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Australia beat South Africa by 3 wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the first match of the 5-match ODI series. The hero of the Kangaroo team’s victory was a player who was not even part of the starting playing eleven. The player was none other than Marnus Labuschagne who made the playing eleven as a concussion replacement for Cameron Greene. In fact, in the 6th over of the innings, a sharp bouncer from Kagiso Rabada hit Green on the helmet. Green found the bouncer so difficult that he had to leave the field, later the Australian doctor and physio found that Green had suffered a concussion and the team decided to replace him with Labuschagne. Batting at number 7, the right-handed batsman played an unbeaten innings of 80 runs to give the team an important win.
After his victory, there were discussions in the corridors of cricket that this player should get a place in the World Cup squad. When the same question was asked to the standing captain Mitchell Marsh, he said, ‘Fortunately I am the acting captain, so I don’t have to take that decision.’
Marsh said about the match, ‘After losing a few wickets in the beginning, the players showed intent. Played without any fear and we were lucky, it’s great that Marnus played like that and gave us the win. He is the perfect person to come in and work with. One of the great things about Marnus is that he gives it his all. There are four matches left in the series. We bowled really well, it’s a great win for Australia.
When the Kangaroos lost the sixth wicket for just 96 runs, Labuschagne got a chance to bat. Sean Abbott also returned to the pavilion on 113 before Labuschagne realized anything on the field.
Australia were caught in a very difficult situation, but what happened next was nothing short of a miracle. Labusche put on an unbeaten 112 for the 8th wicket with No. 10 batsman Aston Agar in the 41st over to give the team victory. Labuschagne remained unbeaten on 80 runs while Agar remained unbeaten on 48 runs. Australia won this match by 3 wickets. Labuschagne was awarded the Player of the Match for his innings.