Australian batsman Marnus Labuschange has pulled out a special piece of cricket memorabilia. The 30-year-old has hung up the cricket bat he used in Australia’s 2023 World Cup victory against India. Labuschagne brought back some unhappy memories for Indian fans on social media when he announced that he would retire his bat, which is now broken. Labuschagne played an unbeaten fifty against India in the World Cup final, helping Australia win their sixth World Cup title.
Coming in to bat with Australia struggling at 47/3, chasing a target of 241, Labuschagne acted as a perfect anchor, allowing Travis Head to lead the chase at the other end. While Head scored 137 off just 120 balls, Labuschagne was not out until the end, finishing with 58 off 110 balls. He struck a 192-run partnership with Head to virtually guarantee victory for the Australians.
I think the time has finally come to retire the baton from the World Cup final pic.twitter.com/X7123Vt8vT
-Marnus Labuschagne (@marnus3cricket) August 12, 2024
Labuschagne shared an image of his stick from that game on social media. Noticeably, his Kookaburra club is in rough condition, with much of the willow in the middle and bottom of the club falling off.
Indian fans react
Indian fans responded to Labuschagne’s tweet in varying ways.
One fan lamented the fact that Labuschagne had saved a good knock for the crucial final.
“We hate that bat and that innings Marnus, we don’t care if you play well against Eng, but why India, why against India,” replied a fan.
Another fan paid tribute to the fact that a bat could be so important even to established cricketers.
“We used to think that only people like us, who play at school, club, etc., keep these clubs. Attachment is something like that, the favorite taco cannot be easily left behind. He’s a great player,” said another.
We hate that bat and that innings Manus, we don’t care if you play well against Eng, but why India, why against India
– Video (@VideetB) August 12, 2024
— . (@realkaushal_rj) August 12, 2024
Labuschagne has scored 362 runs in 10 innings in the 2023 Cricket World Cup.
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This story originally appeared on ndtv.com read the full story
