Sunil Gavaskar and Ricky Ponting Weigh in on Virat Kohli-Sam Konstas Boxing Day Test Clash
Sunil Gavaskar and Ricky Ponting Weigh in on Virat Kohli-Sam Konstas Boxing Day Test Clash
Kohli might have started it to unsettle the 19-year-old opener who was making his Test debut.
Sunil Gavaskar expressed his disappointment regarding the incident that occurred between Virat Kohli and Sam Konstas on the first day of the Boxing Day Test between India and Australia at the MCG on Thursday.
It is still uncertain whether the action was intentional; however, the replays suggest that Kohli may have intended to unsettle the nerves of the 19-year-old opener who was playing in his first Test match.
During the breaks between overs, Konstas approached his teammate while Kohli, holding the ball, adjusted his position on the field. As they crossed paths, a collision occurred, resulting in a tense confrontation. The umpires stepped in to mediate, and Usman Khawaja also played a role in calming the situation by placing his arms around Kohli’s shoulders.
Gavaskar deemed it unnecessary and appeared quite assured that consequences would be imposed by the conclusion of the day’s play.
“Really, this can be avoidable. I mean, it’s like you are walking in a busy pedestrian street, and you see somebody coming at you, you just sway away. There’s nothing; it doesn’t make you smaller if you move away. That’s the thing. And you don’t want to see these things on the field. Definitely not. My first instinct, looking at it without seeing the replays, was that both were looking down, so they didn’t see each other coming. Konstas was looking at his bat; Kohli had the ball in his hand, and he was doing something. But with that footage, we’ll see who gets fined more this evening,” says Gavaskar.
Kohli and Konstas come together and make contact 👀#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/adb09clEqd
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 26, 2024
Konstas had a remarkable electric debut for India, scoring 60 runs off 65 balls, which included six fours and two sixes. His aggressive performance against Jasprit Bumrah, who was the leading bowler of the series, was truly a sight to behold, as he managed to hit the Indian pacer for 14 runs in his third over.
Ricky Ponting, the renowned cricketer, criticized Virat Kohli.”Have a look where Virat walks. Virat walked one whole pitch over to his right and instigated that confrontation. No doubt in my mind whatsoever. I have no doubt that the umpires and the referee will have a good look at that. Fielders should be nowhere near the batsman at that stage. Every fieldsman on the ground knows where the batsmen will congregate and get together. It looked to me that Konstas looked up really late; he wouldn’t even know anyone was in front of him. That man on-screen there (Kohli) might have a few questions to answer,” says Ponting.
