"It's really dumb" - Former New Zealand pacer makes huge Virat Kohli comparison after Breetzke-Afridi face-off in PAK vs SA tri-series

Former New Zealand pacer Danny Morrison was reminded of the infamous altercation between Virat Kohli and Sam Konstas during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar series after the recent controversy during the Pakistan tri-series. The do-or-die affair between South Africa and Pakistan witnessed a heated moment between Matthew Breetzke and Shaheen Afridi on Wednesday, February 12.

During the 28th over of the contest at the National Stadium in Karachi, Breetzke swung his bat in frustration after a mishit off Shaheen Afridi's delivery. However, the Pakistan spearhead felt the action was directed at him and responded with a few words. The in-form batter also did not back out, responding with a few words of his own.

The drama escalated after Shaheen Afridi stood in Breetzke's path as he charged for a single. The right-handed batter barged into the bowler, which kick-started another round of aggression. The players and on-field umpire Asif Yaqoob had to intervene to pacify the tense situation.

Danny Morrison likened the incident to the one where Virat Kohli barged into Australian debutant Sam Konstas during the Boxing Day Test in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar series at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

"Watch this, the batter does try to get out of the way but the bowler didn't. It's really dumb. That's naughty, given what we saw in Australia recently during a certain Test series. Breetzke was definitely trying to get out of the way. He even turned his back on Shaheen Shah Afridi," Morrison said during commentary (via Hindustan Times).

The similarity with the Border-Gavaskar series did not end with the Breetze-Afridi face-off. When the flourishing partnership between Matthew Breetzke and Temba Bavuma was broken with a run-out, the players swarmed towards the Proteas skipper, Bavuma, to celebrate in his face.

Sam Konstas was subjected to a similar reaction when he was involved in a war of words with Jasprit Bumrah during the fifth Test in Sydney. The ploy backfired as the riled-up pacer dismissed Usman Khawaja on the final delivery on Day 1 and India players celebrated around Konstas.

Virat Kohli was fined 20 percent of his match fee for his shoulder barge to Sam Konstas in BGT 2024-25

The match referee for the clash between Pakistan and South Africa is bound to take action after a series of incidents went against the rulebook on Wednesday. Virat Kohli's recent action comes as a reference, where he was fined 20 percent of his match fee and handed one demerit point.

Pakistan were on the back foot for the majority of the first innings as South Africa posted 352-5 following the fifties by Temba Bavuma (82), Matthew Breetzke (83), and Heinrich Klaasen(87). However, the Men in Green scripted history by notching their highest successful run chase on the back of centuries by Mohammad Rizwan (122*) and Salman Ali Agha (134).