Jasprit Bumrah's knack of coming up with magic deliveries in crunch situations kept India alive after Australia's top-order, headlined by teen debutant Sam Konstas' stroke-filled half-century, guided the hosts to 311 for 6 on the opening day of the fourth Test here on Thursday.
If Konstas' gallant 60 off 65 balls had the near sell-out crowd of over 80,000 at the MCG enthralled during a humid morning session, Bumrah's (3/75 in 21 overs) deception of length to dismiss Travis Head (0) also had its takers as chants of 'Boom, Boom, Booooomraaaaaaah' reverberated through the stands.
Coming into the Test with back-to-back hundreds, Head couldn't judge the length of a Bumrah delivery that was pitched slightly fuller than what the batter expected. He shouldered his arms trusting the bounce but the 66.2 overs old Kookaburra nipped back to clip the off-bail.
In the next over, he dismissed an out-of-form Mitchell Marsh (4), having got Usman Khawaja (57 off 121 balls) with the half-tracker in the post-lunch session.
The first two sessions, however, belonged to Australia with senior players Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne (72 off 145 balls) and Steve Smith (68 batting, 111 balls) scoring half-centuries.
The final session was all about Bumrah magic. The Indian spearhead didn't let the hosts completely walk away with the game which they threatened to do at one stage.
He now has 24 wickets in the series. With Mohammed Siraj (0/69 in 15 overs) off-colour, Bumrah didn't have much support save off-spinner Washington Sundar (1/37 in 12 overs), who bowled a containing line.
Akash Deep (1/59 in 19 overs) though got Alex Carey with the second new ball at the fag end of the day.
Even Ravindra Jadeja (1/54 in 14 overs) went through the motions leaking runs, even after getting Konstas out and Nitish Reddy, the batting all-rounder, was used only before the second new ball was taken.
'Sam Jams at the G'
The morning belonged to the precocious 19-year-old from New South Wales.
The match didn't see Konstas showing any nerves while hitting a scintillating knock, which comprised two sixes off Bumrah.
He was not bothered by a good scrap with India's superstar Virat Kohli, whose shoulder brush with the 19-year-old led to a brief confrontation.
In fact, Bumrah was hit for a six for the first time in a Test since Cameron Green hit him for one back in 2021. The gap between Konstas' first six, which was a lap scoop, and the one that Green hit three years ago was 4000 legal Test match deliveries.
After a conventional lap scoop for maximum, Konstas also hit a reverse lap scoop towards third man for another boundary. The second six was pummelled over mid-on.
The way he attacked the Indian bowling with gusto gave his veteran opening partner Khawaja a chance to get back to form with a patient half-century.
But Khawaja would be really upset with himself as he couldn't time a pull shot off a Bumrah half-tracker, which went straight into KL Rahul's hands in the post-lunch session.
The duo added 89 runs in such quick time that Labuschagne and last match's centurion Smith didn't need to show any urgency.
For Konstas, it was all about a few play and misses off Bumrah's opening over but from the moment the teenager had his first couple of runs, things changed dramatically.
The fearlessness of youth stood out on the big stage as Konstas did the lap-scoop against Bumrah before smashing him over mid-on for another maximum.
Fans and experts alike were forced to think the last time Bumrah (1/50 in 15 overs) was hit for two sixes in his first spell of a Test match. They couldn't because it never happened in a first spell.
The stump mic caught Bumrah saying "Beginner's Luck" but Konstas seemed to have enough wares to answer his probing queries. And it was laced with a lot of spunk as he got into a verbal duel with Kohli after their shoulders brushed while crossing each other.
He shuffled forward often to make space and on one occasion crunched Bumrah over cover.
Mohammed Siraj was welcomed to the attack by a loud round of boos as he sledged the young man for his unorthodox hitting style.
In all, Konstas hit six fours apart from the two maximums. Only Akash bowled a good channel among the pacers as Siraj was guilty of going too full or too short.
As Australia continued to score at more than a fair clip, the skipper had to bring in Ravindra Jadeja (1/33 in 11 overs) in the 16th over to at least stem the flow of runs before it went out of hand.
The reward was paid in full as the veteran spinner got an arm ball to skid through with the angle to trap Konstas in front.
Khawaja and Labuschagne then added 65 for the second wicket with the Pakistan-born opener hitting Akash for a couple of boundaries to complete his first fifty of the series.
Read also| Icc Rankings: Bumrah Matches Ashwin's Record as Highest-Rated Indian Test Bowler
