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The incident took place during the 33rd over of the Australian innings, which was bowled by Mohammed Siraj at The Gabba in Brisbane on Sunday.
Mohammed Siraj and Marnus Labuschagne swapped bails during Day 2’s play of ongoing 3rd Test in Brisbane. (Picture Credit: Screengrab)
After only 13.2 overs of play was possible due to rain on the first day of the ongoing third India-Australia Test in Brisbane, Jasprit Bumrah ruled the first hour of the second day’s play at The Gabba and picked up two crucial wickets for India. The 31-year-old fast bowler first removed Usman Khawaja (21) and then accounted for the dismissal of his opening partner Nathan McSweeney (9). While Khawaja was caught behind by Pant, Virat Kohli completed McSweeney’s catch on the third ball of the 19th over of Australia’s first innings.
After losing two batters early in the first hour of the day’s play, Steve Smith joined hands with Marnus Labuschagne to revive Australia’s innings. Even though during his stay at the crease Labuschagne failed to score any boundaries, he did manage to find success in frustrating Indian bowlers.
He added 37 runs for the third wicket with Smith before Nitish Kumar Reddy brought an end to his 55-ball, 12-run knock on the third ball of the 34th over of Australia’s innings. Labuschagne was caught by Kohli in the slips.
Before returning back to the pavilion, Labuschagne enjoyed a playful banter with Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj. During the 33rd over of the Australian innings, which was bowled by Siraj, the 30-year-old Indian cricketer tried to swap bails in an attempt to play mind games with the Aussie star, but his act didn’t go down well with him, and immediately after Siraj’s act, he swapped the bails once again.
The video of this ball-swapping incident was shared by fans and broadcasters on X, and within no time it went viral on the internet.
The bail swap trick, which led to the dismissal of many batters in the past, paid off for India as well on Sunday, as in the next over itself, Nitish managed to take the prized wicket of Labuschagne.
At the time of Labuschagne’s dismissal, the Aussies were reeling at 75 for 3 in 33.2 overs. Labuschagne, who is Australia’s leading run scorer in World Test Championship (WTC) history, has been horribly out of form for quite some time. He did score a fifty for the Baggy Greens in the second Test played at Adelaide Oval last week, but his numbers in Test cricket in 2024 have raised question marks over his place in the side.
