Marnus Labuschagne has had his fair share of troubles in the ongoing Test series against India. The right-hander began with a painful 2 off 52 balls in the Perth Test before Mohammed Siraj ended his misery. He did not get going in the second innings either. Although he scored 64 runs in the Adelaide Test, he perished cheaply in both the innings in the Gabba Test, where he got scores of 12 and 1.
But Labuschagne had his best saved for the Melbourne Test, the most-awaited Boxing Day Test. In the first innings, he scored 72 runs off 145 balls with the help of seven fours. After Sam Konstas got out, Labuschagne paired up with Usman Khawaja to build a crucial 65-run stand. He then joined hands with Steve Smith and stitched together an 83-run stand before Washington Sundar dismissed him.
On the back of Labuschagne’s knock, Australia put up a formidable first innings score of 474. Labuschagne did not stop there and carried his form into the second innings as well. At a time when the Aussies needed him to stand all and put a price tag on his wicket, Labuschagne showed why he was once the No.1 batter in Test cricket.
He kept the Indian bowlers at bay for the time he was there in the middle. His knocks also made sure that India were left with very little chance of coming up trumps in the Boxing Day Test with Australia’s lead already as high as 333.
Labuschagne turns on Pujara mode
Back in the 2020-21 Border Gavaskar Trophy, Labuschagne was the top run-scorer after he notched 426 runs at an average of 53.25 with a top score of 108. But there was a man who played 155 runs less than him but played 78 more balls. Cheteshwar Pujara scored 271 runs at a strike-rate of 29.20 and played a major role in India’s famous 2–1 series win.
Boxing Day Test, Day 4 Highlights
Pujara was India’s standout batter when India won the Test series back in 2018-19 when he mustered three hundreds while facing 1258 balls. Labuschagne’s knocks in the ongoing MCG Test had shades of Pujara’s grit and determination. The Australian batter was not willing to throw his wicket away by any means.
In the second innings, batting at No.3, Labuschagne saw Australia getting reduced from 43 for one to 91 for six in the space of 15.2 overs. Amidst the fall of regular wickets, the 30-year-old Labuschagne got to his half-century off 105 balls, holding one end up. He also built a crucial 57-run stand for the seventh wicket with Pat Cummins and gave the innings some momentum.
It eventually was Siraj who got rid of him, but not after he scored a fighting 70 off 139 balls with three fours. If Australia go on to win the Melbourne Test, Labuschagne, without a shred of a doubt, would be one of the strong contenders to win the Player of the Match award.
