Allan Border lauds Sam Konstas for impressive debut at MCG, says youngster will be long term player for Australia

Former Australian captain Allan Border showered praise on Sam Konstas for catching Indian bowlers off guard in the first innings of the fourth Test match of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar trophy at the MCG. Konstas, 19, made an impressive debut as he took the attack to India’s new ball pair of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj from the get-go.

The Australian opener scored a quickfire knock of 60 runs off just 65 balls to put the hosts in front in the opening session of the fourth Test. The young lad also played the ramp shots against Jasprit Bumrah and took everyone by surprise.

Konstas added 89 runs with his opening partner Usman Khawaja, which was Australia’s highest opening alliance in the series.

“If you look at that first day, India really had no answer. All of a sudden, he [Konstas] put it to them and they really had no answer to that batting. Traditionally you have the field up for the new ball, so what do you do? You start spreading the field,” Border said on Sydney Morning Herald.

Border recalled how former England all-rounder and captain Sir Ian Botham got under the skin of the opposition with his blistering batting.

“Having been through it with someone like Ian Botham – he didn’t do it all the time but every now and then he’d start whacking it – it’s very hard to get it right. What do you tell the bowler, what field do you set, it’s really difficult not to go on the defensive, and then once you do that, the opposition have got the momentum. It’s really difficult to combat,” Border added.

The former Australian skipper backed Konstas to play for a long time for Australia as he feels he has a solid technique.

“I’m a big wrap – only watched him play a few times, but he’s got a great technique when he needs to have one, and he also can play a lot of shots if he has to. So he’s going to be a long-term player for sure.”

The fifth and final Test match between Australia and India will be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3 onwards.