Indian skipper Virat Kohli has heaped praises of the young Australian all-rounder Marnus Labuschagne after beating the visitors by 7 wickets in Bengaluru to clinch the ODI series 2-1. Marnus Labuschagne, who has been named as ICC’s Men’s Emerging Player of The Year, has performed brilliantly in Tests as well as in ODI’s since he first debuted for Australia in 2018.
“He’s a quality player. We were talking outside… he’s very sure of what he wants to do,” Kohli said. “Again, body language, intent, he’s there, he’s running hard between the wickets, he wants the ball [in the field].
“I think he’s got the right mindset to be a consistent player, to be a top player in the world for a while. He’s shown that in Test cricket, he’s shown that in one-day cricket, and I’m sure if he plays T20 cricket, he’ll show the same clarity there as well”, added Indian skipper Virat Kohli.
Labuschagne held the Australian middle-order with Steven Smith after David Warner and Aaron Finch were removed early in the innings by Indian bowlers in third and final ODI. Steven Smith went on to amass 131 runs while Labuschagne managed to score 54 runs after he was removed by Mohammad Shami. Smith and Labuschagne stitched a brilliant 127-run partnership to anchor Australian innings and set the base for a big total. However, Indian bowlers restricted the visitors on 286 for 9.
“He looks like a complete team man,” Kohli said. “So, against guys like that, you need to have total clarity and not back off, because if a guy brings that kind of clarity, it can really put the bowlers under pressure if you’re not up to the mark.
“It’s about who loses patience first. If you give him a window, he can take the game away from you. He’s always energetic. I really don’t know where he gets that energy from. He’s like a bunny running around.”
The young Australian batting sensation has hit 4 tons and scored 896 runs in 5 Test matches. Labuschagne made his debut in ODI cricket in the just-concluded ODI series in India where he scored 46 and 54 in two innings. He was not included in the playing X1 of the first match where India were humiliated with a 10-wicket loss against Australia.
