‘Virat Kohli was frustrated… Sam Konstas got his skin’: Ex-AUS star’s no-nonsense take on IND maestro struggles

Veteran Australia wicketkeeper Brad Haddin boldly claimed that young Sam Konstas got under Virat Kohli‘s skin as he failed to put up big scores and got out in the same fashion. Kohli collided shoulder to shoulder as he walked past 19-year-old Konstas during the Boxing Day Test, which sparked a controversy. The Indian superstar was later fined 20 per cent of match fees. It was during the day of the Test match when Kohl bumped into Konstas as he was walking down the pitch for a chat with opening partner Usman Khawaja at the end of the 10th over on the opening day of the fourth test.

Kohli and Konstas turned to face each other and exchanged words, prompting umpire Michael Gough and Khawaja to step in to defuse the moment.

Haddin claimed that Kohli was frustrated with his game during the series, and Konstas did manage to get under his skin during the contest, which led to the on-field altercation.

“He (Sam Konstas) got under Kohli’s skin. Kohli was frustrated… Kohli was frustrated with his game. He came out to bat, everyone in every commentary box said, Australia are going to bowl on fourth or fifth stump, they will play on Kohli’s patience, and he got out the same way every time,” Haddin said on Willow Talk Podcast.

“Virat Kohli fell for the same plan all the time”

Meanwhile, Kohli endured a tough series in Australia, managing just 190 runs at an average of less than 24, it included an unbeaten century in the first Test in Perth, but he struggled to maintain consistency. He kept committing the same mistake – edging the ball outside off stump behind the stumps to the wicketkeeper or slip cordon. The batting maestro came under scrutiny for not showing enough patience and getting dismissed in the same fashion throughout the series.

Haddin said that Kohli’s action towards Konstas depicted Australia having managed to break the back of the Indian team.

“He fell for the same plan all the time. On this occasion, the young kid got under his skin. He [Kohli] reacted in a way, if you were sitting in the change room, you would have said, we’ve got ’em here, we’ve broken the back of India,” he added.