Labuschagne, Pucovski half-centuries give Australia edge on Day 1 of Sydney Test
Labuschagne, Pucovski half-centuries give Australia edge on Day 1 of Sydney Test
Australia on Thursday ended Day 1 of the third Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground on high as the hosts posted 166/2 with star batsmen Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne well settledat the crease.
In what was a rain-hit start to the first day of the Sydney Test, Australia won the toss and opted to bat first. The Sydney pitch, which has a tinge of grass, looked great for batting but also assisted the seamers early on.
Continuing his great start in the Test arena, Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj, who made his Test debut in Melbourne,dismissed Aussie opener, David Warner, for five as the southpaw edged one straight toCheteshwarPujara in the slip cordon.
ALSO READ:Watch: Mohammed Siraj gets teary-eyed during national anthem before Sydney Test
However, as the pitch settled, it became easier for the batsmen with debutant WillPucovskiand Marnus Labuschagne stitching a 100-run stand for the hosts. WhilePucovskiwas dropped twice by Rishabh Pant, the elegant batsman went on to register his maiden half-century to become the 82ndAustralian to score a fifty in Test debut. The youngster was trapped plumb by another debutant Navdeep Saini as the quick, angled-in delivery did the job for the visitors.
Steve Smith, who is going through a lean patch, played with intent and ended the day on 31 with Labuschagne scoring an unbeaten 67 to end the day.
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ALSO READ:'You have to look at his record': Tom Moody on Steve Smith bouncing back in form
Indian bowlers bowled well but the dropped catches and a flat andslowishSydney track didn’t help their case much.
“I'm good, nice to spend a bit of time out there, nice to stitch in a partnership with Marnus. I wanted to put him (Ashwin) under a little bit of pressure which I haven't done this series. Was just trying to hold the grip a bit tighter, I've been struggling, so I was getting into good positions today. Was good to get a couple of boundaries early. Marnus played well, hopefully, we go along well tomorrow,” said Smith at the end of Day 1 in Sydney.
With an early start set for Friday, India would be looking to pick some quick wickets and put pressure on the Aussies. Whereas Australia would be hoping that Smith and Labuschagneregister a big partnership.