Australia's 4th youngest
Test debutant Sam Konstas surprised cricket experts and fans as he attempted an audacious shot against India's pace lynchpin Jasprit Bumrah in the third over of the match.
Though, Konstas failed to get any connection off the attempted ramp shot, laughter and surprise comments were used by Ravi Shastri, Adam Gilchrist and Mark Waugh during the commentary.
Konstas didn't shy away from trying to play the same shot in Bumrah's next over as well but once again he fails to get any connection.
Earliest Reverse Ramp Attempt in a Test Since 2014
In an extraordinary moment during the third over of a Test match (at 2.5 overs), a batter attempted a reverse ramp—marking the earliest such shot recorded in a Test match since 2014, according to ESPNCricinfo's ball-by-ball logs.
Previously, Ben Duckett had attempted a reverse sweep off Noman Ali during the recent Rawalpindi Test, executing it on the last ball of the fourth over. Before that, the earliest recorded attempt off a pacer came from David Warner, who tried a paddle scoop against Stuart Broad in the sixth over (at 5.2 overs) during the Lord’s Test in 2023.
Sam Konstas Joins Elite List with Test Debut
Australia’s 19-year-old opener Sam Konstas from New South Wales has made his Test debut, replacing Nathan McSweeney in the playing XI. The right-handed batter marked a significant milestone as he received his Baggy Green, becoming the fourth-youngest player to debut for Australia in Test cricket.
Gill dropped; India throws weight on off-spin all-rounder Sundar
Australia skipper Pat Cummins won the toss and elected to bat against India in the Boxing Day Test here on Thursday.
India replaced top-order Shubman Gill with spin all-rounder Washington Sundar in their playing XI.
Australia, on the other hand, handed a Test debut to opener Sam Konstas while pacer Scott Boland came in for the injured Josh Hazlewood.
India skipper Rohit Sharma confirmed he will be back in the top order.
Teams:
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep
Australia: Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey(w), Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland.