🏏Australia vs India, 4th Test: Melbourne, 26 - 30 Dec 2024: Day 5 🏏 - Page 10

End of over 17

Maiden

AUS: 83/0

CRR: 4.88

Usman Khawaja

27 (43b 3x4)

Sam Konstas

55 (59b 6x4 2x6)

Akash Deep

3-1-5-0

Ravindra Jadeja

1-0-5-0

Hassan: Aussies needed someone to counter Bumrah at the top. Cummins would be glad to give Konstas a debut.

Bumrah opening spells this BGT

First 3 Tests: 8/54 in 30 overs (5 X 4s, 0 X 6s)

Today: 0/38 in six overs (5 X 4s, 2 X 6s)

Pete: "There have been some truly exciting new Test players who've debuted this year: O'Rourke, the Smiths, Shamar Joseph, Carse, Reddy, Stubbs, Bethell, Atkinson, Sarfaraz Khan etc. and now Kostas is another one. It is great to see all this young talent."

End of over 25

3 runs

AUS: 112/1

CRR: 4.48

Marnus Labuschagne

12 (12b 2x4)

Usman Khawaja

38 (73b 3x4)

Jasprit Bumrah

8-3-41-0

Akash Deep

6-1-15-0

The 2024 Boxing Day Test first session will be remembered for how young Sam Konstas announced his arrival to the world with a whirlwind knock. There was a lot of talk about how he would fare against Bumrah; he was beaten four times in the first over, missed a couple of reverse scoops in the next two but got going with a conventional scoop in Bumrah's fourth over and never looked back from there on. He scored 34 off Bumrah's first spell and that put Australia right on top. What it also did was keep Khawaja away from Bumrah - the left-hander, who has been dismissed four times by Bumrah in this series, faced only 3 balls in his first spell. Konstas reached his fifty off 53 balls and he had India rattled. Australia registered their highest opening partnership of the series and it was only broken when Konstas misread Jadeja's slider.

And with that we go to lunch. What a first session for Australia, and what a first session as a Test cricketer for Sam Konstas. Beaten four times in his first over by Bumrah, and beaten multiple times thereafter, but that didn't stop him from trying to put Bumrah and India off with his scoops, reverse-scoops and forays out of his crease. He scored one of the more memorable debut fifties you'll ever see, and gave India something very, very different to contend with after the top-order displays they've seen from Australia so far in the series. All this in the heat of a 40-ish-degree day. Ravindra Jadeja got Konstas out towards the end of that session, but it looks like India will have a lot more hard work to do over the next two sessions today. Australia couldn't have asked for a better start to Boxing Day.

They started scoring on a fast pace, that will be the deciding factor in the 4th innings.

AUS 112/1 (25)

CRR: 4.48

Day 1: Lunch Break

Akash Deep to Khawaja, no run, 136.2kph back of a length ball shaping in on off, Khawaja hops to keep it out. Three maidens in a row after the lunch break

Akash Deep to Khawaja, FOUR, Khawaja breaks the shackles! A shortish delivery outside off, comes at a good height to Khawaja. He stands tall and pulls it with aplomb over mid-wicket to get the desired result