Bumrah vs Konstas adds brand-new chapter in iconic rivalry as the brash teenager fires up the mild-mannered India skipper.
Bumrah vs Konstas latest coming together adds more spark to one of the series’ most compelling duels.
In a dramatic conclusion to the first day of the last Test at the SCG, Sam Konstas was at the focus of a heated argument with India’s substitute skipper Jasprit Bumrah. This has set up another exciting match when play starts on Saturday.
With only fifteen minutes of the day left, Australia began their reply. On the first delivery, Konstas walked down the crease at Bumrah and blasted him through midwicket. Following Usman Khawaja’s withdrawal from the strike, which appeared to be an attempt to buy time so that there wouldn’t be another over, Konstas and Bumrah spoke before what turned out to be the day’s penultimate ball.
Umpire Sharfuddoula intervened when Konstas moved to face Bumrah and seemed to say something. The subsequent delivery went through off-stump outside. When Bumrah had Khawaja edge to second slip with the day’s last ball, he turned and looked directly at Konstas at the non-striker’s end, taking a few steps in his direction before being joined by a number of teammates in a wild celebration.
“I feel they had a little chit-chat,” Rishabh Pant said of the exchange. “They wanted to waste some time. I feel that’s the reason he had a conversation with Jassi [Bumrah]. He [Konstas] said something, I didn’t hear it, but I feel that’s the only thing which he wanted to do to just waste some time so we don’t bowl one more over.”
“It was an interesting one,” Beau Webster said of how Australia’s innings started. “I was sitting next to Heady [Travis Head] in the rooms watching on the TV and the first ball he [Konstas] ran down and clipped him over midwicket. There almost wasn’t surprise anymore, it was like there he is, he’s away.
“Sammy’s a very confident young man, it’s what they do these days, those youngsters, they get after it and put themselves out there. He’s got all the skills and all the talent to back it up so hopefully he has a really good day tomorrow and puts a few runs on the board.”
Bumrah’s late strike will raise India’s hopes that he has one more huge performance in him to cap an outstanding series with the visitors needing to win to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.