Sam Konstas’ whirlwind century for the Prime Minister’s XI against India on Sunday didn’t convince the tourists of the young opener’s potential Test-level quality, if reports on their reaction to his batting are any indication.
Konstas again thrust his name into baggy green calculations with a 90-ball ton in a rain-shortened fixture in Canberra, hitting 14 fours and a six – including an audacious reverse-ramp over the slips cordon – en route to 107 out of a team total of 240.
Coming off the back of his twin Sheffield Shield centuries for NSW against South Australia that saw him become the third-youngest player to hit two tons in a Shield match, Konstas’ performance against the pink ball facing a strong Indian attack including Test players Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar plus star veteran Ravindra Jadeja, has reignited calls for a Test call-up after Australia’s disastrous batting performance in Perth.
However, it seems the Indians don’t share that view, with a report by Sriram Veera in the Indian Express claiming Konstas’ batting greatly amused Rohit Sharma and co.
“At one point during Sam Konstas’s dynamic hundred, Sarfaraz Khan crept up from the slip cordon to stand close to the stumps,” Veera wrote.
“Konstas was looking towards square-leg initially, and when he eventually turned, he was face to face with the Indian. Sarfaraz would lift his right leg in the air, contort his body one way to the other, and twirl his arms in a wild fashion.
“In the slips, Rohit Sharma doubled over cracking in laughter, as did Rishabh Pant.”
The report gave Konstas’ century a mixed review, describing the pitch as ‘flat’ and the pink ball having done ‘nothing at all’ throughout the day – while also suggesting he doesn’t look the part for the highest level.
“If confidence is the meter to judge, in particular the confidence to play his shots, Konstas scored high marks,” Veera wrote.
“Aesthetics, though, won’t be a reason to watch him bat. He doesn’t have much to offer in that department, at least on the evidence on offer, but cricket at the highest level isn’t about how “beautiful” one’s batting is. But Konstas did come across as an effective risk-taker.”
India’s win in the Canberra fixture, rescheduled as a one-day match after the first of two scheduled days on Saturday was washed out, came with mixed results as the team look to take a 2-0 series lead in Adelaide’s day-night Test.
Shubman Gill proved he has recovered from the thumb injury that saw him miss the first Test with a fluent 50 before retiring, while Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul’s 75-run partnership suggested they will remain India’s first-choice opening pair even with captain Sharma set to return in Adelaide.
Sharma, however, managed just 3 off 11 balls before edging Charlie Anderson into the slips cordon, while Sarfaraz suffered an even more ignominious fate, strangling the part-time spin of Jack Clayton down the leg side for 1.