Australian all-rounder Marnus Labuschagne was in awe of Cheteshwar Pujara’s brilliant century on day one of the fourth and final Test between Australia and India at the SCG.
Pujara remained not out on 130 on day one, his third century in the series and 18th overall.
“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 on Thursday.
Talking about Australia’s chances in the match, Labuschagne said, “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 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.”
Talking about his role in the side, especially being promoted to number three in only his third Test, he said, “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 end and giving pacers a rest to make sure they can come back fresh for every spell.”
Talking about batting at the no.3 spot, Labuschagne said, “I’ve pretty much batted most of my time at Queensland at three and it does go out in a position that I am comfortable with. It’s going to be a good challenge tomorrow and one I’m looking forward to. My role at three is to play my game and to make sure that I am batting as much time as possible and putting us as a team in a good position. That’s how I’m going to approach it.”
(With PTI inputs)
