India vs Australia | We need to bat as Cheteshwar Pujara did, says Marnus Labuschagne
Marnus Labuschagne has stated that the Aussie batsmen will have to bat the way Cheteshwar Pujara has batted all throughout the series. In a series in which no Australian batsman has managed to score even a single century, Pujara has already hit three against the Aussie bowling attack.
In the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy Cheteshwar Pujara has already scored 458 runs and has looked a class apart from all other batsmen. Today on the first day of the final Test match of the four-match series, Pujara scored 130 runs from 250 balls and remained unbeaten. Marnus Labuschagne, who replaced opener Aaron Finch in the Australian team has praised Pujara calling him a classy batsman.
“He was very classy. He has time and patience around at the crease. The way he batted is something I personally would take a lot from. He just batted a lot of time and he has done that through the whole series. And that’s what we are going to need to do to step up to put a big score on the board,” Labuschagne said during the press conference, reported Scroll.in.
The Indian team, banking on Pujara’s century and Mayank Agarwal’s 77 runs, has already put 303 runs on the board losing four wickets. But the Australian all-rounder felt that the hosts are only a couple of breakthroughs away before they move into India’s tail.
“We are only 2-3 wickets away from being able to break it open and if the boys put the right ball in the areas tomorrow, I am confident that we can get early breakthroughs and get them out for under 400.
The Sydney Cricket Ground, where the match is being played, has a reputation of being one of the turning pitches in Australia. Hence, the Australian leg-spinner suggested that the hosts would have to come really good with the bat in their first innings in order to succeed in the final Test.
“The wicket stays good for three days and deteriorates quite fast. Then the game moves quickly at the back end and it’s going to be the same again, so the first innings will be key for us,” he added.
Playing his first match in this series Labuschagne was put under pressure by Pujara when he smacked the leg-spinner for three boundaries in his first over. He came for a second spell later in the day and bowled relatively well.
“There was a little bit of pressure. The first ball came out alright and then I dragged down a few balls short. I was positive when I came back for the last three overs and sort of tied a bit of pressure. I know my role tomorrow is to keeping it tight at that one
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