By Priscilla Jepchumba

The cricket fight between India and Australia is always very heated, and the new Border-Gavaskar series makes it even more dramatic. The focus of the latest fuss is Virat Kohli, who is a big batsman for India, and his run-in with Sam Konstas, a 19-year-old player from Australia, during the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

The action kicked off on the first day when Kohli did a shoulder bump into Konstas during a tricky moment. This happened as Konstas was getting ready to bat and fixing his gloves. Not bothered by this incident, Konstas went on to score an impressive 60 runs, featuring an audacious ramp shot against Jasprit Bumrah that made the local fans cheer.

Kohli’s effort to unsettle the young player backfired; he got slapped with a fine of 20% of his pay for the match and also picked up a demerit point under ICC rules. Andy Pycroft, who is the match referee, called Kohli’s actions as improper physical contact.

This event sparked strong reactions from Australian journalists. A tabloid screamingly titled its story “Virat, I Am Your Father,” painting Konstas as someone who supposedly got Kohli all shaken up. Another paper called The West Australian went even further and branded Kohli as a “clown” on its last page. These titles caused anger among supporters and commentators, who claimed that media crossed ethical lines in sports writing.

Social media went wild defending Kohli; one fan referred to the headlines as “a new low in sports journalism,” while another found them “gross and brainless.” The uproar showed concerns about how media stirs pointless fights “There’s a fine line between banter and disrespect. Headlines like these cross that line,” a Twitter user aptly noted.

Past Indian cricketers also shared their opinions. Atul Wassan slammed the Australian press saying you can’t expect much from them since they always do this kind of stuff. Madan Lal disagreed with Kohli’s behavior but mentioned that media’s word choice was not necessary either.

This incident highlights how complicated relations are between Kohli and Australian media. From being praised as “King Kohli” to being seen as a “villain,” every action he takes in Australia gets looked at carefully. But through all this noise, Kohli stays steady and keeps showing the fierce spirit that makes cricket’s toughest rivalry so exciting.