Sydney [Australia], January 1: Australia wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey addressed the incident involving Sam Konstas and Virat Kohli during the first day of the Melbourne Test, saying that the young Aussie cricketer didn’t take the shoulder bump to heart.
Australia secured a thrilling 184-run victory over India in the Melbourne Test, taking a 2-1 lead in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, while also ending India’s hopes of qualifying for the World Test Championship (WTC) Final.
In a pre-match press conference, Carey reflected on the exchange between 19-year-old Konstas and Kohli, stating that he had seen a photo of the two cricketers shaking hands and sharing a tap on the back after the match. Carey acknowledged that he wasn’t completely sure about the details of what had happened on the field but emphasized that Konstas didn’t take the incident personally.
“I think I saw a photo of them shaking hands and a little tap on the back. Oh, it’s Test cricket. Yeah, I’m not 100% sure. But Sam didn’t take it to heart,” Carey said.
Konstas, who was called up to the squad in place of Nathan McSweeney, faced a challenging task of opening for Australia against a formidable Indian pace attack in front of a packed crowd. The debutant was one of the standout players of the match, with his aggressive style of play, particularly a sublime ramp shot off Jasprit Bumrah in the first innings. Konstas scored 34 of his 60 runs against Bumrah, and his performances made him an instant favorite among Australian fans.
However, he also made headlines after a physical shoulder-to-shoulder encounter with Virat Kohli, which led to a heated exchange between the two. Kohli was later fined 20% of his match fee by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and received one demerit point for the altercation.
Australia had set India a challenging target of 340 runs on Day 5 of the Melbourne Test. Despite the entire day to chase the target, India was bowled out for 155 in the 80th over, sealing Australia’s victory.
The teams will meet again for the final match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Sydney Cricket Ground on January 3.