'Sam Konstas got under Jasprit Bumrah's skin': Marnus Labuschagne's stunning claim on pacer's celebration

The battle between Sam Konstas and Jasprit Bumrah resumed on Day 4 of the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne. While it was Konstas who won the first battle in the first innings, Bumrah came back hard with a perfect inswinger to shatter the stumps of the youngster.

After picking up the wicket, Bumrah was pumped up and celebrated in a unique manner. Konstas did a similar kind of celebration with the crowd when India lost wickets in their first innings.

Also read: Nitish Kumar Reddy finally reveals Virat Kohli's words after his maiden Test ton at MCG

Marnus Labuschagne speaks on the difficulties of facing Jasprit Bumrah

Marnus Labuschagne arrived for the press conference on behalf of Australia after the fourth day's play in Melbourne. He hailed Jasprit Bumrah for his relentless performance with the ball and revealed the reason why he has been so good this series.

"Jasprit Bumrah's bowling in every game has been pretty good. He is just relentless. He just bowls relentless lengths, attacks the stumps with that perpendicular angle with his action and he is tough to navigate," Labuschagne told the reporters.

Labuschagne also spoke about the difficulties batters face while facing a bowler like Bumrah and claims to be finding ways to get better of him through unique methods.

"Obviously as a batter, it is difficult to start your innings and I am finding a way to navigate through his spells. We've clearly gone better as the Test series has gone on. He has been very good this series," he added.

Sam Konstas got under Jasprit Bumrah's skin: Marnus Labuschagne

Marnus Labuschagne was also asked about the ongoing battle between Jasprit Bumrah and Sam Konstas. Labuschagne spoke about Bumrah's celebration and felt that Konstas had gotten under the skin of India's premier fast bowler. He lauded Konstas for being fearless and confident and claimed that he loves a contest.

"I'm pretty sure the young guy got under his skin a bit. I certainly get angry when I get reverse-lapped by little own bowlers. So, I would say that had a fair but to do with it," Labuschagne noted.

"Sam (Konstas) is a pretty confident young player. He really shows that and I love that about him. He loves getting into a contest and I'm sure he will be ready to go into the next innings," he exclaimed.

Battle between Jasprit Bumrah and Marnus Labuschagne

The battle between Jasprit Bumrah and Sam Konstas started on Day 1 of the Melbourne Test. Konstas surprisingly took the attack to Bumrah and played unorthodox shots to disrupt his rhythm. He successfully did that as Bumrah went wicketless in his opening spell.

Konstas played a scoop for a four and backed it up with a six off a reverse scoop. In the next over, he hit Bumrah for a second six in a space of few balls. The 19-year-old opener was fearless in his Test debut and smashed a quickfire 60 off 65 balls with 6 fours and 2 sixes.

Meanwhile, Marnus Labuschagne top-scored for Australia in the second innings with a fine 70 off 139 balls This was his second half-century in the match after the 72 in the first innings.