‘I won’t be surprised if Virat Kohli takes Sam Konstas under his wing’ – Stuart Clark reacts to shoulder-bumping incident at MCG

Sam Konstas and Virat Kohli. (Photo Source: Disney+ Hotstar)

Virat Kohli and Sam Konstas hogged the limelight on Day 1 of the ongoing Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) after the veteran cricketer shoulder-bumped the Aussie teenager between overs. The two cricketers also got into a war of words shortly after the incident. After the end of play on Day 1, Kohli was fined 20 per cent of his match fee and handed one demerit point by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Former Australia pacer Stuart Clark said that Konstas is someone who won’t back away from a tough competition. However, the former believes that the incident between Konstas and Kohli is a thing of the past and he expects the two players to bury the hatchet at the end of the Test match.

“He’s (Konstas) a competitor. He wants to compete. He wants to do well. So, from that point of view, I think that incident (shoulder-barging) that happened in history, I think what you’ll find is, I wouldn’t be surprised if (Virat) Kohli takes him under his wing,” Clark said.

“And there’ll be a photo of them after the game, smiling and laughing about it. He won’t take a backward step. No one expects Kohli to either. No one expects anyone to take a backward step. It was just not a great incident,” he added.

Konstas made his debut memorable as he slammed 60 off 65 deliveries with the help of six fours and two sixes. Meanwhile, Kohli made an 86-ball 36 in India’s first innings.

Also Read: ‘There has been no official complaint from India’ – MCC CEO on Australian crowd heckling Virat Kohli

Australia posted 474 in their first innings after Pat Cummins won the toss and opted to bat first. At the end of Day 3, the match is intriguingly poised as India are 358/9, trailing Australia’s first innings score by 116 runs. Fans have witnessed some riveting cricket so far in the Test match and they would be hoping for more of the same on the last couple of days.