AUS vs IND 2024-25: Virat Kohli fined 20% of match fee, awarded one demerit point over Konstas incident at MCG
The unpleasant incident occurred in the first session when the players were changing ends after the 10th over.
Virat Kohli has been fined 20% of his match fee and awarded one demerit point for shoulder-bumping Sam Konstas at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test on Thursday, December 26.
The unpleasant incident occurred in the first session when the players were changing ends after the 10th over. This led to a heated exchange between Kohli and Konstas, even as Usman Khawaja and on-field tried to pacify things.
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting slammed Kohli shortly after the incident and called for sanctions against the veteran batter. Similarly, former India head coach Ravi Shastri was another expert who was not pleased with Kohli's antics, stating it to be "unnecessary".
Also Read: ‘It happens, it’s cricket’ - Sam Konstas on altercation with Virat Kohli
"Yeah, it's unnecessary, totally unnecessary, you don't want to see that. Especially, Virat's a senior player, he's been captain of the side, he'll have his own explanations as regards that, but it's something you don't want to see. One person who'll be watching, his eyes will be locked into the proceedings. Andy Pycroft," Shastri said.
Relevant here is another set of rules in ICC's Code of Conduct (CoC). The article 2.12 of CoC reads: "Any form of inappropriate physical contact is prohibited in cricket. Without limitation, players will breach this regulation if they deliberately, recklessly and/or negligently walk or run into or shoulder another player or umpire.
"When assessing the seriousness of the breach, the following factors (without limitation) shall be taken into account: (i) the context of the particular situation, including, without limitation, whether the contact was deliberate (i.e. intentional), reckless, negligent, and/or avoidable; (ii) the force of the contact; (iii) any resulting injury to the person with whom contact was made; and (iv) the person with whom contact was made."
Meanwhile, Australia ended Day 1 at 311/6 after Pat Cummins won the toss and opted to bat first. The top-four Aussie batters - Sam Konstas, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, and Steve Smith scored half-centuries, while Jasprit Bumrah starred with the ball for India as he bagged a three-for.
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