The Australian cricketing circle is known for their cheap gimmicks in their quest to get under the skins of their rivals, be it the players, analysts or the media. When it comes to winning the contest on the pitch, the Aussies work as a team. Something of a similar sort has been done by the publication house- The West Australian, who have published a controversial back cover of Virat Kohli to their latest issue after his fight with the 19-year-old Sam Konstas during the Day 1 of the Melbourne Test between Australia and India.

A clash of the legend and debutant caught the world’s eyes

The thrill of the opening day of the 4th Test between India and Australia was shrouded by a clash between the 19-year-old Australian opener Sam Konstas and Kohli. While Konstas was batting on 27 and switching sides, Kohli shoulder-barged the youngster which led the two players to throw heated remarks at each other. The ICC later on, found Kohli guilty of the offence against the youngster and penalized the former Indian skipper with 20 percent of the match fee and one demerit points. While the stakeholders did their job and the players contained the incident on the pitch, the Australian media felt the need to poke their nose in the middle and troll Kohli hoping to get some more unwanted aggression from the former Indian skipper.

Also Read: AUS vs IND: Virat Kohli and Sam Konstas’ shoulder clash on Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test

Attack on Virat Kohli by an Australian newspaper

After that incident, The West Australian has blamed Kohli for the whole incident and presented him as a clown in the back cover of their latest issue. Interestingly, it is the same publication house who has anointed the 36-year-old Indian batter calling him ‘Holy Kohli’ before the Indian team arrived in Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Now, as the clash between Konstas and Kohli gets the attention from the cricketing community across the globe, the West Australian has changed its tunes. While Konstas played an impeccable 60-run knock on his debut despite the war of words between him and Kohli. The former Indian skipper, in contrast, failed to shine with the bat and gave his wicket away on another off-stump ball from Scott Boland.

Australian Media – From Holy Kohli to Clown Kohli. pic.twitter.com/fWr7wxQLh3

— GSMS Media (@GsmsMedia) December 26, 2024

Australians bowlers shine against struggling Indian batters

The Indian batters failed to capitalize on built momentum on Day 2 of the Boxing Day Test. Wickets kept falling at regular intervals starting with Indian skipper Rohit Sharma who failed to leave a mark once again in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal and Kohli tried to provide some stability to the Indian innings but an unfortunate run-out lead forced Jaiswal’s heroic knock to come to an end. The Indian team has ,managed to score 164 runs for the loss of 5 wickets with Ravindra Jadeja and Rishabh Pant on the crease. Pat Cummins and Boland were the leading wicket-takers for the home side with both bowlers taking 2 wickets each.

Also Read: AUS vs IND: Sam Konstas breaks silence on heated exchange with Virat Kohli on Day 1 of the Melbourne Test

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