Sam Konstas century, India vs PM's XI, thought provoking innings review, Indian stars laugh at Australian batsman, Sarfaraz Khan, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant

Sam Kostas has won plaudits for his century against India, with a traveling reporter judging his batting effective but artless.

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Konstas made 107 for the PM's XI at Manuka Oval, reaching his ton off just 90 balls.

At one point in Konstas's innings, Indian wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Khan walked up to him at the stumps and imitated the young Australians' daring batting.

Sarfaraz raised his right leg in the air, turned his body from one side to the other and twisted his arms wildly. In the briefs, Rohit Sharma doubled over laughing, just like Rishabh Pant, Sriram Veera wrote The Indian Expressnoting that Konstas had played confidently on a flat pitch.

However, aesthetics won't be a reason to see him hit. He doesn't have much to offer in that regard, at least on the evidence presented, but cricket at the top level is not about how beautiful batting is. But Konstas came across as an effective risk taker.

His hitting technique is quite simple and clear. He has a slightly open stance, the front shoulder facing the non-attacker, the back leg on center stump, the front leg on leg-and-center, and he remains absolutely still.

There is another feature; his hands are spread widely on the handle of the bat, more than normal, reminiscent of Faf du Plessis. He looks at his hands on the handle a few times in his stance, bat in the air, before looking at the bowler and remaining very still. In the early overs, with little movement around, he defended without fuss, and sometimes without much foot movement.

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Writing in the Deccan HeraldMadhi Jawali called Konstas' innings lighthearted before describing how India's batters fared against the pink ball ahead of the day/night Test in Adelaide.

Yashasvi Jaiswal (45, 59b, 9×4) was on point against the new ball, with Scott Boland and Jack Nisbet making things difficult for him. He was hit a few times as his nervous punches led to top edges. The lefty looked physically uncomfortable and often felt his back with his right hand, but hung on and started to gain control. KL Rahul, after a play-and-miss period, looked at ease after a few sumptuous cover drives that established his authority.

(Shubman) Gill, returning after recovering from a thumb injury that forced him to miss the first Test, showed few signs of discomfort as he cut and controlled the ball as sublimely as he has ever done. Even as the little boy blossomed under the lights, Rohit left while sniffing around the hallway for a delivery. Significantly, Rahul opened the innings with Rohit dropping the order, but it remains to be seen if India sticks to the same strategy in the second Test.

A report in the Hindustani times said Rohit's form was worrying ahead of his return to the team as captain.

Rohit Sharma's form was one of the key points in this match, and interestingly, he ended up at number four. Struggling against the seam and the new ball, he had hoped for some solid runs but that wasn't to be his fault as his torrid spell continued, dismissed for just three runs by Charlie Anderson. A point of concern for Rohit, and lingering questions about his batting position.

A report in The times of India made a curious observation about the absence of a big-name trio from the tour match.

Experienced Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah opted for net training against each other instead of the warm-up match, a tactical decision that prevented the Australian side from collecting data on their performances.

Premier spinner R Ashwin, who missed the first Perth Test and took four wickets in the pink-ball Test in Adelaide during the 2020-21 tour, also bowled extensively in the nets, mainly to Kohli.

One man set to bowl in the second Test is Scott Boland, after Josh Hazlewood was ruled out. The Deccan Chronicle carried quotes from the Victorian fast about his struggle to get a match with Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins in the team.

Obviously, those guys have been so resilient that they don't miss many and no one should give up their spot at any point, Boland said.

And they were so dominant that they didn't bowl a ton of overs last summer (even then) but were still able to win most of those games, so yeah, I probably thought the opportunity might have gone.

I have worked very hard in the off-season to get my body to a place where I am confident that if I get another chance I can perform for Australia again.