Marnus Labuschagne and his Brisbane Heat players were thrilled as the team beat the Sydney Sixers in the ongoing Big Bash League (BBL) on Thursday to qualify for the final.
The South African-born cricketer was joined by Heat’s Matt Renshaw at their hotel room in India. He tried to pull Sydney Sixers’ in-form batter, Steve Smith, into the celebrations as well but the latter could be seen heartbroken with the result.
The celebrations can be seen on a video shared by 7cricket on Instagram:
The trio are in India for the upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy. The first of the four-Test series begins in Nagpur on Thursday, February 9.
As far as the match is concerned, the Heat beat the Sixers by four wickets in a low-scoring thriller. The Sixers clearly missed Smith, who was in red-hot form, having scored 346 runs in five games in the ongoing season of the BBL, including two centuries.
Labuschagne also played a pivotal 73 off 48 balls as the Heat beat the Sydney Thunder by eight runs in the eliminator.
With the victory, the Heat set up a BBL final against the Perth Scorchers. The summit clash will be played in Perth on Saturday, February 4.
Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith key as Aussies eye revenge against India
The Pat Cummins-led Australia will be looking to exact revenge against India in the Border Gavaskar series. Marnus Labuchagne and Steve Smith will be vital for the visitors owing to their decent track record against India.
So far, Smith has amassed 1742 runs in 14 Tests against India, including eight centuries and five fifties. The right-hander emerged as the highest run-getter during the three-Test series against South Africa earlier this year. He scored 231 runs at an average of 57.75, including his 30th Test ton.
Meanwhile, Labuschagne has scored 464 runs in five Tests against India, which includes a ton and two half-centuries. He had a terrific 2022 season, amassing 957 runs in 11 Tests at an average of 56.29, including a couple of centuries.
The Aussies will be looking to finally win a Test series in India after 2004/05. They have already lost their last four Test series in India. Australia have also lost their last two series against India in their backyard.
Australia Test squad for India tour: Pat Cummins (captain), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner.
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