19-year-old Australian opener Sam Konstas is back in the spotlight after an altercation with Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah. The young Kangaroos batsman has been trying to put pressure on Bumrah since his debut in Melbourne, but Bumrah was in no mood to take things lying down.
The incident occurred in the 3rd over of Australia's 1st innings when Bumrah ran in to bowl to Usman Khawaja. However, the Indian pacer was stopped by Khwaja, who took a little more time to get ready, perhaps to ensure it was the last over of the day.
Seeing Khwaja's reaction, non-striker Konstas stopped Bumrah, to which the Indian pacer could be heard asking, "What's the problem? Konstas then uttered a few words that irked the Indian pacer and the two players got into a confrontation. However, the on-field umpire quickly intervened and sent both players in different directions.
The price of Konstas verbal feud with Bumrah was paid by his opening partner as the 30-year-old pacer ran in to bowl an out swinging delivery that took the outside edge of Khwaja's bat and found its way safely into the hands of KL Rahul at slips.
Bumrah, known for his calm celebrations after a wicket, took a few steps towards Konstas, perhaps to show the youngster why he is the best bowler in the world at the moment.
Notably, Konstas had a terrific start to his Test career in Melbourne after playing some aggressive shots against Bumrah, scoring 60 runs at almost a run a ball. However, Bumrah had the better of the young Australian batsman in the 2nd innings when he dismissed him for just 8.
With Bumrah upset by Konstas' behaviour, the right-hander is likely to find it difficult to bat, at least in the early stages of the match. However, if he does survive, Australia will have a great chance of overcoming India's first innings total of 185 and taking a massive lead in the match.
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