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Steven Smith was all in praise of young Sam Konstas, especially after witnessing him perfectly executing ramp shots off India's "national treasure" Jasprit Bumrah on the opening day of the fourth Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test at the iconic MCG.
The 19-year-old was called into the squad in place of Nathan McSweeney, who put in a shift to pile up runs across his name in the opening three Tests but eventually failed to deliver. With McSweeney faded away from the squad, Konstas had an uphill task to open for Australia in front of a sell-out crowd against a proven Indian pace attack. Konstas was exemplary throughout his stay on the crease and became a cherished face among the Australian fans. He made the headlines with a sublime ramp shot off Bumrah, declaring his intent to be aggressive even against the brand-new red ball. Smith, who witnessed the thrashing of the Indian pacers, didn't shy away from expressing his excitement and said in the post-day press conference, "I don't think much phases the young kid as we said yesterday he was reverse ramping Bumrah and I was having a heart attack in the box." "For a kid to start playing such shots against arguably one of the best bowlers to play the game shows some serious confidence and real courage. It swung the momentum in our favour," he added. He sent the Australian fans into a frenzy by executing his aggressive shots, oozing with confidence, which lifted the Australian team to a dominant position. Konstas ended his innings with 60 (65), which laid the foundation for Australia to land at a challenging total of 474. After Australia finished on a high with the bat, their bowling specialists walked the talk to leave India tottering at 164/5 at the end of Day 2. (ANI)
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