Cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar was amazed by the aggression shown by the Indian team and especially stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah on Day 1 of the final Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The atmosphere flared up when a heated altercation between Bumrah and young Sam Konstas unfolded towards the final moments of Day 1. The expressions on Bumrah’s face clearly indicated he wasn’t pleased with whatever Konstas had said to him while standing at the non-striker’s end.
On the next delivery after the fiery exchange, Bumrah gave a fitting reply to the young Australian. He put Usman Khawaja in an awkward stance to lure out a thick outside edge, with KL Rahul taking a sharp catch at the second slip.
The entire team celebrated in front of Konstas, with stalwart Virat Kohli being the most animated among all the Indian players. Bumrah initially charged and then slowed down while staring at Konstas, who walked away to avoid the Indian’s gaze.
“Yeah, they’re all fired up, and it’s great to see, right at the end of a long series, this kind of emotion. I mean, Bumrah has been phenomenal, and ‘great’ doesn’t seem to be enough to describe his performance as a bowler. To see him fired up in this fashion is quite rare. Sam Konstas–there’s something about him that gets under the skin of the Indian players. You saw Virat Kohli in the background as well, really fired up,” Manjrekar said on Star Sports.
While the Indian team celebrated with jubilation, Prasidh Krishna was seen staring back at Konstas. KL Rahul and Washington Sundar were among those who stayed calm as the day ended on a spicy note.
“If Bumrah is like this, you know it’s something special. But all in all, you’ve got to applaud the cricketers for having this kind of energy at the end of a long series. Shubman Gill is fired up, and in contrast, it’s good to have someone like Washington Sundar and KL Rahul being calm and calculated. That was fun to see, especially as it was backed up by some high-quality cricket,” he added.
The tangy taste of rivalry between India and Australia is expected to continue on Day 2, with the hosts set to resume their innings at 9/1, trailing by 176 runs.
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