Melbourne: Virat Kohli, former India captain, has been penalised 20% of his match fee and given one demerit point during the 4th Test against Australia in Melbourne.

The incident occurred after the 10th over of Australia's innings when Kohli and debutant Sam Konstas collided shoulders while crossing paths on the pitch.

The pair exchanged words before Usman Khawaja intervened to diffuse the situation.

The on-field umpires Joel Wilson and Michael Gough, along with third umpire Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid and fourth umpire Shawn Craig, levelled the charge.

Match Referee Andy Pycroft proposed sanctions, which Kohli accepted without requiring a formal hearing.

According to the ICC, the act breached its Code of Conduct, which prohibits "any form of inappropriate physical contact in cricket."

Following the incident, some former players speculated that Kohli might face suspension.

However, as it was a Level 1 offence, he avoided harsher penalties. Level 2 offences, which can result in three or four demerit points, would have led to a one-Test suspension.

After the day’s play, Konstas told reporters that the contact wasn’t intentional.

"Virat Kohli accidentally bumped into me; it’s cricket, and tensions happen," the teenager said, adding that emotions ran high for both players. Konstas scored a debut fifty before being dismissed by Ravindra Jadeja.

Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting criticised Kohli for instigating the clash.

"Virat walked an entire pitch over to his right to start that confrontation," Ponting said on Channel 7, emphasising that fielders should not approach the batsman at that stage.