Sam Konstas exchanged barbs with Jasprit Bumrah in a heated end to the first day of the fifth Test in Sydney, with umpires having to come between the two.
In a dramatic end to the game, Bumrah and Konstas clashed for the first time when Usman Khawaja walked away from a ball, with the India captain accusing him of stalling to ensure this was the last finish of the day.
Konstas inserted himself responding to Bumrah, prompting both referees to intervene and order their partner to return to their positions.
With tensions high, Khawaja was caught at second slip off the last ball of the day and India’s talismanic seamer and several teammates ran straight to Konstas to celebrate in his face.
The incident became the flashpoint of a chaotic opening day after India were bowled out for 185 and Australia were bogged down at 1-9.
Konstas has clearly troubled India in their first two Tests.
Virat Kohli hit him on the shoulder between overs on his debut in Melbourne last week, a move that cost the Indian veteran a fine of 20 per cent of his match fee.
Friday’s Bumrah-Konstas exchange is also likely to be in the spotlight.
In a dramatic end to the game, Bumrah and Konstas clashed for the first time when Usman Khawaja walked away from a ball, with the India captain accusing him of stalling to ensure this was the last over of the day (pictured).
Konstas inserted himself by replying to the conversation with Bumrah, prompting both referees to intervene and order their partner to return to their positions.
There is also the question of whether Konstas’ delivery acted to fire up Bumrah before the big quick dealt a crucial blow to the tourists by taking the wicket of Khawaja.
Konstas showed his aggression with the bat immediately on Friday, carrying Bumrah’s first ball and giving him four by the end of the day.
“I’m not really sure (what happened), it was interesting,” said Australian debutant Beau Webster.
‘I was sitting next to Heady (Travis Head) in the rooms watching TV.
‘The first ball, when he ran down the wicket and hit it at mid-wicket, there was no longer any surprise. It was like, ‘Here we go, he’s far away.’
“He’s a very confident young man. That’s what they do nowadays, they go after it and they try hard.
“He’s got all the skills and talent to back him up, so hopefully he has a really good day tomorrow and gets some good runs on the board and puts us in a decent position.”
India goalkeeper Rishabh Pant also downplayed the situation after the game.
‘I feel like they had a little chat, they wanted to waste some time. I think that’s the reason why he had a conversation with Jasi (Bumrah),’ Rashibh said.
“He said something, I didn’t hear it, but I feel like all he wanted to do was waste some time so we don’t play again.”