Marnus Labuschagne scored his 5th hundred as Australia and India shared honours on Day 1 of the series-deciding fourth and final Test in Brisbane on Thursday.
Australia batsman Marnus Labuschagne reckons the home team is slightly ahead after the conclusion of 1st day of the fourth and final Test against India in Brisbane.
Marnus Labuschagne Hits 5th Test Ton
Marnus Labuschagne scored his fifth Test hundred to help Australia reach 274 for 5 in 87 overs at stumps after they won the toss and opted to bat first at the Gabba.
The 26-year-old who is among top 5 in ICC Rankings among Test batsmen came out to bat in the 2nd over of the match after opener David Warner edged a Mohammed Siraj delivery to Rohit Sharma at 2nd slip for 1. Marcus Harris soon followed his opening partner into the dressing room after becoming Shardul Thakur’s maiden Test wicket in the 9th over.
Marnus Labuschagne then joined forces with Steve Smith to rebuild Australia’s innings. The duo 70 runs for the third wicket before Steve Smith got out to debutant off-spinner Washington Sundar for 36. Marnus Labuschagne now has aggregated more than 400 runs and is leading run-scorer from both sides in this series.
Marnus Labuschagne Was A Little Bit Disappointed After Being Dismissed On 108
Marnus Labuschagne, who was dropped on 37 by India captain Ajinkya Rahane at gully off Navdeep Saini’s bowling, then added 113 for the fourth wicket with Matthew Wade and 13 with Cameron Green before departing for 108 off 204 balls. He had fallen to debutant T Natarajan who picked Matthew Wade earlier.
“You know you don’t need to be playing at anything around 4th stump line or even 3 and half stumps. I tell myself to be cool, when you get to a hundred just carry on. It’s about how that moment is, I don’t plan my hundred celebration. Little bit disappointed that I got out. For Tim and Green to play like that against the new ball was good. Maybe we have a slight edge but they hung in there throughout,” Marnus Labuschagne said.
Cameron Green and skipper Tim Paine’s unbroken 61-run stand for 6th wicket made sure that the hosts didn’t lose any more wickets at the end of the day’s play. The serenely depleted and inexperienced Indian bowling lineup did well against all expectations with debutant T Natarajan bagging a couple of wickets while debutant Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur got a wicket each.
Pacer Navdeep Saini bowled just 7.5 overs before walking off the field with a groin strain, adding to India’s ever-growing injury list in this Border-Gavaskar series.