On Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, Australia’s Sam Konstas scored a half-century off just 52 balls against India, displaying a level of confidence rarely seen in a debutant. Early in the innings, Konstas unnerved the Indian pacers, particularly Jasprit Bumrah, with some brilliant T20-style smashes. Indian cricket legend Virat Kohli tried to irritate Sam in the middle as he was batting in sixth gear. In an attempt to agitate the 19-year-old batsman, Kohli seemed to shove Konstas’ shoulder during the opening session.
When Kohli and Konstas got into a heated argument in the middle, several players and the umpires stepped in to break it up. The Australian opener, however, was unfazed by the switch and proceeded to bat with the same vigour, reaching his first half-century.
At the age of 19 years and 85 days, Sam was given his baggy green hat by former Australian captain Mark Taylor on Thursday, making him the fourth youngest Test debutant for Australia.
Ian Craig, who made his debut for the Australians in 1953 at the age of 17,239 days, is at the top of the list. Second on the leaderboard is skipper Pat Cummins, who debuted in 2011 at the age of 18 years and 193 days.
Konstas garnered attention with a century against the visiting team when playing for the Prime Minister’s XI in a two-day match against the touring Indians following the Perth Test.
he has amassed 718 runs at an average of 42.2 in his 11 first-class games, including two hundreds and three half-centuries.
Konstas currently ranks as the fifth-highest run scorer in the Sheffield Shield season, amassing 471 runs at an average of 58.87 over five games, which includes two hundreds and a fifty, with a peak score of 152.
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