-to-shoulder contact. However, the tactic backfired as he smashed star pacer Jasprit Bumrah for some big shots, including a reverse ramp and looted 34 runs against him out of his total of 60. Virat was also fined 20 per cent of his match fee and handed one demerit point by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Coming to the SCG Test, India won the toss and elected to bat first. India was off to a disappointing start yet again as the top order threw away their wickets, especially Virat Kohli (17) who continued his struggles with outside off-stump deliveries.

However, the fight by Pant (40 in 98 balls, with three fours and a six), Ravindra Jadeja (26 in 95 balls, with three fours) and skipper Jasprit Bumrah (22 in 17 balls, with three fours and a six) pushed India to 185/10 in 72.2 overs.

Boland (4/31) was the pick of the bowlers for the Aussies and once again a thorn in the eyes of Indian batters. Mitchell Starc took 3/49 while Pat Cummins got 2/37.

In their first innings, Australia lost wickets at regular intervals even when Jasprit Bumrah (2/33) walked off the field due to an injury scare. Under the stand-in skipper Virat, India continued to dominate the Aussies, skittling them out for just 181 runs and taking a four-run lead. Debutant Beau Webster (57 in 105 balls, with five fours) had a fine showing with the bat and Steve Smith (33 in 57 balls, with four boundaries and a six) showed some attacking intent.

Prasidh Krishna (3/42) and Mohammed Siraj (3/51) were the top bowlers for India.

In their second innings, despite a promising start by Yashasvi Jaiswal (22 in 35 balls, with four boundaries) and KL Rahul (13), Indian batters fell to trap of Boland’s (4/42) impressive lines and lengths, with KL, Shubman Gill (13), Virat (6), Nitish Kumar Reddy (8) falling cheaply to consolidate Australia’s position in the match. At the end of the day, India made 141/6, with Jadeja (8) and Sundar (6).