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Following his involvement in the controversial shoulder tackle on Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test match against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Virat Kohli was fined 20% of his match fee. In Test cricket, Kohli, who is one of four Indians in the Grade A+ category under the BCCI central contract along with Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ravindra Jadeja, receives a match fee of Rs 15 lakh.
Kohli must therefore pay Rs 3 lakh from his match fees. Indian cricket players get Rs 6 lakh for ODI matches and Rs 3 lakh for T20I matches. Sam Konstas, one of Australia's youngest Test cricket debutants, was spotted being shouldered by Kohli on the first day of the Boxing Day Test.
Michael Vaughan unhappy with the lenient fine
The former England captain was extremely unhappy with the lenient fine handed to Virat Kohli. Michael Vaughan believes that a monetary fine will not have much effect and that the Indian star luckily got away with it.
"It doesn't matter who you are, that sort of behaviour is not on. He's extremely lucky that the penalty was very lenient … he could easily have been deemed a level two offence. It should be at least 75 per cent [match fee] if you're going to make it a monetary fine. It could lead to something more substantial with the players getting involved or the crowd getting involved, if you're playing in a hostile environment," said Vaughan while speaking on the Fox Cricket broadcast at the start of day 2.
"You just can't make contact, it's just not on. I think Virat is very lucky. The altercation yesterday wasn't a great look for him as a person. To take on a 19-year-old, who was just doing what you do at the end of an over. He's got the same as what Mohammed Siraj got at the Adelaide Oval, so I think he's got away with it there. I just don't think the monetary fine is going to affect any of the players in this era of the game and it's more just the precedent it sets," he added.
Steve Smith, Pat Cummins take score past 450
At the end of play on Day 1 of the fourth Test on Thursday, Australia was at 311 for six after India rallied with four late wickets. Sam Konstas, a teenage debutant, enthralled the Melbourne Cricket Ground with an exciting knock during the morning session earlier in the day. Tailender Pat Cummins was on eight, while Steve Smith was still undefeated at 68.
However, Steve Smith and Pat Cummins spoiled India's plan to make a comeback in the innings as both of them joined a stunning partnership. Smith reached his century, his second consecutive in the series and Cummins played a captain's knock of 49 runs before getting out. Both of them ensure that their team get past 400. However, even after Cummins' departure, Smith did not allow the run flow to come down and before lunch on Day 2 Aussies are standing at 454/7.
