India’s stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane, who is known for his slip fielding, took a “sharp catch” off Ravindra Jadeja’s bowling to send Marnus Labuschagne back to the pavilion when he was playing at 91 on Day 2 of the third Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday. The hosts resumed their innings with their overnight score of 166/2 and the duo of Steve Smith and Labuschagne managed to keep the Indian bowlers at bay for the initial hour and brought up a 100-run stand between them.
With both batsmen getting their eye in, the visitors were clearly looking on the backfoot. Jadeja provided India with the crucial breakthrough when he got the prized wicket of Labuschagne, who was caught at first slip by Ajinkya Rahane. The dismissal saw Labuschagne take the long walk back to the pavilion after missing out on the opportunity to score a century by just nine runs.
ALSO READ: Sunil Gavaskar Reckons Smith Is The Best Batsman In Today’s Era
Sharing the video of Labuschagne’s wicket, cricket.com.au tweeted, “Out – Labuschagne is out for 91 following a sharp catch from Rahane at slip”. Here’s the brilliant catch taken by Labuschagne’s dismissal:
Out – Labuschagne is out for 91 following a sharp catch from Rahane at slip.
Live #AUSvIND: https://t.co/xdDaedY10F pic.twitter.com/CzSnX2Hiv4
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 8, 2021
After Labuschagne’s dismissal, Jadeja picked up one more wicket as he also sends back Matthew Wade who was batting in the middle order for the first time this series.
During his short stay at the crease, Wade started playing some attacking cricket from the word go against the Indian spinners with his sweep shots but paid the price for too much aggression as he was caught at mid-on, with Jasprit Bumrah taking a simple catch.
ALSO READ: Mohammed Siraj Reveals Reason Behind Tears During National Anthem
With just a couple of minutes left for lunch, Jasprit Bumrah trapped Australia all-rounder Cameron Green leg before for a duck as India finished the morning session on a strong note. Eventually, Australia got bundled out for 338 with Smith scoring a century.
