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Marnus Labuschagne has been an electric figure for Australia on Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test against South Africa.
The No. 1 ranked Test batter took a sensational catch at cover to dismiss Khaya Zondo off Mitchell Starc's bowling. The wicket reduced South Africa to 67/5 early in the second session at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Monday, December 26.
Australian skipper Pat Cummins won the toss earlier in the day and opted to bowl first. Local hero Scott Boland got to work right away with the wicket of opening batter Sarel Erwee in the 11th over of the innings.
The Proteas recovered and were relatively well placed at 56/1 in the 20th over, but a frenzied three-over period saw them lose three wickets. The highlight of the brief collapse was skipper Dean Elgar's dismissal. The gritty batter had to walk back courtesy of a stunning direct hit by Marnus Labuschagne.
Labuschagne then made another statement early in the second session with a catch to dismiss Zondo. The right-handed batter played an uppish drive of Starc's bowling, but could not beat Labuschagne's vigil in the cover region.
The latter dove full-length to his left with precise timing and claimed the catch well above the ground, much to the delight of the Boxing Day crowd assembled at the MCG. Take a look at the splendid catch right here:
It has all been about the pacers in the contest so far. While the pitch at the MCG is not as menacing as the one at the Gabba from a few days back, it does require the batters to apply themselves.
Marnus Labuschagne had a quiet outing on a testing surface in Brisbane and will be on the lookout to extend his lead at the top of the rankings in this match. He has had a terrific summer so far, scoring three hundreds in the two-match series against the West Indies before the ongoing series.
South Africa slowly rebuild their innings after Marnus Labuschagne's stunner
The visitors were staring at yet another poor total after losing Khaya Zondo's wicket to Marnus Labuschagne's stunner. However, all-rounder Marco Jansen and wicket-keeper batter Kyle Verreynne have staged a fightback of sorts with a solid partnership for the sixth wicket.
They were 144/5 at Tea at the time of writing.
The ongoing contest is crucial for South Africa with respect to their World Test Championship final aspirations. The Proteas slipped to third position in the standings following their loss in the first Test and India's recent triumph over Bangladesh.
How much will South Africa be able to post in the first-innings following yet another poor show by the batters? Let us know what you think.
