Sam Konstas’ Box Office Performance in the Boxing Day Test

At just 19 years and 85 days old, Sam Konstas made his Test debut on Boxing Day at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). With only 11 first-class matches under his belt, he faced a full house at the MCG and quickly turned the crowd of 87,000 into his admirers.

Facing one of the best bowlers in the world, Jasprit Bumrah, Konstas took guard for the first delivery of his career. He appeared shaky in the opening over, beaten multiple times and narrowly avoiding an edge. However, he got off the mark in Bumrah’s second over with a single and attempted an audacious reverse ramp shot later in the same over, though without success.

Konstas, on five runs off 21 balls, faced Bumrah again in the 7th over. This time, he unleashed a flurry of shots—a scoop, a reverse scoop, and managed two boundaries and a six in the over. The crowd erupted, and even the commentators struggled to believe what they were witnessing at the MCG.

As the headline suggests, Sam Konstas delivered a box office performance in the Boxing Day Test. He targeted Bumrah early and later punished Mohammad Siraj with an exquisite square drive. After smashing Bumrah for a six over mid-on, he followed it up with another boundary on the next delivery.

Konstas reached his maiden Test fifty in style, scoring 50 off 52 balls with five fours and two sixes. His scintillating innings ended on 60 runs from 65 balls, falling leg-before-wicket to Ravindra Jadeja.

Before being dismissed, Konstas had expressed his fearless intent during a chat with the broadcaster, saying he wouldn’t hesitate to target Bumrah again. His aggressive mindset was evident on the field as well. When Virat Kohli nudged him unnecessarily, Konstas didn’t back down, holding his ground against the former Indian captain.

 

 

 

 

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After his dismissal, Konstas was seen cheerfully taking selfies with fans at the MCG and even giving a light-hearted interview. When asked if his Instagram followers had increased, Konstas humorously replied, “I’m on a five-day ban, I’ll check later.”

It was a whirlwind of events for Sam Konstas in a single day, but as he knows well, this is just the beginning of his cricketing journey.