"All of a sudden, he put it to them" - Allan Border suggests Australian batter was the game-changer in BGT 2024-25 4th Test

Former Australia captain Allan Border has heaped praise on Sam Konstas for putting Team India in the defensive mode on Day 1 of the fourth Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 Test in Melbourne. The 69-year-old observed that India seemed to have no answers to debutant Konstas' rampant batting.

Picked to replace Nathan McSweeney at the top, the 19-year-old put Jasprit Bumrah on the sword with some audacious strokes in his opening spell. Konstas also scored freely off Mohammed Siraj to raise his fifty in only 52 balls before Ravindra Jadeja dismissed him for 60.

Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald, Border said India were left with no choice but to push the field back when Konstas was batting.

"If you look at that first day, India really had no answer. All of a sudden, he [Konstas] put it to them and they really had no answer to that batting. Traditionally you have the field up for the new ball, so what do you do? You start spreading the field," Border said.

The New South Welshman recalled how former England all-rounder Ian Botham used to do the same to his opponents, making it difficult to combat.

"Having been through it with someone like Ian Botham – he didn’t do it all the time but every now and then he’d start whacking it – it’s very hard to get it right. What do you tell the bowler, what field do you set, it’s really difficult not to go on the defensive, and then once you do that, the opposition have got the momentum. It’s really difficult to combat," Border added.

Bumrah, nevertheless, got his revenge in the second innings of the Boxing Day Test by castling Konstas for eight runs with an in-ducker. Australia won the match by 184 runs to lead the five-match series 2-1, with one match remaining.

"He's going to be a long-term player for sure" - Allan Border on Sam Konstas

Allan Border. (Image Credits: Getty)

In the same interview, Border lauded Sam Konstas' technique while tipping him to be a long-term prospect for Australia.

Border said:

"I’m a big wrap – only watched him play a few times, but he’s got a great technique when he needs to have one, and he also can play a lot of shots if he has to. So he’s going to be a long-term player for sure."

With Australia holding a 2-1 lead, all they need is a draw or a win against India in Sydney to regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.