Australia top-order batter Marnus Labuschagne hurt himself as he took on Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj in the eighth over of the World Test Championship Final. After two maidens, Siraj managed to draw first blood as he dismissed Usman Khawaja on a ten-ball duck.
Labuschagne walked out to the middle and was trying to get used to the tough conditions at the Oval. But as he faced Siraj, Marnus Labuschagne was presented with a steaming delivery at 141 kph which went on to hit him straight on his left hand. Immediately after the impact, Labuschagne threw away his bat while physios attended to him. Fortunately for the Aussies, Labuschagne wasn't injured and was ready to bat.
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Further talking about the game, Team India put forth a playing XI which didn't include the number one Test bowler Ravichandran Ashwin. Talking about this decision, Indian captain Rohit Sharma spoke about how it was a tough call but the team had to take the decision.
"We are going to bowl. Just the conditions and also the weather being overcast. I don't think the pitch will change too much. You have to play good cricket and come out on top. Four seamers and one spinner. The spinner is Jadeja. It's always tough (to leave Ashwin), he's been a match-winner for us over the course of so many years. But you got to do the things that's needed for the team and eventually, we came up with that decision. He (Rahane) brings a lot of experience, he's played 80-odd Test matches and he's done well for the team. He's been out for a while but I don't think the experience that he has can change all of that," Rohit said at the toss.