'Hands like Copperfield, eye of a dead fish': Konstas-mania and the ...

In the days preceding an audacious Test cricket debut, Australian captain Pat Cummins and coach Andrew McDonald made clear they had granted Sam Konstas a licence to thrill.

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But no-one other than the teenage sensation could have envisaged what was to unfold in what could prove to be the decisive session in the Border Gavaskar Trophy on Thursday.

Debuting in the Boxing Day Test against the Australian tormentor Jasprit Bumrah, Konstas produced an innings so staggering it rattled Indian icons and rendered legends speechless.

The youngest opener to debut for Australia turned cricket on its head with a blazing innings everyone in attendance will remember with fondness, and probably bewilderment, as well.

From the absurd to the sublime, it was a knock like none other given the stage it occurred on, the state of the series and the enormity of the occasion at large. It was extraordinary.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan has largely loved the life his nation’s current crop of cricketers have breathed into the longer format with the “Bazball” approach. But never can he recall seeing “a bloke come in and cause so much chaos within the first 75 minutes.”

“I think Sam Konstas, he’ll have moments where it doesn’t work. But I think the whole globe of cricket are going to have moments watching Sam Konstas that you’re going to sit back, like this morning, and go ‘wow’,” Vaughan told foxsports.com.au.

“It is so exciting. It’s a completely different method of play to any other generation playing the game. And I think that he’s taken on the best in the world hit him for an opening spell more than anybody else has ever hit him in his first time of asking.

“It is a remarkable achievement. And the buzz and the energy and the excitement around not just the ground, but the commentary box, when someone comes and plays in that fashion, that for me is what sport is all about.

“You don’t want to ‘big him up’ too soon, because he’s a young kid and he’s got a long way to go. But he’ll also have many moments, I think, where you will go, ‘Wow, this is very, very special’.”

A brief recap for those unfortunate enough to have missed out on seeing the thrill-a-minute ride that unfolded at the MCG on Boxing Day.

Shortly after belting out the Australian anthem with such a verve it brought a big smile to the face of Steve Smith, Konstas sprinted to the middle like a kid racing to the Christmas tree to see what Santa had delivered.

To suggest the 19-year-old was eager would be an understatement, with his partner Usman Khawaja still 100 metres from the pitch by the time Konstas reached the crease.

The Sydneysider had already completed “the gardening” mid-pitch by the time the elder statesman of Australian cricket reached the middle.

Konstas’s welcome? A fist pump. Kapow!

Australian debutant Sam Konstas. Picture: Michael KleinSource: News Corp Australia

The air of anticipation had been evident around the MCG from the time Cummins won the toss 30 minutes earlier.

How would the new sensation of Australian cricket cope with the challenge ahead?

When Konstas played and missed four balls from Bumrah in the first over, the feeling of dread that has lingered over the Aussie top order was evident.

It seemed as though the Indian champion was toying and teasing the kid, like a cat playing with a mouse for a while.

Once bored, surely Bumrah would pare back the movement off the pitch a millimetre to snare his edge and ruin the dreams of another Aussie newcomer.

Sitting in the stands just in front of the Australian pavilion, his elder brother Billy Konstas admitted to being gripped by concern as Bumrah sought to beguile the rookie.

“(I’m) always nervous. And I don’t think he hit the ball once, so it was quite nerve-wracking,” he told foxsports.com.au.

“But he has always had that fearless attitude and intent, which has put him in good stead when he plays.”

A crowd that had been “oohing and aahing” for every play and miss in the first two overs – a new record was set from the time the stat was first counted in 2006 – soon gasped in shock.

A ramp? In the third over? To Jasprit Bumrah? W. T. F? The disbelief was evident from the commentary box to fans in the crowd and through to those chirping away on social media.

Earlier in the week, Konstas had recounted tales of his childhood playing cricket in the backyard at home with his brothers as their grandmother cooked up a Christmas feast.

One could have been forgiven for believing he still thought he was there, such was the fearless manner with which he was batting, but his elder brother knew better.

Wherever the ramp shot had come from, it was not a shot that featured at home.

“We had an automatic keeper at home, so there was no ramping in the backyard,” Billy Konstas said.

“He always played with a straight bat and always in the V, so I don’t know where he has got the ramps from.

“We would prepare a full five day Test series and pretend we were in the Ashes and we would pretend to be one of our favourite players. I would be bowling to Sam for six or seven hours and I could not get him out.

“Then we would have grandmother’s feast for lunch and the few overs after lunch were a bit dodgy. But there was no ramping.”

Australian batsman Sam Konstas sings the national anthem. Photo by William WEST / AFPSource: AFP

Champion Australian batter Mark Waugh did not mind his first attempt, if only because it would give an Indian bowler so used to dominating the Aussies something to think about.

But when a second unsuccessful bid followed soon after, Waugh joined those who were perplexed.

“You do it once but I don’t know about twice at this stage of the game,” he said on Fox Cricket.

“You don’t want to show the opposition you are desperate to play these sort of shots. You have to pick and choose. It is bizarre, quite frankly, from Konstas. But it is entertaining.”

Having survived by the skin of his teeth, the mouse of the first over became a roaring lion.

The reverse scooping of Bumrah for six roused the crowd. By the time he spanked Bumrah down the ground a few overs later, the crowd had shaken any hint of a Christmas hangover.

Bumrah had bedazzled the Aussie top order all summer. He had not been hit for six in his previous 25 Tests over four years, a spell where he delivered 4,483 balls.

But Bang. Bang. Konstas spanked him twice for six within an hour, along with a few fours.

These were shots heard around the world as the young Aussie took Bumrah for 34 runs in his first spell, the most of any Test cricketer ever in the Indian’s iconic career to date.

He charged Mohammed Siraj and then stood up to the fiery fast bowler when barked at.

The ‘Virat veer’ caused a collision, but Konstas was not going to take crap from the King either. It took Khawaja to put an arm around the Indian legend to settle the stoush.

Former Australian leg-spinner Kerry O’Keeffe was enraptured, quipping he had “hands like David Copperfield and the eye of a dead fish” as Konstas refused to take a backward step.

“This is as exciting Test cricket as you will ever see. This 19-year-old from Hurstville in Sydney has just lit up Test cricket,” O’Keeffe said.

“He said going in that he has his plans. He had decided that Bumrah was going over the top of slips … and he has executed it perfectly.”

Australian batsman Sam Konstas. Photo by William WEST / AFPSource: AFP

The absurdity of this opening act was not over within an hour either.

Konstas copped one in the testicles – the manner with which he batted earlier suggested there was clearly a big target – but gathered himself after a deep breath.

And importantly he showed an appetite to change tactics and tone as well. Having broken the field up with unconventional play, he began picking off singles and working the strike.

Soon after he completed an interview with Fox Cricket during a drinks break, a credit to the broadcaster’s extraordinary access but also an act former openers would consider unfathomable given the context of the innings, before resuming the fight.

His half-century, courtesy of some sharp running, was well received by everyone bar his stony-faced rivals who stood silently in their positions, stunned by the audacious assault.

Eventually Ravindra Jadeja got one to straighten enough to trap Konstas in front. While everyone willed for a review, to his credit Konstas showed a calmer head. He was out.

It is not that rare for champions to be saluted at the MCG, but it is the first time in this reporter’s quarter century covering sport at the ground that a standing ovation has been offered for a half-century.

But if there was ever a moment, this was it and his family was absolutely delighted.

“It was unbelievable. The MCG is such a big stadium and to see all these people cheering for my little brother, I really could not have asked for anything else,” Billy Konstas said.

The starring turn at the crease over, Konstas continued to win over the fans.

Cricket Australia has stressed to its cricketers the importance of fan engagement, but a spokesman said the decision by Konstas to walk up the race to greet fans was his own.

As soon as young fan Ned Gray spotted Konstas return to the players race, he raced over and was lucky enough to snare a selfie that his “mum might frame” for him.

Attending his sixth Boxing Day Test alongside his dad Toby, the young fella loves his cricket and plays with the Toorak Browns as an all-rounder in every sense given he keeps as well.

He watched Konstas make a half-century with the Sydney Thunder and took special notice of him when he realised he was a chance to watch him play at the MCG.

“He was really nice. He was even giving the Indian fans autographs and saying hello to them,” the 12-year-old said.

It was the type of “pinch me” moment where fans will relay for decades to come about the day they saw a young Aussie teenager take it up to ‘King Kohli’ and his mates at the MCG.

His dad Toby Green said the spur of the moment action from Konstas added to the joy of what was already an extraordinary experience for fans.

“Especially with the Indian crowd in full voice, it has been great. Just beautiful to see,” Ned Gray said.

“Ned was amazed when he came out and saw him with so many people around him. The fact that Sam came out and stood there for ages taking photos and signing autographs is just great.”

Was it the day that changed cricket?

It might yet take a generation or two for Test batters to pursue the Konstas style on a regular basis, despite the Boxing Day stunner.

On social media, one wag joked that he was dreading explaining to his seven-year-old the importance of playing with a straight bat during the backyard in the lunch break.

Asked whether he would be mimicking Konstas in the nets when play resumes after the summer holidays, Ned pointed to his dad and said; “He won’t let me. He won’t let me.”

His dad, who will be among those feeling the heat from their sons and daughters in the days to come about being granted a Konstas-like “license to thrill”, was not yet prepared to budge.

“He wants to do it, but I tell him that ‘We’ll leave the nets. If you are going to do a ramp shot, we’re going,’” Toby Gray said.

Having watched the commotion a few rows back, Billy Konstas shook his head with a smile.

“I look at people seeking Sam’s autograph and shake my head and think, ‘That is my little brother’,” he said.

“It is quite surreal seeing people looking up to him, so good luck to him. I wish him all the best.”