Ricky Ponting Under Fire for Hypocrisy After Criticizing Kohli's Conduct

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India faced off against Australia in the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Melbourne on Thursday, with the series tied at 1-1. It was a big day for 19-year-old Sam Konstas, who made his debut, stepping in for Nathan McSweeney for the last two matches. Konstas not only had a quick innings that put his team in a strong position but also stirred up some drama by getting into a heated exchange with Indian star Virat Kohli during the morning session.

The clash happened at the end of the 10th over while both teams were switching sides, and Kohli bumped into Konstas. At that moment, Konstas had scored 27 runs off 38 balls and then went on to smash 18 runs in the next over bowled by Jasprit Bumrah, hitting two fours and a six. Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting weighed in on the situation, criticizing Kohli for allegedly provoking the incident. On Channel 7, he remarked, “Look at where Virat walks. He moved a whole pitch over to his right and started that confrontation. There’s no doubt in my mind about it.”

The umpires and the referee are definitely going to take a close look at that. Fielders shouldn’t be anywhere near the batsman at that point. Every player on the field knows where the batsmen are going to gather.

From what I saw, it seemed like Konstas glanced up way too late; he probably didn’t even realize someone was right in front of him. That guy on the screen (Kohli) might need to explain a few things, too.

Ricky Ponting gets roasted by fans

Ponting's remarks about Kohli didn't sit well with fans, who quickly took to X to criticize the cricket icon. One fan pointed out that Ponting had previously sledged and mocked a young Harbhajan Singh when he was just 19. This all went down during a match between India and Australia, where Ponting was batting at number three.

He got off to a decent start, scoring 31 runs off 25 balls, but Harbhajan managed to stump him with Nayan Mongia's help. After that, Harbhajan celebrated a bit too enthusiastically, which led to some heated words exchanged between him and Ponting.

Here are the other reactions:

Konstas had an amazing debut, smashing 60 runs off 65 balls with a strike rate of 92.31. On the other hand, Australia finished Day 1 at 311/6, with Steve Smith not out on 68 and Pat Cummins on 8.

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