Sam Konstas has had the best two days a 19 year could have. His innings on day one was audacious, creating heart attacks for Australian supporters early and then heartburn for India's cricket team by its conclusion. Konstas had to have fortune shining on him for his innings to work, and on the day he did. Surviving that first over from Bumrah was remarkable in itself, the attempted ramps in his second something surely no one expected. The fact that they then came off not long after that, causing the bowlers to lose their focus in the heat of the battle which not only allowed Konstas to make people stand up and take notice but gave Usman Khawaja the space to find his own form and work his way into the innings. Then today, for two sessions in the field, Konstas became a crowd her0. He channelled Marv Hughes on the boundary, he encouraged the crowd into clapping as Lyon bowled, he ran around the field and threw the ball at the stumps. And he smiled all afternoon. Think back to when you were 19. How much would you have loved to have done all of that?!
On the other hand, Virat Kohli is rattled and confused and struggling to find his feet. He offered his usual advice to the batters from second slip, but as Konstas continued on his merry way, he decided to take things into his own hands. His deliberate and unprovoked decision to walk and deliberately bump into the 19 year old, and feign responsibility and indeed claim it was Konstas's fault the collision occurred - all in an effort to get into his head and change his game plan - was a disgrace, and far below anything someone with his standing in the game should ever have stooped to. His arrogance in refusing to accept he did anything wrong is exactly how far he has fallen in recent times, and something that should have been immediately taken care of in the dressing room. The fact he barely got a slap on the wrist for this incident is only indicative of the power the BCCI holds in world cricket, and not an indication of the severity of the incident.
And his batting today exemplified that. Though he looked determined, even on a track that has flattened out completely he was not fluent and not at ease. Even so, he and Jaiswal had gotten India to within stumps at 2/153 when the kid on 82 hit the ball to mid-on and called yes immediately. If Kohli was on song, he would have just run on the call of his partner and would have made his ground. Instead, he thought about himself, looked around at the field, and his first movement was back into his crease rather than to the other end, and he barbequed his teammate who was destined for a century and more. Sure, some believe there wasn't a run there... but if he had trusted his partner, not stopped to look around at the field and just run, there would have been no problem. On a flatbed, Australia had made the breakthrough.
And with his head now out of place, he poked at a ball from Boland that he had spent all afternoon ignoring, and edged it to Carey to end his own innings at 36 just seven balls later. Instead of being 2/180 at stumps, India is 5/164 and the game is wide open again. Kohli has not had a good two days at all, while Konstas is having a ball.
The captains too are having a whole different game once again. Pat Cummins has been at the top of his game again. Winning the toss and batting was a fillip. Today he reached 49 in a partnership with Smith of over a hundred that truly set Australia up for their final score of 474. And today he again bowled the perfect delivery to dismiss the very solid looking KL Rahul on the final ball before tea, and he also dismissed his fellow captain. He fielded the ball that caused the run out of Jaiswal. And his tactics in switching the bowlers around constantly to find a wicket led to Scott Boland nabbing two before stumps from terrific bowling. So with bat, with ball, in the field and as a captain, Cummins has had a very successful two days.
On the other hand, Rohit Sharma looks a shell of the cricketer he once was and could well be playing his final Test match. His tactical acumen in the field for much of Australia's innings was a dismal failure. He had no idea how to attack Konstas, and lucked out with Khawaja and Labuschagne pretty much dismissing themselves. Then today then seemed no plan to dismiss the Australians, it seemed as though he was just hoping that Bumrah would run through the tail, and when he didn't, he had no plan B. Cummins and Starc are solid bats, but should they have batted without many problems like they did today? He was months overdue to utilise a short ball policy against Cummins, and even then his bowlers didn't seem able to comprehend it. The field and bowling plans looked as though they fell apart, and Sharma just let the game run without trying to find a way to change it.
He then came back out as opener, hoping to find a way to break out of his form slump and lead his team with the bat. He lasted five balls, and fell to a shot that was neither one thing or the other. His confidence has gone, and he is at an age where it is very difficult to rediscover it.
Finally, with 25 minutes still left in the day, Sharma decided to send in a night watchman in front of Rishab Pant when Jaiswal was dismissed. Now that is a scrambled decision from the captain. Designed to protect a batter, but telling him to last almost half an hour at the crease. Which he did not. There was no justification for the decision, and it seemed one made with a belief of disaster rather than an air of confidence.
Two days down, and there is still a lot of cricket to be played, and a result is still not certain for either team. Australia though appear better placed, and India have an air of resignation about them. Day three could well decide the match. It has been a fascinating Boxing Day Test so far. It looks as though that will continue into the next three days.
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