Teenager Sam Konstas hit the third-fastest half-century by an Australian Test debutant on the first day of the fourth Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Konstas (60 off 65) also got into a heated exchange with Virat Kohli after the pair clashed shoulders at the end of the 10th over, with umpire Michael Gough and Usman Khawaja having to step in to calm things down before the 19-year-old. trapped leg by Ravindra Jadeja (1-54).
Khawaja (57), Marnus Labuschagne (72) and Steve Smith (68 not out) shared half-centuries in front of a crowd of 87,242 after skipper Pat Cummins elected to bat to reach 311-6 with India’s Jasprit Bumrah (3 -75) being the pick of the bowlers.
Virat Kohli (R) shares a heated exchange with Sam Constance (L) and Usman Khawaja
India’s Virat Kohli had a heated exchange with Australia’s Sam Constance on day 10 of the first over.
Umpire Michael Gow intervenes after Virat Kohli gets into a heated exchange with debutant Sam Konstas on the first day of the Boxing Day Test.
Khawaja scored his first half-century of the series before Bumrah hit 154-2 when the left-hander hit a slog off K.L. Rahul at mid-wicket.
Labuschagne then added 83 runs for the third wicket with Smith to take Australia to 237-2, but the hosts lost the momentum when first run by pacer Washington Sundar (1-37).
Travis Head, the leading run-scorer of the series, bowled Bumrah for a duck, a crucial breakthrough for the tourists three runs later.
Bumrah then dismissed Mitchell Marsh (4) cheaply as Australia suffered a middle-order collapse, losing three wickets for nine runs.
Seamer Akash Deep (1-59) also contributed, dismissing Alex Carey (31) with the new ball to break a 53-run partnership with Smith, leaving Cummins (8no) at the crease to provide support.
The five-match series is level at 1-1 after a rain-soaked draw in Brisbane, with the final Test scheduled to begin on January 3 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
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