Boxing Day Test: Australia reach 176/2 at tea

MELBOURNE: Debutant Sam Konstas set the tone with an audacious half-century as Australia cashed in on an erratic Indian bowling to reach 176 for 2 at tea on day one of the fourth Test here on Thursday.

Making his debut in-front of a near sell-out Boxing Day crowd, Konstas didn’t show any nerves during his scintillating 60 off 65 balls, which comprised of two sixes off India’s best bowler Jasprit Bumrah.

He also didn’t mind a good scrap with India’s superstar Virat Kohli, whose shoulder brush with the 19-year-old led to a brief confrontation.

In fact, Bumrah was hit for a six for the first time in a Test since Cameron Green hit him for one back in 2021. The gap between Konstas’ first six, which was a reverse lap scoop, and one that Green hit was 4000 legal Test match deliveries.

The way he attacked the Indian bowling with great gusto gave his veteran opening partner Usman Khawaja (57 off 121 balls) chance to get back to form with a patient half-century.

Khawaja would be really annoyed with himself as he couldn’t time a pull-shot off a Bumrah half-tracker which went straight into KL Rahul’s hands post-lunch.

The duo added 89 runs in such quick time that Marnus Labuschagne (44 batting off 109 balls) and last match’s centurion Steve Smith (10 batting off 25 balls) didn’t need to show any urgency.

For Konstas, it all began with few play and misses off Bumrah’s opening over but as soon as the teenage opener got his first couple of runs, things changed dramatically.

The fearlessness of youth stood out on the big stage as Konstas pulled off a reverse lap-scoop against Bumrah before smashing him over mid-on for another maximum.

There was another reverse lap scoop for a boundary wide of third man, using Bumrah’s extra pace.

The fans and experts alike were forced to think the last time Bumrah (1/50 in 15 overs) was hit for two sixes in his first morning spell of a Test match. They couldn’t because it never happened in a first spell.

The stump mic caught Bumrah saying “Beginner’s Luck” but he seemed to have enough wares to answer his probing queries. And it was laced with a lot of spunk that allowed him to get into a verbal duel with Kohli after their shoulders brushed while crossing each other.

He often shuffled towards leg-stump to make room and on one occasion crunched Bumrah past cover. Mohammed Siraj was welcomed into the attack with a loud round of boos as he sledged the youngster due to his unconventional hitting style.

In all, he hit six fours apart from the two maximums. Only Akash Deep bowled a good channel among the pacers as Siraj was guilty of bowling too full or too short.

As Australia scored at more than a fair clip, skipper Rohit Sharma had to introduce Ravindra Jadeja (1/33 in 11 overs) in the 16th over to at least stem the flow of runs before it went out of hand.

The decision did pay dividends as the seasoned spinner got an arm ball to skid through with the angle to trap Konstas in front. Khawaja and Labuschagne then added 65 for the second wicket with the Pakistan-born opener hitting Akash Deep for a couple of boundaries to complete his first fifty of the series.