Australia's number three Marnus Labuschagne has opened up on his short nap before coming out to bat on day three of the World Test Championship (WTC) final against India at the Kennington Oval. The right-handed batter revealed that he was trying to calm his nerves and that Mohammed Siraj's tight bowling didn't leave room for much of that.
Labuschagne was caught napping in the locker room, but had to wake up soon to go out to bat after Siraj caught the better of David Warner early in the innings, caught by KS Bharat behind the stumps. The number one Test batter copped a few blows from Siraj's relentless spell.
Opening up about the hilarious incident, the 28-year-old told SEN Cricket after the day's play:
"I was just resting my eyes between balls and just relaxing. I was trying to calm my nerves a little bit, you can’t watch the game all the time, I got up there and was awake pretty soon. I didn’t have too many rests there when Siraj banged that first one in."
Marnus Labuschagne hold firm as Australia's lead swell to 296 after day three:
However, Labuschagne held one end as Australia gathered a strong lead of 296 by Stumps on day three to reach into a further strong position. The right-hander shared a brisk 62-run stand with Steve Smith, who looked immovable before miscuing one off Ravindra Jadeja's bowling.
Labuschagne stayed unbeaten at 41 off 118 balls and was in the middle with all-rounder Cameron Green, who is batting on 7 after facing 27 balls. The duo still have some work to do before setting up for declaration.
