Marnus Labuschagne was dismissed twice by R Ashwin in the face-off during Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21.
Australian batter Marnus Labuschagne had trouble facing India veteran spinner R Ashwin in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2020-21. The India offie was very effective on the last Australia tour as he picked up 12 wickets in the three matches.
Labuschagne had recently rated Ashwin among the top three bowlers he has faced in Test cricket during a Q&A with fans on Twitter. During the BGT 2020-21, Ashwin got the Australian batter out twice in the face-off.
The 27-year-old said facing Ashwin is like a game of chess. “He is very good at assessing batsmen, and that's why I have enjoyed facing him,” he told Sportstar.
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“He has picked up some things I do when I play certain shots. That's why I love these four-five match series because you cannot be satisfied with what you've got as a batter, otherwise, you will be found out by quality bowlers. You've to keep adapting.”
Labuschagne enjoyed the battle with Ashwin in the Melbourne Test and he is looking forward to facing him again during Australia's next tour to India in 2023.
“What I loved most about Ashwin was the fields he had for me and how I was trying to move the field in my endeavour to score runs. Just the way both of us were able to chop and change in the middle of an engrossing passage. It almost felt like a chess game. He bowled beautifully in Melbourne... got a few early wickets with the leg slip,” said Labuschagne.
“Smith and I played him well in Sydney. We've got a few subcontinent tours before my next trip to India, and hopefully, I can challenge myself in those conditions. I have a few tricks up my sleeve (smiles)!”.
Earlier, Ashwin had mentioned the challenges he faced while bowling against Labuschagne and how he upped his game against one of the top batters in the current Australian team.
"He steps out, he hits the ball over cow corner for an offspinner, or he hits it over mid-off. It's very rarely through long-on. And he doesn't have a flat sweep, he has a lap sweep, like a paddle. All these shots have a trigger. And it's very fine. If you don't know or if you've not seen enough footage, you cannot pick these things up," Ashwin had said in an interview with The Cricket Monthly.
(With Sportstar Inputs)