'Both of us felt like we'd left some runs out': Labuschagne on his century partnership with Smith

Australian batter Marnus Labuschagne on Friday (July 8) said he and fellow centurion Steve Smith were due some runs after the duo gave Australia opening day honours against Sri Lanka in the second Test.

Labuschagne smashed his first century away from Australia on Day 1 of the second Test in Galle. He scored 104 runs before being dismissed at the stroke of tea. At the same time, his partner Smith scored his first century since January 2021. Both shared a brilliant 134-run stand for the third wicket to take the attack to the opposition bowlers after Australia lost their openers in the first session.

Labuschagne said both the batters were short of runs, and when the team struggled after losing both openers, they cashed in on the opportunity to score big on the opening day of the first Test.

"Both of us felt like we'd left some runs out there for the last few Tests. So it was nice to cash in when we got an opportunity," Marnus Labuschagne told reporters after the day's play.

The number two ranked Test batter in the world said he was very disappointed with the first Test match, where he was dismissed for 13 runs. However, he reasoned that it was due to going away from his process.

"From last week I was very disappointed. Probably just going away from my process rather than the dismissal."

Labuschagne stated that his good friend and Australia's stalwart- Steve Smith looked determined from the moment he entered the ground before the start of Day 1 of the second Test.

"And obviously Smudge (Steve Smith) got run out (in the last Test). The boys said this morning when he rocked up to the ground, he was in the Smudge headspace and he looked locked in."

Smith had to wait for 16 innings before he could reach his 28th hundred in whites on Friday. It was a long wait for the Australian Test vice-captain as he had seven fifty-plus scores during this interval but couldn't reach the coveted three-figure tally. Many experts around the globe felt that Smith had lost his prime, but Labuschagne never thought that the number 3 Test batter in the world was out of form.

"I never feel like Steve's (Smith) out of form. I never go jeez, he's not hitting the ball well. Getting that one today, I think is really going to open up the floodgates and you know, I think we could have a really big next how many, over 10 Tests we have next year. I think it's a nice relief to get the three figures.”