During a crowd interaction at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Day 2 of the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25, Australian rookie Sam Konstas imitated Virat Kohli’s iconic shoulder barge.
It happened on Day 1 when Kohli shoulder-pushed Konstas during a change of overs in the morning session. Before the umpires stepped in, a furious verbal altercation broke out between the young Australian and Indian bowlers as they were confidently pounding them to all corners of the ground. The Australian media and previous cricket players criticised Kohli’s behaviour, calling him excessively aggressive. Konstas, meanwhile, had a stunning debut, hitting 60 from 65 balls.
For violating the ICC Code of Conduct, Virat Kohli was fined 20% of his match earnings and given one demerit point by the International Cricket Council (ICC). In spite of the criticism, Konstas later played down the incident, claiming that it was a result of intense emotions on the pitch and that it was just a part of the game.
On Day 2, Konstas imitated Kohli’s shoulder barge while interacting with the audience. In addition to taking selfies with the supporters and starting a Viking Clap at the completion of the 26th over, the young rookie delighted the crowd all day long.
Check out the viral Sam Konstas moment here:
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On his debut for Australia, Sam Konstas scored an excellent fifty.
With Steve Smith scoring a century to lead Australia to an excellent first-inning total of 474, Sam Konstas’ maiden knock set the tone for the match. A mix-up with opener Yashasvi Jaiswal ended Virat Kohli’s 36-run innings for the Indian team, resulting in the latter’s run-out. The fact that Kohli fired Scott Bland only made India’s problems worse. Later, the ship was steadied towards the side by Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy.