Australia head coach accuses India of using ‘intimidating’ tactics on Sam Konstas

The SCG Test is set to explode after Australia’s management accused India of using “intimidating” tactics by aggressively swarming 19-year-old star Sam Konstas.

Australia’s management have accused India of using “intimidating” tactics by aggressively swarming 19-year-old Sam Konstas.

Far from moving to pull Konstas into line for sparking a war of words with Jasprit Bumrah, coach Andrew McDonald rallied behind the teenager and checked on his welfare following the explosive end to day one.

After Test legend Allan Border suggested he would be telling Konstas to rein in his on-field chirp, McDonald instead put the heat on match officials by intimating his surprise that action was not taken against the mass of Indian players who went ballistic getting in the face of the non-striker to celebrate the wicket of Usman Khawaja.

“My conversation to him was just around whether he’s OK. Clearly the way that India celebrated that, it was quite intimidating,” McDonald said after play on day two.

“It’s clearly within the laws of the game, within the rules and regulations, so there’s been no charges laid.

Jasprit Bumrah gives Sam Konstas a send off. Picture: Morgan Hancock/CA/Cricket Australia

“But to have an opposition obviously swarm the non-striker like that, we’ve got a duty of care to our player to make sure he’s OK and in a headspace to go out the next day and perform, so that’s all those conversations were.

“It’s clear that it’s acceptable because there was no fines or punishments. I’ll leave that up to the ICC and obviously Andy Pycroft being the match referee and the umpires out there.

“If they thought that it was satisfactory then I suppose that’s the benchmark we’re playing amongst.”

Konstas did not back down again on day two and went after his shots against Bumrah, including another audacious ramp, before ultimately falling to Mohammed Siraj for 23.

There was another moment when Virat Kohli was batting in the second innings that the Indian great eyeballed Konstas. This follows Kohli’s deliberate shoulder charge of the 19-year-old in his debut match at the MCG.

Indian quick Prasidh Krishna denied Konstas hadn’t got under their skin but defended his team’s right to fight fire with fire.

“I don’t think so. Not yet. We enjoy the way that he plays the game and we would also like to play the game aggressively,” Krishna said.

“Like if we have somebody who comes out and says, ‘I can fight you,’ it’s as a team we want to tell them, ‘you can’t take us for granted, we are all here, the eleven of us versus you.’

“If you can be as aggressive that’s fine.”

All eyes will be on Konstas when he comes out to try and bat Australia to victory on the day three climax of the epic series.