Amid the ongoing fourth Test in the Border Gavaskar Trophy at Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australian debutant opener Sam Konstas on Friday said that his attack on Indian ace pacer Jsaprit Bumraj on DAY 1 was ‘pre-meditated’.
The 19-year-old batter scored 60 runs in just 65 deliveries in his debut Test and was fierce against Jasprit Bumrah in his first spell, hitting a couple of audacious sixes.
“I reckon maybe 20-30 years ago, people were probably saying defend a lot, just about all day but I think for new generation, there are new shots,” NDTV quoted him as saying.
“It’s exciting for me obviously, I like doing that, putting pressure back on the bowlers and hopefully it pays off in the next innings,” he added.
Sam Konstas was included in the playing XI of the Australia Cricket Team, post they axed Nathan McSweeney. Sam Konstas was included in the Australian cricket Team’s playing XI after Nathan McSweeney was axed. Earlier in 2024, Konstas played against the India U-19 team in the age group World Cup final.
Spilling the beans:
Opening up on handling Bumrah, considered to the best bowler of current times, Konstas said, “Yeah, definitely premeditated especially with the pace but just trying to keep my head still and just watch it as hard on my back. But yeah, got a few away today and changed the field, which was good, and then trying to bolster my zones.”
However, Konstas was quite dismissive of the fear of failure.
“I think it probably will look silly if I do get out, but I worked pretty hard on that shot and I feel like it’s probably a safe shot for me really,” he said.
“But I think that’s the beauty about being young. It may be a bit naive, but I’m just trying to put pressure back on the bowlers, the best way I think is and yeah, good to get a few runs today,” he added.
However, he also mentioned that he is respectful of what a bowler of Bumrah’s calibre is capable of doing.
“He’s a legend of the game obviously. So I was trying to put a bit of pressure on him and it paid off today. I think I am always challenging myself, trying to bring the best out of me,” said Konstas.
Konstas ended his innings with 60 (65), which laid the foundation for Australia to land at a challenging total of 474. After Australia finished on a high with the bat, their bowling specialists walked the talk to leave India tottering at 164/5 at the end of Day 2.
