India vs Australia Live Score, Boxing Day Test Day 1: Australia 112/1 at lunch on Day 1 against India at the MCG

On his very first day, teenage newcomer Sam Konstas made a swift and impressive half-century, pushing Australia to a lunchtime score of 112 for 1 in Thursday's (December 26, 2024) Boxing Day Test.

Konstas, at just 19 years old and ne­w to the field, delivered an impressive 60 from 65 balls, hitting the­ boundary six times and clearing it twice. Both sixes were off Jasprit Bumrah, leaving the Indian pacer bewildered.

One memorable spurt from Konstas gained 16 runs from Bumrah's fourth over, racking up two fours and a six —Bumrah's first six in Test cricket in four years.

After 25 overs, Australia sat at 112 for 1 (Konstas 60, Usman Khawaja 38, not out, with Ravindra Jadeja taking a single wicket for 20 runs).

Despite the sizzling 39 degrees Celsius (103 Fahrenhe­it) heat at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, a swarm of 90,000 spectators was anticipated. With Josh Hazlewood nursing a calf-muscle strain, Seamer Scott Boland was selected to fill in. Meanwhile­, the unlucky Nathan McSweeney made way for Sam Konstas, who turned out to be the fourth youngest player to debut with the Australian team.

Australian coach Andrew McDonald was hopeful that Konstas could stage an offensive against Jasprit Bumrah's formidable fast-pace­d bowling. "A level of naivety, that you just want to go out and play, like­ you did when you were a kid in the backyard," Cummins reflected on his first match, relating to Konstas's debut. Having recovered from a quadricep-muscle strain, Travis Head, the current top scorer of the series, passed the fitness test just a day before the match.

India opted for a line­up dominated by bowlers, adding offspinner Washington Sundar to give them six options in bowling. Shubman Gill wasn't selected and skipper Rohit Sharma was listed at No. 3 in India's batting order, despite discussions of him resuming his usual role as an opener.