On debut, Konstas lights up MCG

Australia wanted to throw something different at India and it was debutant Sam Konstas that uncorked the party popper in front of a festive crowd on Boxing Day. The 19-year-old reverse-scooped and charged India's fast bowlers, was unafraid to get into confrontations and bolted away to a 65-ball 60 before Ravindra Jadeja eventually dismissed him. Australia, who elected to bat on a good surface, raced away to 112 for 1 after the opening session.

Konstas had said pre-match that he had his plans of countering the top-ranked Jasprit Bumrah. Come match day, Bumrah managed to beat his bat as many as four times in the early exchanges. Konstas's response was to try a pair of reverse scoops but his bat only connected the thin Melbourne air on each occasion.

That match-up turned on its head in the seventh over when Konstas connected thrice with his attempted reverse scoops. Two went to the ropes and the other dropped over it – the first time Bumrah had conceded a six in the format since the Sydney Test of 2021. It was cat among the pigeons for India, a period of play that saw Bumrah turn to bowling white-ball lengths.

Once he'd forced India into putting a fly stop in the first hour of a Test match, Konstas set about on a new plan: to back away and drill the fast bowlers through the off-side. He swatted away anything short through mid-wicket, unafraid to hit the ball in the air. Bumrah's six-over opening spell cost India 38 runs with Konstas having scored 34 off the 33 he faced from India's talisman. More importantly, that meant Usman Khawaja, who has fallen four times to Bumrah in this series, faced only three balls from his nemesis in that first spell and could get his innings flowing against the others.

Konstas became Australia's second youngest Test match half-centurion, getting to the feat off just 52 balls. He marked that feat by smashing Siraj for a four and a six off the next two deliveries, taking his tally of boundaries to eight (6x4s;2x6s). His enterprise eventually ended on 60 when Jadeja beat him on the inside edge and won an LBW appeal to break the 89-run opening stand. But the youngster, who walked back to a rousing ovation, had set the innings up for the rest of the batters against a ball that was already 20-overs-old. It was indicative in Marnus Labuschagne's confident beginning with a pair of boundaries against Jadeja while Khawaja moved to 38*. India, who opted to bring Washington Sundar into the XI at the expense of a pure batter in Shubman Gill, will have a task on their hand to fight back on the opening day.