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Pat Cummins responds to calls for Marnus Labuschagne to be dropped after India thrash Australia in first Test


Australia v India - Men's 1st Test Match: Day 3

Marnus Labuschagne managed just five runs in total in Perth (Picture: Getty)

Pat Cummins has backed ‘class player’ Marnus Labuschagne to bounce back from his poor run of form following Australia’s 295-run defeat to India in the first Test in Perth.

Chasing a daunting 534-run target, Australia were dismissed for just 238 in the final session of day four to hand India a 1-0 advantage in the five-match series.

India asserted themselves as the overwhelming favourites for victory after a devastating spell of bowling in the closing stages of the third day, which reduced the hosts to 12-3.

And while Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh rallied to notch scores of 89 and 47 respectively, Jasprit Bumrah and Nitish Kumar Reddy struck to remove the two batters in quick succession, before Alex Carey and the lower order were toppled.

Cummins and Co will look to regroup and draw level when the series resumes at the Adelaide Oval on December 6.

The touring side must win three of the next four contests against the Baggy Greens to secure themselves a spot in a third straight World Test Championship final.

Asked what went wrong for Australia across the four days, Cummins replied: ‘Look, I think it was a fair few things.

The tourists head Adelaide with a 1-0 lead in the series (Picture: Getty)

‘I thought 150 placed us quite well. Obviously, the game sped up that night of day one, they bowled terrifically well and put a dent into us.

‘Once the pitch started to slow down a bit, we weren’t as well placed when we were back out in the field and couldn’t get the breakthroughs.

‘But I thought they played really well and just not much really went our way this game.’

Labuschagne was dismissed for LBW by Bumrah on day three (Picture: Getty)

An out-of-sorts Labuschagne managed scores of two and three in Australia’s first and second innings respectively and there are growing calls for the 30-year-old to be dropped.

The batter’s latest showing in Perth means he averages below 30 in Test cricket since the start of last year’s Ashes, but his captain is hopeful a return to form could be around the corner.

‘Marn, along with quite a few guys in the team, didn’t have the week that we wanted,’ Cummins said when quizzed on Labuschagne’s struggles.

‘It’s no secret how hard the batters, particularly Marn, work in the nets and he’s always trying to find those small marginal gains.

Cummins believes Labuschagne can come through his sticky patch (Picture: Getty)

‘This week there will be a lot of conversation with the coaches around, maybe, his approach and what he could be doing differently.

‘We know he’s a class player. Him at his best is one of the scariest propositions for opposition bowlers to bowl at so this week will be about those conversations, get to Adelaide a little bit earlier and maybe do an extra day or two preparation leading into that second Test.

‘But he’s done it over here before and he’s got a very good pink-ball record so …read more

Source:: Metro

      

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