"Borderline stupidity" - Former India cricketer's take on Sam Konstas' reverse-ramps on Day 1 of BGT 2024-25 4th Test
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has shared his views on Australian debutant Sam Konstas taking on Jasprit Bumrah on Day 1 (Thursday, December 26) of the fourth Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test in Melbourne. The 19-year-old reverse-scooped the ace Indian speedster as early as in the third over to take everyone by surprise.
Konstas replaced Nathan McSweeney in the playing XI after the latter failed to make an impact in the first three Tests of the series, scoring just 72 runs in six innings. The 11-first-class-match batter, known for his aggressive style of play, countered Bumrah with a few reverse sweeps.
Pathan termed Konstas' approach as 'borderline stupidity' before adding that the home side wanted someone like the youngster to tackle Bumrah, who has troubled Aussie openers until now.
"What I’m seeing with Sam Konstas is fearlessness & borderline stupidity. But that’s what Australia wanted. Wanted some one to face Jasprit Bumrah in different way," Irfan Pathan wrote on X.
Sam Konstas' aggression has so far yielded results for Australia, as they crossed the 50-run mark in the 11th over, with the youngster batting at 39 off 42 deliveries. On the other hand, Usman Khawaja has played the second fiddle to perfection, batting at 16 off 22 at the time of writing.
"There's a lot of talent there no doubt about it" - Ricky Ponting optimistic about Sam Konstas
Former Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting has pledged faith in young Konstas who showed a fearless attitude during the warm-up game between Indians and the Prime Minister's XI ahead of the first Test.
The right-hander scored a quickfire hundred (107 off 97) to earn a call-up to the Aussie squad for the final two Tests of the series.
“I've seen a lot, there's a lot of talent there no doubt about it,” Ponting told The ICC Review.
“The way he played in the PM's XI game (he scored 107 against the Indians), the way that he was able to approach his first BBL game the other night … I know it's different formats, but you can see that the talent is there and there's also a bit of an attitude to go with it. And not a bad attitude, (but) an attitude that he knows that he's good and he wants to show the world that he's good," he added.
Konstas has scored 718 runs in 18 First Class innings at 42.23, inclusive of two hundreds and three fifties.