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Young batting sensation Sam Konstas on Thursday etched his name on the history books as he made his international debut for Australia at the Boxing Day Test of the ongoing Border Gavaskar Trophy against India at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Konstas became the fourth youngest Test debutant for Australia on Thursday as he received his baggy green cap from former Aussie skipper Mark Taylor at the age of 19 years and 85 days. Ian Craig tops the list after he played his maiden game for the Aussies in 1953 at the age of 17 years 239 days. Skipper Pat Cummins holds the second place on the chart as he made his debut at the age of 18 years and 193 days in 2011. Tom Garrett stands in third place and Clem Hill holds the fifth place on the chart. Featuring for the Prime Minister's XI in a two-day game against the touring Indians after the Perth Test, Konstas attracted the spotlight with a century against the visiting side. In his 11 first-class matches Konstas has scored 718 runs at an average of 42.2, including two centuries and three half-centuries. Konstas played a vital role in Australia's ICC U19 World Cup 2024 triumph, scoring 191 runs in seven innings at an average of 27.28, including a century. He also featured in a two-match series between Australia A and India A ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, scoring 92 runs in four innings, highlighted by a match-winning 73*. In the warm-up pink-ball game against India, he stamped his authority with a classy 107 off 97 balls against a formidable Indian attack. In the ongoing Sheffield Shield season, Konstas is the fifth-highest run-getter with 471 runs in five matches at an average of 58.87, including two centuries and a fifty, with a best score of 152. Currently, the ongoing BGT series level at 1-1, both sides will be playing the much-anticipated Boxing Day Test intending to secure an all-important series lead needed to push a case for the ICC World Test Championship final. Earlier last week, Australia made a couple of changes to its squad, addressing the absence of Josh Hazlewood and concerns in the top order. The hosts have added Beau Webster, Jhye Richardson, and Sam Konstas to the squad before the fourth Test match of the series. Australia Playing XI: Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey (WK), Pat Cummins (C), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland. India Playing XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep. (ANI)
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