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Both Smith and Labuschagne were far from their best as the Australian batters produced a disappointing display, resulting in a whopping 295-run defeat against India at Perth.
Ricky Ponting suggested that both Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne look at Virat Kohli’s return to form and take lessons to turn around their fortunes. (Image: AP)
The legendary Australian skipper, Ricky Ponting has asked the out-of-form batters, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith to ‘trust their game’ and look at what Virat Kohli did to return to form ahead of the second Test in Adelaide.
Both Smith and Labuschagne were far from their best as the Australian batters produced a disappointing display, resulting in a whopping 295-run defeat against India at Perth.
Australia were bundled out for just 105 runs in the first innings and then 238 in the second which raised serious concerns about the home side’s batting unit heading into the rest of the series.
Barring Nathan McSweeney who made his debut in the Perth Test, the rest of the top-order batting unit which includes Usman Khawaja, Labuschagne and Smith looked well out of touch.
Ponting in the ICC Review said that it was time for Labuschagne to start delivering otherwise the Queensland batter could see himself being dropped from the side.
“Marnus looked the most tentative out of all the batters in Perth. Yes, it was high-quality bowling on a difficult wicket, but he needs to find a way to turn it around,” Ponting told ICC Review.
The World Cup-winning captain looked at how Virat Kohli was able to turn things around and bounce back with a century in the second innings which involved the batter focusing more on his best attributes rather than playing the opponent.
“Virat went back to trusting his game and looked like a different player in the second innings than he did in the first innings,” Ponting said.
“He (Kohli) got away from trying to combat the opposition and focused on his strengths. That’s what Marnus and (Steve) Smith need to do – find their own way and show great intent,” he added.
Already down by one game in the series, Australia will have to come back strong in the second Test to keep themselves in the hunt for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Australia have not beaten India in the series with the Men in Blue having held the title for almost a decade.
The onus will be on both Labuschagne and Smith to get their act together and help Australia return to winning ways in Adelaide.
