Sam Konstas was involved in a controversial incident with Jasprit Bumrah on Day 1 of the fifth and final Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test in Sydney. Australia batter Sam Konstas was involved in a heated incident with India stand-in captain and pacer Jasprit Bumrah on Day 1 of the 5th Test in Sydney on Friday. For the unversed, Bumrah was not happy with Usman Khawaja taking extra time to take his guard. However, Sam Konstas decided to confront Bumrah.
The incident only riled Bumrah up as he dismissed Khawaja off the final ball of the day’s play, before clashing with Konstas, who was at the non-striker’s end. Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting has slammed Konstas for playing his part in riling up Bumrah, urging the youngster to mind his business.
Sam Konstas – Jasprit Bumrah 15 min show lits and fire up India on Day 2.
Sam Konstas once again invited controversy, as India took on Australia in the fifth and final Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024 match, in Sydney. The 19-year-old had a controversial altercation with Virat Kohli in the previous Test, which was also his debut. Then, he followed it up with another controversial incident on Day 1 of the fifth Test, and this time his victim was Jasprit Bumrah.
The final over of Day 1 saw Usman Khawaja on strike, facing Indian pace spearhead Bumrah. The opener made the bowler wait as he was about to begin his run-up, to make sure that it would be the final over of the day. But it didn’t receive a positive response from Bumrah, who made his displeasure known. On the other hand, Sam Konstas, who was at the non-striker’s end, decided to add some spice to the drama in an attempt to catch Bumrah off guard.
Sam Konstas and Bumrah exchanged words and before it could reach a tipping point, the umpires intervened. But Bumrah had the last laugh, as he bowled his final delivery of the day, getting Khawaja caught out behind. In celebration, Bumrah charged up at Sam Konstas and then stared down at him, and was followed by his other teammates.
Cameras also caught Virat Kohli sprinting from the slip region in celebration, and then charging up at Sam Konstas, before joining his teammates. Meanwhile, Prasidh Krishna was seen laughing at the opener. Former Aussie captain Ricky Ponting criticizes Sam Konstas after heated exchange with Jasprit Bumrah .
Former Aussie captain Ricky Ponting slams Sam Konstas after heated exchange with Jasprit Bumrah in BGT 2024-25 5th Test
Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has slammed Sam Konstas for getting himself involved in the verbal exchange between Jasprit Bumrah and Usman Khawaja. The two senior cricketers exchanged words over time wasting in the final over of the day’s play at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
The entire Indian contingent was fuming over Sam Konstas and Khawaja’s time-wasting tactics to ensure that Bumrah’s over was the last for the day. The stand-in Indian skipper seemed annoyed when Khawaja stopped him midway through his bowling run-up.
Tension flared when Sam Konstas said a few words at the ace Indian pacer before the duo walked towards each other. The umpires had to intervene and separate them. However, Bumrah had the last laugh, as Khawaja nicked one straight to KL Rahul to close out Day 1.
Throwing light on the verbal duels, Ponting claimed he is never a fan of time-wasting tactics. He told 7Cricket via Yahoo News:
“I never like playing around with a game of cricket like that,” the former Test captain said. “It has a way of coming back and biting you time after time. They tried their best to take time out of the game. And this is what has happened as a result.”
Ponting added that there was no need for Sam Konstas to get involved in the matter and he hoped there was discussion about the same in the Aussie dressing room.
“One guy you don’t want to upset is Jasprit Bumrah,” he added. “The way he’s bowled and the fact he has got Khawaja out five times in the series. I didn’t like Konstas getting involved. That was not his battle to fight. It was between Khawaja and Bumrah. For the young man there, I hope that there was some talking to from the Australian dressing room last night because he should have stayed out of that, let his senior player handle the last couple of balls.”
Sam Konstas, playing only his second Test, had some brief moments of joy before Mohammed Siraj dismissed him in the morning session of Day 2. Jasprit Bumrah drew early blood on the second day by dismissing Marnus Labuschagne before Siraj’s twin strikes put India in the driver’s seat.
The time-wasting tactic ultimately proved fatal for Australia as Jasprit Bumrah scalped Usman Khawaja’s wicket on the final delivery on Day 1. It was only the beginning of a dominant bowling display from India that saw them dismiss the hosts for 181 runs on Day 2.
In their second innings, India struggled to deliver with the bat at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Virat Kohli was dismissed for six runs whereas KL Rahul and Shubman Gill scored 13 each. Rishabh Pant charged at Australia’s bowling attack with a quick-fire 33-ball 61 but was eventually dismissed by Pat Cummins in the 23rd over. Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar will resume India’s second innings on Day 3 in Sydney. India currently leads Australia by 145 runs.
During the fourth Test, Sam Konstas was involved in a shoulder bump incident with Kohli, and the pair exchanged some words. Later on, he was seen mocking Kohli and the Indian fans by imitating the shoulder bump, on the request of Aussie fans.