Debutant Sam Konstas announced his arrival in style with a scintillating half-century off just 52 balls on the opening day of the fourth Test against India at the MCG. The 19-year-old’s fearless batting helped Australia to a score of 112 for 1 at lunch, with Konstas ending his innings with 60 off 65 balls.

After Australia decided to bat on what appeared to be a good surface, Konstas quickly showed why he is so highly regarded in Australian cricket circles. His impressive knocks included bold shots and a fearless approach that saw him take on India’s leading pacer Jasprit Bumrah with impressive round-back shots and powerful advances.

His partnership with Usman Khawaja (38*) helped Australia find their way, with the duo adding 89 runs for the first wicket.

Former Australia opener Justin Langer was impressed with the debutant’s confidence and aggressive approach and compared him to another attacking former opener, Virender Sehwag. The former India star is widely regarded as one of the batsmen who revolutionized Test batting with his aggressive stroke-play and Langer believes Konstas has displayed similar confidence.

“That’s the right word (reverence). Before the game, Sam Konstas was very confident and had talked a lot. He backed it up with his actions, it was incredible to see. He reminded me of Virender Sehwag in 2003 when he scored 195 off 233 balls on the first day. He blew us away, we couldn’t believe the confidence,” Langer said during his commentary on Star Sports.

Took the pressure off Khawaja

The Australian teenager started cautiously with a few moments where he missed Bumrah’s opener, but once he found his rhythm there was no stopping him. His first reverse lap scoop from Bumrah was followed by a massive six over middle and he continued his runs with another reverse scoop boundary, this time past third man.

Langer believes this aggressive approach also helped his partner Usman Khawaja, who struggled throughout the series.

“We also see that Konstas took the pressure off Usman Khawaja with the way he played on debut. He seemed relaxed, used to batting with David Warner who played with an aggressive approach. Now he’s playing with a partner with a similar approach and that takes a lot of pressure off,” Langer said.