Border Gavaskar Trophy: Australian batter Marnus Labuschagne was happy after Virat Kohli applauded him for one of his strokes on Day 1 of the Nagpur Test.
New Delhi,UPDATED: Feb 9, 2023 19:22 IST
Nagpur Test: Marnus Labuschagne reveals banter with Virat Kohli on Day 1. Courtesy: AP
By India Today Web Desk: Australia batter Marnus Labuschagne revealed the friendly banter he was involved in with Virat Kohli on Day 1 of the opening Test against India at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur.
In the first ball of the sixth over, Labuschagne missed a delivery from Ravindra Jadeja and had a smile on his face. Kohli, from the slip cordon, suggested that the batter should have shouldered his arms to the delivery. It was the first ball Labuschagne faced off Jadeja in the match.
Later, Labuschagne hit a four by playing a cover drive and Kohli lauded him by looking at the replays. While he was happy after getting praised by Kohli, Labuschagne also said that he learned quite a few shots from the former Indian skipper.
“Yeah, it’s always nice when Virat thinks you have played a decent shot there. There are a few shots I definitely learned from him,” Labuschagne was quoted as saying in an interview on Sen Cricket.
At Stumps on Day 1, Australia found themselves on the backfoot as India were trailing by 100 runs with nine wickets in hand in their first innings. However, Labuschagne believed that a special batting performance could save the Aussies in the Test.
“We are here to win the series, so we are going to make sure that we work as hard as we possibly can and fight our way back into the match by putting up a special performance with the bat,” he stated.
Labuschagne also had words of praise for Todd Murphy, who picked up his maiden Test wicket in the form of KL Rahul. Murphy had figures of 7-0-13-1 at the close of play on the first day.
“Just what I thought he was going to do. His temperament as a person gave me a lot of confidence coming into this game. His skills are high, he’s got the changes and angles. He has got the craft. He looks like a special talent and it’s nice to see him do well,” Labuschagne added.
