Marnus Labuschagne scored his fifth hundred when Australia and India shared the honor on the first day of the series-defining fourth and final test in Brisbane on Thursday.
Australian batsman Marnus Labuschagne expects the home team to be slightly ahead after completing the first day of the fourth and final test against India in Brisbane.
Marnus Labuschagne. Credits: Twitter
Marnus Labuschagne hits 5th test barrel
Marnus Labuschagne scored his fifth Test hundred to help Australia hit 274 for 5 in 87 overs on stumps after winning the throw and choosing to hit the gabba first.
The 26-year-old, who is among the top 5 test batsmen in the ICC rankings, was used in the second game after opening player David Warner suppressed a delivery from Mohammed Siraj to Rohit Sharma on the second slip for Mohammed would have. Marcus Harris soon followed his opening partner into the locker room after becoming Thakur's first test wicket on the 9th over Shardul.
Mohammed Siraj. Photo credit: Getty Images.
Marnus Labuschagne then teamed up with Steve Smith to rebuild Australia's innings. Duo 70 runs for the third wicket before Steve Smith debuted for 36 against debutant Washington Sundar. Marnus Labuschagne has now collected more than 400 runs and is the leading scorer on both sides in this series.
Marnus Labuschagne was a little disappointed after being released on 108
Marnus Labuschagne, who was dropped at 37 at the gully in front of Navdeep Sainis Bowling by India's captain Ajinkya Rahane, then added 113 for the fourth wicket with Matthew Wade and 13 with Cameron Green before departing for 108 of 204 balls. He had fallen victim to the debutant T Natarajan, who had previously chosen Matthew Wade.
"You know you don't have to play for 4th stump line or even three and a half stumps. I tell myself to be cool when you're a hundred, just keep going. It's about how this moment is, I plan mine a hundred celebrations. A little disappointed that I got off. It was good for Tim and Green to play against the new ball like this. Maybe we have a slight edge, but they were everywhere, ”said Marnus Labuschagne.
Navdeep Saini (Photo credit: Google)
Cameron Green and skipper Tim Paine ensured with their unbroken 61-run stand for the 6th wicket that the hosts did not lose any more wickets at the end of the day. The laid-back and inexperienced Indian bowling lineup has done well against all odds. Debutante T Natarajan has bagged a couple of wickets while debutants Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur each got a wicket.
Pacer Navdeep Saini threw just 7.5 overs before leaving the field with a groin strain, which added to India's ever-growing injury list in this Border Gavaskar streak.
