4th Test
Day-1 Afternoon Session Highlights:
Sam Konstas and Usman Khawaja has provided Australia with a strong foundation
At The Tea of Day-1:
Australia scored 176/2 (1st Innings) vs India
Usman Khawaja became the second Australian batter to score a half-century and be dismissed shortly after, but the hosts continued to dominate on a lively opening day of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
By the Tea interval, Australia had reached 176 for 2, with Marnus Labuschagne approaching his own half-century.
After a hectic start to the Test, the second session became more attritional as India’s seamers compensated for the softer ball and the lack of pace off the surface by bowling tight lines.
Akash Deep and Jasprit Bumrah each bowled two maidens to begin the post-lunch period before Khawaja pulled the 25th delivery for a boundary.
Both fast bowlers tested the bat and created half-chances, but the edges they induced didn’t carry to the slip fielders.
Khawaja managed to steer another thick edge past the fielders behind the stumps, bringing up his first half-century of the innings.
Runs, however, were hard to come by.
After scoring nearly 4.5 runs per over in the first session, the opening hour of the second session saw just 26 runs off 13 overs.
Rohit Sharma rotated his fast bowlers and even brought on Nitish Reddy for a two-over spell, but the breakthrough eluded him.
Eventually, the 65-run stand ended with a soft delivery from Bumrah at the start of his next spell.
Khawaja toe-ended a harmless short delivery on his hips to mid-wicket, falling for 57, much to the surprise of even Bumrah, who extended his dominance over the Australian opener with a fifth dismissal in the series.
Meanwhile, Labuschagne weathered a tough examination from Mohammed Siraj, enduring a couple of painful blows to the groin but finding ways to work the singles and edge closer to another half-century.
Earlier in the morning session, after Pat Cummins won his first toss of the series, the hosts dominated early, with debutant Konstas scoring a quickfire 60 off 65 balls in a thrilling assault on India’s attack.
The 19-year-old reverse-scooped, charged at India’s fast bowlers, and was unafraid to get into confrontations, eventually dismissed by Ravindra Jadeja.
Konstas had hinted at having a plan for countering top-ranked Bumrah before the match, and although the Indian pacer beat his bat four times early on, the youngster responded by attempting reverse scoops, though initially missing each one.
That changed in the seventh over, when Konstas hit three successful reverse scoops—two for boundaries and one that cleared the ropes, marking the first time Bumrah had conceded a six in Test cricket since the 2021 Sydney Test.
This shift in momentum forced Bumrah to adjust, and he began bowling more white-ball lengths.
Konstas, emboldened, executed a new plan, backing away and drilling the fast bowlers through the off-side.
He swatted anything short through mid-wicket, unafraid to take risks.
Bumrah’s six-over opening spell cost India 38 runs, with Konstas scoring 34 of those off 33 balls faced from India’s ace, allowing Khawaja to face only three balls from Bumrah in the first spell and get his innings underway against the other bowlers.
Konstas became Australia’s second youngest Test half-centurion, reaching the milestone off just 52 balls.
He celebrated by smashing Siraj for a four and a six off the next two deliveries, bringing his boundary count to eight (6 fours, 2 sixes).
His aggressive knock ended at 60 when Jadeja trapped him LBW to break the 89-run opening stand.
The young debutant walked off to a standing ovation, having set the stage for Khawaja and Labuschagne, who eased into their innings with relative comfort.
Leave a Reply