IND v AUS: Australia will have an advantage over India in Tests, says Marnus Labuschagne
Marnus Labuschagne, Australia's latest middle-order prodigy, believes that the Aussies have an advantage heading into the 4-match Test Series after handing India a battering before sealing the 3-match ODI series.
A rather uncharacteristically insipid looking Indian side were completely steamrolled by a dominant Australian line-up in the first 2 ODIs. Worryingly, the Indian bowling contingent looked completely colourless in two performances that skipper Virat Kohli labelled as 'ineffective' while the batting order folded under the pressure of chasing two monstrous totals.
While Labuschagne didn't quite come to the fore in the first ODI, his breezy 61-ball 70 helped Australia reach a massive 389 in the 2nd ODI on November 29.
Labuschagne mentioned that Australia's domination in the one-day series could give them a significant psychological advantage over India during the 4-Match Test Series that's set to begin on December 17.
"Cricket is a massive confidence game and even though it's a different format it still gives you a lot of confidence when you are scoring runs consistently. And the way Steve (Steve Smith) and Davey (David Warner) are batting currently, I have no doubt they will be able to transfer that into the Test summer." said the Aussie
Australia's recent red-ball experience will also help in the upcoming Tests: Marnus Labuschagne
Marnus Labuschagne further went on to add that Australia's recent red-ball experience would give them a slight edge over India in the Test series as at least 7 of Australia's likely team for the first Test in Adelaide have recently featured in a Sheffield Shield (Australia's first-class cricket competition) game whereas none of India's players have played in a first-class game since early March.
"It's a slight advantage that four out of our top six have been playing Shield and have that rhythm as a batting group," Marnus Labuschagne added.
India will be looking to make amends while the Australians will look to press on their advantage and continue their domination as the two sides square off in the 3rd ODI on December 2 at the Manuka Oval in Canberra.