Australian skipper Aaron Finch on Friday stated that the bond between Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, who stitched together 96 runs together for the 3rd wicket in the 2nd ODI against India at Rajkot, is nothing short of a bromance. The visitors were chasing 341 to win the series after they had mauled India in the first game at Wankhede, Mumbai, but the early dismissal of David Warner and then Aaron Finch put them on the backfoot.
However, the visitors were bought back into the game after a strong stand by Marnus and Smith, before the former was dismissed just short of his fifty by Ravindra Jadeja. Smith, who looked well on course for a hundred, too was cleaned up by Kuldeep Yadav, just two runs short of the triple-digit figure.
In the post-match press conference, the presenter Harsha Bhogle asked Finch about the partnership that the two shared, which bought the Aussies into the game. “Smith and Labuschagne, they look like long-lost brothers, don’t they?” he asked. In reply, Finch said: “They certainly are (long-lost brothers). They love batting together, they spend every minute of the day together. I think the only time they don’t spend with each other is when they sleep,” which was followed by hearty laughter.
About the win, Kohli stated, “It augurs well when the two openers are so good together. Rohit’s left shoulder has popped out of few times, and he should be good to go in the next game. I asked the bowlers what they wanted to do and they said this was the time to execute the yorkers. All three of them were really good with the yorkers, particularly Shami who changed everything in that over.”
Team India leveled the three-match ODI series 1-1- with the win, and will play the decider at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Sunday.
