Virat Kohli (left) and Sam Konstas got involved in an altercation on Day 1 of IND vs AUS Boxing Day Test.© X (formerly Twitter)
A physical altercation between India’s Virat Kohli and Australia’s teenager Sam Konstas turned out to be the most discussed topic on Day 1 of the fourth Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The brief showdown took place after the 10th over of the Australian innings on the opening day of the Boxing Day Test when the players were crossing over. Kohli and Konstas bumped shoulders while moving across the pitch in the face-off that was initiated by the travelling star. Former India batter Sunil Gavaskar has criticised Kohli for his act.
“Really, this can be avoidable. I mean, it’s like you are walking in a busy pedestrian street, and you see somebody coming at you, you just sway away,” said Gavaskar on Star Sports.
“There’s nothing; it doesn’t make you smaller if you move away. That’s the thing. And you don’t want to see these things on the field. Definitely not,” he added.
“My first instinct, looking at it without seeing the replays, was that both were looking down, so they didn’t see each other coming. Konstas was looking at his bat; Kohli had the ball in his hand, and he was doing something. But with that footage, we’ll see who gets fined more this evening,” Gavskar told further.
For his act, Kohli was fined 20 per cent of his match fee and handed a demerit point even though it was played down as an accidental bump by the 19-year-old debutant.
Kohli was eventually charged with breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct by on-field umpires Joel Wilson and Michael Gough, third umpire Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid and fourth umpire Shawn Craig.
(With PTI Inputs)
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