T20 Blast: Marnus Labuschagne does a Babar Azam to hit a wide yorker for four

From South Group, Glamorgan and Gloucestershire were up against each other during the T20 Blast match on Thursday, June 10 at the Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. Though Glamorgan ended up on the wrong side of the result, their ace batsman Marnus Labuschagne stole all the thunder with his fine performance with the willow. 

One of the highlights of the game was Labuschagne smashing an innovative yet class shot to collect four runs on the delivery by Ryan Higgins. Labuschagne was playing on 43 off 32 when Glamorgan needed a massive 73 runs in 38 deliveries. During the second-last ball of the 14th over, the seamer Ryan tried to surprise the opposition batter by bowling a wide yorker. 

Labuschagne read the ball well and was preparing to play a square drive. However, in the final moments, the 26-year-old changed his plans and waited for the ball to come closer and dabbed it wide off the keeper for a four. The unique shot by Labuschagne gained a lot of applause and appreciation as the video was widely circulated all over social media. 

Incredible innovation from Marnus Labuschagne 🤯#CountyCricket2021 pic.twitter.com/myWzgeqbdi

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) June 10, 2021

Marnus Labuschagne’s classic knock goes in vain

The highly-anticipated encounter between Glamorgan and Gloucestershire commenced with Gloucestershire skipper Jack Taylor winning the toss and electing to put the total on the board. Batting first, the franchise experienced a good run as they managed to post a decent total of 179 runs on the scoreboard. 

The wicketkeeper-batsman Glenn Phillips was the highest run-getter for his team with a knock of 44 off 32. For Glamorgan, Daniel Douthwaite was the pick of the bowler as he scalped three wickets. A Salter, Marcus, and R Smith also had one under their belt. 

Chasing 180, Glamorgan got off to a disastrous start as they lost their opening batsman Nicholas Selman for a mere score of 4. Labuschagne emerged as the wrecker-in-chief for the chasing side as he kept his calm and continued scoring runs. However, the Australian batter didn’t receive support from other batsmen. Labuschagne played class innings of not out 93 runs off 56 deliveries. 

However, the batter’s effort didn’t matter as Gloucestershire managed to secure a victory by four runs.

ICYMI: Babar’s amazing innovative shot: