India vs Australia: Virat Kohli Faces Boos from Melbourne Crowd as Tensions Run High
Virat Kohli faced boos from the Melbourne crowd during the Boxing Day Test after a controversial shoulder bump with Australian debutant Sam Konstas. Kohli was fined 20% of his match fee and earned a demerit point. Konstas impressed with 60 runs, including 34 against Bumrah. Despite boos, Indian fans applauded as Kohli scored 20* on Day 2’s post-tea session.
After an unfortunate incident involving Australian debutant Sam Konstas on Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG, Virat Kohli faced jeers from the Melbourne crowd as he walked out to bat during the post-Tea session on Day 2. The incident, which saw Kohli deliberately bump into Konstas in an attempt to unsettle the 19-year-old, led to the ICC penalizing Kohli with a 20% match fee fine and one demerit point.
Despite Kohli accepting the punishment, a section of Australian fans expressed their displeasure with boos as he entered the field. Konstas, making his Test debut, had impressed earlier with an aggressive knock of 60 runs, including innovative shots against India’s top pacers like Jasprit Bumrah, off whom he scored 34 runs. Kohli’s tactic to disrupt the youngster backfired, and Australian media criticized him heavily, with a newspaper branding him a “clown”.
In the ongoing match, India lost Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul in quick succession, leaving Kohli and Yashasvi Jaiswal to stabilize the innings. Jaiswal scored a steady 55 off 83 balls, while Kohli reached 20 off 45 deliveries by stumps. India finished at 103/2 after 29 overs, trailing Australia’s imposing first-innings total of 474 by 371 runs.
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