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Openers Sam Konstas and Usman Khawaja gave Australia an early lead over India on Day 01 of the Boxing Day Test in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Thursday.
At Lunch, Australia stands at 112/1, with Usman Khawaja (38*) and Marnus Labuschagne (12*) on the crease. The first session of the Boxing Day Test on Thursday was all about the debutant Sam Konstas. The 19-year-old played fearless cricket at the MCG to give Australia an early advantage in the series. Konstas and Khawaja opened for the Aussies and cemented a partnership of 89 runs and gave a sigh of relief to the hosts. The India bowling attack led by Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj struggled to get a breakthrough in the first session as the Aussies openers continued to build on their partnership. Konstas played a bold inning and faced the mighty Bumrah without any fear. It didn't feel like it was the first time the 19-year-old was playing his maiden international match. In the seventh over, Konstas smashed consecutive boundaries against Bumrah. In the first ball, the youngster played a scoop shot and sent the ball over the stumps for a four. Meanwhile, in the second ball, the debutant reversed his stance and hit the ball over the boundary for a six. After smashing the over-head boundary, Konstas etched his name on the record books as he became the eighth batter to hit a six against Jasprit Bumrah in Test cricket. Bumrah kept gaining confidence as the first session went on, he slammed 6 fours and 2 sixes against the Indian bowling attack. In the 14th over, Konstas smashed his maiden international fifty and became the second youngest to score a half-century for Australia in Test cricket. Konstas blitz knock came to an end after Ravindra Jadeja came to the rescue of the visitors and removed the dangerous debutant from the crease in the 20th over. Marnus Labuschagne replaced Konstas on the crease. In the 22nd over, Australia crossed the 100-run mark. In the second session, the Indian bowling attack will be eyeing to bag early wickets and dethrone the hosts from the driver's seat. Meanwhile, Khawaja and Labuschagne will be looking forward to cementing a partnership and continuing their dominance over Australia. Brief score: Australia 112/1 (Usman Khawaja 38*, Sam Konstas 60; Ravindra Jadeja 1/20) vs India. (ANI)
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