Border-Gavaskar Trophy, 3rd Test: Khawaja-Labuschagne stand overpowers Jadeja’s spin, visitors’ score reads 156/4 (Day 1, Stumps)
At the end of the day's play, Aussies lead India by 47 runs. Australia resumed their innings at 71/1 after tea.
Marnus Labuschagne has cemented his position at the number 3 slot in Australia’s Test team after amassing 1,103 runs with an average of 58.05, which includes three centuries in his past three Tests. Hosts Australia will take on New Zealand at the historic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in the second Test of the three-match rubber from Thursday and Labuschagne has the chance to join an elite list of Australian players.
If Labuschagne, 25, manages to slam a ton at the MCG, he will join an elite list of Aussie cricketers who have scored a century in four consecutive innings.
While the legendary Don Bradman did it thrice, Jack Fingleton (1936), Neil Harvey (1949-50), Matthew Hayden (2001-02 and 2005) and Steve Smith (2014-15) are the other Australians to have slammed centuries in four straight Tests.
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Earlier, the Kiwis had struggled against Labuschagne in the first Test at Perth, where he came up with scores of 143 and 50 as the hosts registered a mammoth 296-run victory to take a 1-0 lead in the rubber.
Labuschagne had slammed his first ton in the longest format of the game last month and there has been no looking back since then.
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