Sam Konstas trolls Indian star Jasprit Bumrah with cheeky comment
Sam Konstas blew the cricket world away with his fearless display, but it was one remark that really captured the attention.
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Remember the name, Sam Konstas.
Not even the most optimistic cricket fan could have predicted the 19-year-old’s knock of 60 off 65 balls on his Boxing Day debut.
As is always the case in sport, it’s how you play that people remember most and as Mark Waugh said on Fox Cricket’s coverage: “Whatever he does the rest of his career Sam Konstas, no one will forget the first innings he played at the MCG on Boxing Day.”
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Picking a teenager in one of the most pivotal games was a bold move given the legacy of this current Australian side is it stake. They have won everything but do not want to lose three consecutive series at home to India.
Indian spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has been Australia’s kryptonite during the first three Tests but after a very nervy first over, Konstas cracked the code and made him look mortal.
“I can’t remember cricket being this fun and fearless,” Australian women’s captain Alyssa Healy said in commentary.
It was the sheer unbridled joy and freedom Konstas played with that made his innings so enjoyable.
Konstas was all smiles as he stood arm in arm with his teammates and sang the national anthem.
He glanced up a couple of times and saw his face on the big screen. Absolutely beaming, he took a moment to soak it in and Steve Smith and Alex Carey tried their best to suppress a chuckle.
The ramp shots to the bowling of Bumrah were seriously audacious. But having the skill to execute that shot and avoid getting clean bowled showed serious class.
Sam Konstas’ beaming smile, and Steve Smith’s enjoyment of it, is one of the best anthem moments I’ve ever seen. Gotta love youth. How good.
— Neroli Meadows (@Neroli_Meadows) December 25, 2024
Mentored by Shane Watson, he curls his upper lip as he prepares to face a delivery and appears to mutter a few words under his breath.
He has a good head on his shoulders, unfazed by Virat Kohli shoulder charging him mid-pitch.
“This man has stunned the crowd and stunned world cricket,” Mark Howard said in commentary.
Interviewed mid innings by Fox Cricket, Konstas said: “It’s quite surreal, look at the turnout, I’m just trying to play with some freedom and back myself and hopefully I can get a few more.”
Asked if his ramp shots to Bumrah were premeditated, he boldly said: “(Nah) just when the ball was coming down. I’ll look to keep targeting him and hopefully he might come back on but we’ll see what happens.”
Konstas was eventually out LBW off Ravi Jadeja and after lunch the run rate slowed right down as Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne fought hard for their runs.
Commentators and fans have long complained about the influence T20 cricket is having on how Test match cricket is being played.
But as Konstas showed, it can be extremely intoxicating watching someone reinvent the norms of the game before your eyes.
Kids in backyards around the country will be trying to perfect the reverse ramp over their neighbour’s fence. He gave autographs to a few of them at the MCG just minutes after getting out.
Quick runs are invaluable in Test cricket and Konstas could well be the perfect long-term replacement to David Warner.
Ed Cowan scored a gritty 68 on his Boxing Day debut in 2011.
Konstas scored eight runs less but his debut is surely the most exhilarating since Pat Cummins in South Africa in 2011 and Ashton Agar, who scored 98 batting at No. 11 in the 2013 Ashes.
This current Australian team is defining its legacy at the moment, but the creaking older statesmen in the team might need a young buck to help them.
They are desperate to win back the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time since 2014-15 and there is one eye on the Ashes at home next summer.
No other player in Australia’s XI for the fourth Test is aged under 30. Konstas is half the age of his opening partner Usman Khawaja.
England have regenerated their side with an eye to reclaiming the urn. In their most recent Test against New Zealand, only Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Ben Duckett were 30 or older.
Konstas and Cameron Green in the team could make for a very exciting Ashes. We’re not discounting Nathan McSweeney from returning to the team very soon either.
Let’s hope this was only a glimpse of the future from Konstas.
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