Sam Konstas took less than 40 minutes into being a Test cricketer to win over Australia. To win over his teammates. To win over world cricket. To win some grudging admiration probably even from the opposition.
It was fast and furious. It was audacious and reckless. It was frantic and feverish.
It was mad and manic. It was unprecedented and unabashed. It was fearless and fiery. It was mayhem. It was chaos.
It was one of the most significant debuts in Australian Test cricket history. Not just for what it could mean in the here and now. But what it could mean for the future.
Not just in an immediate sense. But for a decade from now, or even 15 years from now.
And within the first 90 minutes of being a Test cricketer, Sam Konstas was signing autographs and posing for selfies, while clicking some, in the tunnel leading out from the dressing room at the MCG. On Boxing Day.
On the most significant day of his life. On the most significant day in the Australian sporting calendar.
By then, he’d scored 34 runs off Jasprit Bumrah in one spell. The first batter to do so ever.
So far in this series, seeing off Bumrah had been the biggest challenge for the Australian top order. Konstas had not just seen him off, he’d taken down the best bowler in the world.
He had bossed one of the best bowlers the world has ever seen. He had rattled one of the all-time greats of the game. All at 19.
All while still sporting a moustache that’s still coming into its own. All while sporting a toothy smile that struggles to hide just how young he is.
He’d ramped and reverse-ramped Bumrah repeatedly for boundaries in a single over, despite having failed to do so on a couple of occasions already.
He’d made room and slapped Mohammed Siraj for four through point. He’d made room and slapped Bumrah past mid-off. He’d airlifted Bumrah over long-on for six, becoming only the second batter after Jos Buttler to hit the Indian pace supremo for multiple sixes in a Test innings. He’d also then run at Siraj and dismissed him over mid-wicket with disdain.
It wasn’t just the runs. It wasn’t just the boundaries. It wasn’t just the brazen courage with bat in hand.
It was the way he’d carried himself. Like he belonged. Like he was born to do this. Like he’d been ready for this stage.
He was the one demanding Bay 13 to roar louder for him at the end of an over where he’d got into a face-off with Siraj and also the smashed him for four.
This is what Kohli does to Indian crowds. This is what Hulk Hogan did to WrestleMania crowds. This was not just a boy taking on the world. This was a boy who was keen to take over the world.
Konstas had also got under the skin of the most influential cricketer in the world, and even pushed him to shoulder charge him.
An untoward and unnecessary act from Virat Kohli that was unbecoming of a player of his status. It showed how much the debutant had knocked the Indians off their game.
Pat Cummins had spoken before the Test about the benefits of making your entry as a teenager, with the leeway you get from the public and how it’s the selectors who are made to look like “idiots” if you fail.
Here, Konstas was making George Bailey, Tony Dodemaide and Andrew McDonald look like absolute geniuses.
Finding some dynamism at the top of the order to combat Bumrah was the rationale behind bringing the youngster into the mix.
But even they wouldn’t have expected it to come off in this fashion.
For him to go off in this manner. For the gamble to pay off in a way we’ll be talking about for generations to come.
It was just that special. It was just that sensational.
What it also achieved was take the pressure off those batting around him. Usman Khawaja, short on runs throughout this series, was kept away from his nemesis Bumrah for large parts of his first spell, only facing three balls in all during his new-ball burst.
It allowed the veteran opener, nearly double Konstas’ age, to settle into his own groove and end up scoring his first half-century of the summer.
Similarly, Marnus Labuschagne walked out to bat with Australia not only rollicking along in terms of run rate, but also with the Indians shell-shocked courtesy of the assault from Konstas. The fields remained defensive, as did captain Rohit Sharma, enabling Australia’s No.3 to rotate the strike and build his innings at his own pace.
Konstas had set a tempo that the rest of his seasoned batting partners could adjust their own approaches to, even as India took a while to shake off his impact and get themselves off the ground.
Even if his stay at the crease lasted less than 20 overs, and even if he only faced 65 balls for his breathtaking maiden score of 60.
This was Gen Z cricket at its best. This was a Gen Z cricketer coming into his own.
You could almost hear parents the country over going, “no way he was going to be able to stay away from his devices for that long” as he stood around posing for selfies.
In the midst of it all, there was also a cute moment.
This was still a teenager whose Boxing Days till now had been spent playing backyard cricket with his brothers and munching on his Greek grandma’s cooking.
“How does it work here? Can I change my gloves at the end of this over?” you could overhear him asking umpire Michael Gough over the stump mic.
It was after he’d smacked Bumrah for two fours and a six, all behind the wicket, with the most shock-and-awe display of batting probably ever seen on Test debut. On an unforgettable Boxing Day, when Sam Konstas took less than 40 minutes into being a Test cricketer to win over Australia.
More Coverage
In violent seas, crews forced to face tragedy
In ‘violent’ conditions in the middle of the night, two crews were forced to perform CPR on their crewmates with whom they had practically lived on board those vessels.
No celebrations at the finish this year
These are the first Sydney Hobart fatalities since the disastrous 1998 race that resulted in six lives lost and widespread race safety regulation reforms. What happens now?