India vs Australia: ‘They’ve certainly come in with a plan’ – Marnus Labuschagne assures Australia batsmen will bounce back at Sydney

India vs Australia: ‘They’ve certainly come in with a plan’ – Marnus Labuschagne assures Australia batsmen will bounce back at Sydney
Marnus Labuschagne
Marnus Labuschagne

To the surprise of many, the Border Gavaskar Trophy has been a bowler dominated affair so far. Both sides have struggled to score freely but Australia have been the worst hit. Australia’s run rate of 2.37 from three completed innings in the series will be a cause of concern for the hosts. Of Australia’s top six for the opening two Tests, only axed opener Joe Burns boasts of a strike rate above 50.

And Marnus Labuschagne hails India’s strategy and execution for the same. Labuschagne shares that the tourists’ intelligent field setting has cut short their scoring areas. And that has built pressure on the Aussies. The Queenslander goes on to stress that Australia batsmen need to be disciplined if they want to spend some times in the middle.

“They’ve certainly come in with a plan … and made sure they’re really not leaving the stumps and having a really heavy leg side field,” Labuschagne said of India’s bowling.

“It obviously slows your scoring rate down because those shots you do get on your legs go for one, not four. We need to be very disciplined and we also need to come up with ways to put them under pressure.“

I think the batters will fight back – Andrew McDonald

David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith (L-R)
David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith (L-R)

Assistant coach Andrew McDonald is excited to see how the batting units bounce back following two bowler dominated encounters. McDonald feels that the Aussies are confident technically. And it is all about the mindset and execution when it comes to being aggressive with the bat. The former fast bowler adds that it is all about how the players adapt to the conditions.

“That arm wrestle between bat and ball is going to be intriguing going into Sydney where both batting units are under the pump. The guys have got a good handle on their games, technically they’re in a good space, it’ll just be about the method and how they want to score their runs. There will be moments when they attack, there’ll be moments where they have to absorb some pressure. I don’t think it’s one thing in particular.“

“But there’s no doubt some of our batters felt as though they could have put more pressure on certain bowlers at certain times,” McDonald shares.

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