Labuschagne cashed in against injury-riddled Indian team … but he was the only one
The Indian bowling attack is without **takes deep breath** Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravi Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Navdeep Saini. Even so, Australia couldn’t cash in on day one at the Gabba.
David Warner was out in the first over, Marcus Harris and Steve Smith hit balls catches so directly to fielders that you have to wonder if they even saw them, and Matthew Wade once again got in but lost his wicket to a hideous shot.
The only one who finished with a score befitting the moment was Marnus Labuschagne with 108, and even he was dropped twice and fell to an ugly stroke.
“Australia should have been 4-93 at one point, batting first on its multi-generational stomping ground against cricket’s ship of Theseus — just two core components from Adelaide and nine replacement parts.
“For a while, India sagged ever so slightly, and you expected them to buckle and break. A few hours after his reprieve, Labuschagne drove Mohammed Siraj through cover to bring up his century from 195 deliveries. His partnership with Matthew Wade stretched into triple figures. Here was the flat track, here were the bullies.
“Then Wade again lost his head before reaching 50, undoing a lot of hot, sweaty work with the sort of agricultural hack-pull that sticks in the minds of even his supporters. Again, it went further up than away. Again, he was caught. And again, it sparked a mini crisis; Labuschagne departed in a similar manner only two overs later.
“Thus Australia is five down for not nearly enough, and the team that cannot be killed is still breathing down its neck.”
