Courtesy: Google
After the close of play on day two of the fifth and final Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) Test, Australian head coach Andrew McDonald addressed the press about the back-and-forth between Sam Konstas and the Indian cricket team. The 43-year-old accused India of “intimidating” Sam Konstas with their animated celebration after dismissing his opening partner Usman Khawaja late on day one at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
Notably, during the final over of day one in the Australian first innings, when Indian captain Jasprit Bumrah was rushing through his over to ensure his team bowled one more, Usman Khawaja tried to take time out of the game, which aggravated him. Moments later, non-striker Sam Konstas had a verbal exchange with Jasprit Bumrah, which was stopped by the umpires, following which, on the very next ball, Usman Khawaja got dismissed, and it led to the Indian players getting into Australian opener’s face.
Clearly, the way India celebrated that was quite intimidating for Sam Konstas: Andrew McDonald
The verbal exchange continued between the Indian players and the Australian teenage sensation on day two of the SCG Test. In the press conference after stumps were called, Andrew McDonald addressed the matter and said, as per ESPNcricinfo, “My conversation with him was around whether he's (Sam Konstas) okay. Clearly, the way India celebrated that was quite intimidating. It's clearly within the laws of the game, the rules and regulations. There's been no charges laid, but to have an opposition swarm the non-striker like that, we've got a duty of care to our player to make sure he's okay and in a headspace to go out there and perform."
When the journalists pressed Andrew McDonald about whether he thinks that the Indian players went too far in going after Sam Konstas, he responded, “It's clear that's acceptable because there was no fines or punishments, so I'll leave that up the ICC - Andy Pycroft being the match referee - and the umpires out there. If they thought it was satisfactory then I suppose that's the benchmark we are playing towards.”
Moreover, at the close of play on day two in the Sydney Test, India scored 141/6, leading by 145 runs after Rishabh Pant’s attacking fifty, while for Australia, Scott Boland got four wickets.
