"I actually can’t hear what you’re saying"- Marnus Labuschagne on being sledged by Team India during 2023 World Cup final

Australian batter Marnus Labuschagne opened up on his experience of playing in front of a massive Indian crowd in the 2023 World Cup final. He had to walk out to bat when the hosts had the Aussies 47/3 and under immense pressure from Team India.

While the crowd was understandably hostile and backing their team, Labuschagne claimed that some Indian players also tried to get under his skin by sledging. However, he couldn't hear it because of the deafening sound made by the crowd.

Here's what Marnus Labuschagne had to say in his newsletter ‘My World Cup Final Wrap’:

“It was so loud and the wave of momentum India had was immense. The Indian team were getting into me and all I could say back, and very truthfully at that, was ‘I actually can’t hear what you’re saying over the crowd’. On this bus ride to the ground, there was fans lining the streets from about 5km out. It was amazing to see the fans get behind the game like they did.”

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Marnus Labuschagne on silencing the Ahmedabad crowd

Marnus Labuschagne spoke about the two pivotal moments in the first innings where the Aussies were able to silence the giant crowd in Ahmedabad. He spoke about the moments when they struck with the big wickets of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

On this, Labuschagne stated:

“It was huge in the context of the game. For Maxi to throw it up like he did and tempt Rohit into the shot, and then Heady to take this grab. It was massive.”

He added:

"Standing in the middle of a giant stadium with 130,000 fans in it who all went silent at this moment. We all just stood in the team huddle and took it in for a moment."

Australia won an unprecedented sixth World Cup, thanks to the 192-run stand between Travis Head and Labuschagne.