India and Australia are all set to lock horns in one of the most anticipated Test series in all of cricket. Ahead of the match against India, Australia middle-order batsman Labuschange is excited to play against Ashwin calling the battle is more of a “Chess game”.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, Labuschagne talked about his upcoming battle with Experienced Indian spinner Ashwin saying, “But with Ashwin, it’s more a chess game. He’s willing to bowl ugly, which very few other spin bowlers like to do. He’s willing to bowl ugly to be effective. You saw that in Australia, where he just bowled, as we could call it in Australia, ‘negative’ lines, but it’s great cricket.”
He further added the main aim is to put pressure on bowlers to disturb their plans and take the game away from them
“The ultimate chess game of this series is going to be how do you manipulate where you want the field and where Jadeja, Ashwin, and Axar Patel want the field. And the team that wins that battle is going to evidently win the series,” he added.
The Really Great Ones Have Done Very Well Away – Labuschange Wants to Do Well In India
The No. 1 ranked Test batter says playing the long-form game in the subcontinent is an altogether different challenge and playing against Ashwin in Australia last time around had made him a better player.
“Extreme swing and extreme spin are the major challenges to your batting game. So, for that, I’ve just wanted this Indian challenge. You play on some spinning wickets here and there, in Australia maybe a little bit of bounce but not as much spin, or bounce and spin, in places like Adelaide and Sydney. But never sheer spin like we faced in Galle against Sri Lanka. That was a nice stepping stone before this series. It’s just always been one that you want to test yourself,” Labuschagne added