Ricky Ponting's Unapologetic 'Moral Lesson' to Kohli on Konstas Episode: Recalls Sledging Harbhajan at 19

With the series tied at 1-1, India faced off against Australia in the fourth Test match of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Melbourne on Thursday. Day 1 saw the debut of 19-year-old Sam Konstas, who came in to replace Nathan McSweeney for the remaining two matches. Konstas made an immediate impact with his aggressive batting, helping to put his team in a strong position. However, he also found himself in hot water after getting into a heated verbal exchange with Indian captain Virat Kohli during the morning session.

The incident took place at the end of the 10th over, when both teams were changing sides and Kohli shouldered Konstas. Konstas was at 27 runs off 38 balls at that time, and accelerated in the next over which was bowled by Jasprit Bumrah. He registered 18 runs in that over, with two fours and a six. Reacting to the incident, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting criticised Kohli, and accused him of ‘instigating’ the incident. Speaking on Channel 7, he said, “Have a look where Virat walks. Virat’s walked one whole pitch over to his right and instigated that confrontation. No doubt in my mind whatsoever.”

Also Read: 'First time I've seen Bumrah go for yorkers, slower balls inside first 6 overs': Konstas shook India pacer's confidence

“I have no doubt that the umpires and the referee will have a good look at that. Fielders should be nowhere near the batsman at that stage. Every fieldsman on the ground knows where the batsmen will congregate and get together.

“It looked to me that Konstas looked up really late; he wouldn’t even know anyone was in front of him. That man on-screen there (Kohli) might have a few questions to answer,” he added.

Ricky Ponting destroyed by fans

Ponting’s comment on Kohli wasn’t well-received by fans, who took to X to slam the cricket legend. One fan reminded Ponting that he had ‘once sledged and mocked a young 19-year-old Harbhajan Singh’. The incident happened during a match between India and Australia, with Ponting batting at no. 3.

He raced to 31 off 25 balls, but was outfoxed by Harbhajan as he got him stumped by Nayan Mongia. Harbhajan had a send-off celebration for Ponting, who barged into the spinner and they exchanged some words.

Here are the other reactions:

Konstas was on fire in his debut, and hammered 60 off 65 balls, at a strike rate of 92.31. Meanwhile, Australia reached 311/6 at Stumps on Day 1, with Steve Smith (68*) and Pat Cummins (8*) remaining unbeaten.

Stay informed with the... .freemium-card h4{color:#fff; padding-bottom:20px;} .freemium-card .freemium-content .subcTxt{padding-bottom:16px; color:#fff;} .freemium-card .freemium-content{width: auto; max-width: inherit;} .freemium-card .freemium-content .subcTxt{max-width:inherit; font-size:18px; padding-top:0; line-height:24px} .freemium-card .btnSubc{margin} .freemium-card .btnSubc a{background:#000; color:#fff; min-width:auto; padding:5px 15px; border-radius:6px; font-size:16px; line-height:22px; font-weight:700;} .freemium-card{height:285px} @media (max-width: 767px) { .freemium-card h4{font-size:28px} .freemium-card .freemium-content{max-width:360px; padding: 20px;} .freemium-card{height:303px; background-position: 100% 0; } }