"He has come really prepared" - Marnus Labuschagne praises Ravichandran Ashwin

Australian young gun Marnus Labuschagne recently commended Ravichandran Ashwin's preparation and skillset, but the former is eager to bounce back against the ace spinner.

In four innings in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Labuschagne has scored 129 runs at an average of 32.25. While he is the second-highest scorer in the series, he has been immensely helped by a lucky streak of dropped catches.

Ravichandran Ashwin, however, hasn't let Labuschagne's luck come in his way. In the 2nd innings of both the Tests, Ashwin dismissed Labuschagne with clever deliveries.

Talking in a virtual press-conference, Marnus Labuschagne praised Ashwin as a 'great thinker'.

“I had never faced Ashwin before until this series, so I don’t have a comparison to compare him with. But, you don’t have the figures and the stats that Ravi has without being a great bowler and also a great thinker. He has come really prepared. They are being really crafty with their field and what they are trying to do," said Marnus Labuschagne.

Marnus Labuschagne is touted as the next big thing in Australian cricket. Within 2 years of his debut, he is rubbing shoulders with Smith, Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson in the ICC Test rankings. However, the 26-year-old is yet to live up to his image against the Indians.

"We have fallen into India's traps a few times" - Marnus Labuschagne

India, under Ajinkya Rahane's captaincy, came to Melbourne with some unprecedented tactics. In the first innings, the captain set a packed leg-side field and the bowlers supported it by feeding nothing outside the off stump.

As a result, Smith, Labuschagne and captain Tim Paine were all caught fending the ball on the leg-side. Talking on this very topic, Marnus Labuschagne accepted that the Aussie batsmen have fallen prey to India's well-laid out plans.

“Look, we have fallen into their trap a few times. At the end of the day, someone’s going to get you out in a game of cricket. So for us, it’s about reviewing those dismissals and come back stronger, making sure we learn from each innings,” said Marnus Labuschagne.

Australia will look up to the troika of Smith, Labuschagne and David Warner to unfetter the team from a run-dearth. However, one can also expect Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah to come prepared for their ardor when the third Test commences on 7th January.

When your backs are up against the wall, lean back and enjoy the support of the wall!! Well done to the entire team and what a win that was💯🔥🔥🔥🥳🥳. Special mention to Mohd Siraj and @RealShubmanGill 👏👏..@ajinkyarahane88 @cheteshwar1 @Jaspritbumrah93 @y_umesh @imjadeja pic.twitter.com/4t8IlxZFlW

— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) December 29, 2020