Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023: Marnus Labuschagne opens up on chat with Rohit Sharma

Australian cricketer and current world No.1 Test batter Marnus Labuschagne has revealed the special conversation he had with Indian skipper Rohit Sharma before the commencement of the third Test, of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023.

After suffering heavy losses in the first two Tests, Australia bounced back with a roar as they convincingly won the third Test by nine wickets to register their first victory of the four-match series. They completely outplayed India, both with the bat and ball, to narrow down the margin to 1-2.

Post an incredible victory, Labuschagne opened up on a chat he had with Rohit Sharma prior to the commencement of the third Test. Labuschagne revealed that he happened to be walking with the Indian skipper when he expressed willingness to learn from Sharma the tactics of playing in the Indian conditions which were alien to Labuschagne and his team mates.

"I said to Rohit out there when we were walking. I said ‘I am watching whatever you do, I want to learn. You guys are the best in these conditions. We are foreign to these conditions’. You learn from the opposition, you learn from the way they do it. We try and learn and grow with each game," the 28-year-old said while speaking to the broadcasters on Star Sports.

The right-handed batter stated that he went up to Rohit Sharma and openly asked him about all the nitty-gritties and the special things which the Indian team did that made them almost unbeatable on rank-turners. He was of the opinion that since such conditions were quite alien to them, so it was important to have a clear conversation with the people who were excelling in it. There was no harm in learning from the opposition, and learning should always be the way to excel in the game.

We spent time retrospecting and working on our mistakes: Labuschagne

He also went on to add that after the first two losses, the Australians spent the lengthy break to deeply retrospect and work on their mistakes. That majorly helped them to take things easy and play the third Test with much confidence, thus helping them win it.

"We got to continue to learn and make sure the first Test, the second Test is all not the same. We need to keep learning. Everyone just revisited their options, everyone just revisited their plans and their techniques," Labuschagne revealed while talking about the changes they made coming into the third Test.

He also added that the players were not willing to give up on their defence and that's what they wanted to base their trust on. He further said that he had been missing those free shots in the series and had to work it a different way.

"For me, personally, I have batted in 4 or 5 different ways. I have walked in, I have swept. But I think as the series went on, I didn’t not get those free shots as I did at the start of the series. We just said we have to trust our defence more. We are all going to get out standing, Steve got a really good ball, one that just spun and got the edge. But we needed to keep trusting our defence. Once we settle down, the game will open up," he added.

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