 "Australia coach Andrew McDonald slams India for 'intimidating' Sam Konstas on Day 1 of Sydney Test")
Australia head coach Andrew McDonald slammed Jasprit Bumrah and the rest of the Indian team for “intimidating” Sam Konstas after the pacer dismissed his opening partner Usman Khawaja on Day 1 of the fifth Test in Sydney . Konstas has been getting under the skin of his opponents since getting his international career off to a superb start with a sparking fifty in Melbourne , whether by smashing Bumrah for boundaries using unorthodox shots such as the ramp or scoop or by sledging the likes of India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Bumrah had war of words with Konstas in the evening session of the ‘New Year’s Test’ at the Sydney Cricket Ground, and began walking towards the 19-year-old and gave him a long, hard stare after Khawaja nicked the ball to KL Rahul in the slip cordon to depart for 2. The dismissal occurred at the stroke of stumps and Konstas began walking away from Bumrah and the rest of the Indians, who were celebrating wildly around him, towards the pavilion.
Speaking to reporters after stumps on Day 2, which ended with India posting 141/6 on the board after bowling Australia out for 181 and securing a slender 4-run lead, McDonald labelled India’s celebration as “intimidating” and revealed that he checked with Konstas if he was okay.
“My conversation to him was just around whether he’s okay. Clearly the way that India celebrated that, it was quite intimidating,” McDonald said in the press conference after stumps
“So … I mean, it’s clearly within the Laws of the Game, within the rules and regulations, so there’s been no charges laid.
“But to have an opposition, obviously, swarm the non-striker like that, we have got a duty of care to our player to make sure he’s okay and in a head space to go out the next day and perform. So that’s all those conversations were,” added the 43-year-old former all-rounder, who represented Australia in four Tests in 2009.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsFiery scenes in the final over at the SCG!
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 3, 2025
How's that for a finish to Day One 👀#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/BAAjrFKvnQ
After scoring a 65-ball 60 in the fourth Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which the Aussies won by 184 runs to go 2-1 up in the five-match series and inch closer to regaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in nearly a decade, Konstas was dismissed for 8 in the second essay.
As for the ongoing Test, Konstas collected three boundaries and was off to a promising start before getting caught superbly by Yashasvi Jaiswal at gully off Mohammed Siraj’s bowling.
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Prasidh Krishna (3/42) and Siraj (3/51) collected three wickets each while Bumrah (2/33) – who suffered a back spasm for which he had to leave the ground for medical scans – and all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy (2/32) collected two each as the seam-bowling department bowled Australia out for 181.
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