Melbourne: Australian debutant Sam Konstas admitted that he would have looked silly if he had gotten out on that ramp shot against Indian premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah but feels that it was a safe shot for him.
Konstas made his debut in place of Nathan McSweeney in the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series Thursday. The 19-year-old made an instant impact on the international stage with his fearless stroke play against Bumrah. During his 65-ball stay at the crease, the right-handed batter struck six fours and two sixes.
The Aussie teen attempted ramp shots against Bumrah in the seventh over of the innings and they went four, six and four. The Indian ace hadn’t been hit for a six in his previous 25 Tests over the past four years before Konstas did it twice at the Melbourne Cricket Ground Thursday.
“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’m always challenging myself, trying to bring the best out of myself – so just getting that contest with him and trying to take his lines away was important. I was facing him for the first time, so getting used to his action. He beat my bat quite a few times, and I was lucky enough to get a few away – it was a great contest,” Konstas told reporters after the day’s play.
“It probably would look silly if I did get out, but I worked pretty hard on that shot, and I feel like it’s probably a safe shot for me really,” he revealed on his ramp and reverse ramp shots. “That’s the beauty about being young, and maybe a bit naive! I’m just trying to put pressure back on the bowler in the best way I think,” Konstas added.
Speaking on the incident, when India star batter Virat Kohli had the ball in hand and changed his walking path to be in a shoulder collision. Konstas said, “I was just doing my gloves, and I think he accidentally bumped me.”
“That’s just cricket, the tension. For me, just having that freedom, backing myself and trying to bring the best version of each ball. (I was) lucky enough to get a few runs today. I was just trying to get in the contest, and whoever I was facing, just trying to bring the best version of myself. It got heated at times, which was good for me. (I) feel like that brings the best out of me,” he added.
Konstas, who scored a superb century against the Indian team earlier this month in a Prime Minister’s XI match, revealed his confidence stemmed from the trust placed in him by his captain and teammates. The teenager felt at home in the Australian setup, which allowed him to play his natural game.
“The boys and (skipper) Pat Cummins have been really good to me, just saying, be myself and I’m here for a reason because I’m scoring runs. I felt that was the right moment today to do it and yeah, it paid off,” Konstas shared.
India’s assistant coach, Abhishek Nayar, acknowledged Konstas’s performance but said the visitors had anticipated the young batter’s aggressive tactics.
“We saw him when we played the PM XI game prior to that as well, he got a hundred against us then as well,” Nayar said. “We knew what we were up against.”
Nayar highlighted that Konstas’s unique strengths were apparent during their analysis, even though they couldn’t stop him from executing his plans.
“It was refreshing to see someone come and play good cricket, whether that’s in our team or the opposition. It’s not something that surprised us, we did expect [it], and we obviously saw a lot of videos and we watched him practice as well.
“So we had an understanding that those are his strengths, they may be different from someone else’s. It’s always pleasing to the eye when it works.”
Following Konstas’s aggressive knock, senior players like Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, and Marnus Labuschagne contributed crucial half-centuries, helping Australia post a formidable 311/6 at stumps on Day 1.
IANS
