"If I'm picked, I'm the right person for that role in the middle order" ©AFP
Marnus Labuschagne was just the perfect man in the perfect place late on Saturday evening in Dharamsala.
At least as far as Australia were concerned. For, when James Neesham slapped the full-toss from Mitchell Starc into the leg-side and tried scampering back for a second run (which would have left New Zealand needing five off the last ball), the Aussies couldn't have asked for anyone better than Labuschagne to be in a position to stop it from happening.
And so he did (even if in his own opinion, his throw wasn't the best) ensuring that Australia left the Himalayas unscathed and sitting pretty on the points table.
"I think as he hit it, you just run as hard as you can and I actually tried to make sure I got my body behind the ball a little bit more instead of trying to probably tap it softly," recalled Labuschagne. "The run out actually wasn't a great throw; but what happened is, I picked it up, and I knew I just needed to get the ball in. And I looked up and Josh Inglis wasn't at the stumps yet. So, I threw it exactly where I saw Josh Inglis and then it was about two metres from the stumps. But you know, luckily we got that run out."
That is how Labuschagne would go on to describe his match-winning play from three days ago on Wednesday (November 1).
Speaking of being perfectly positioned, Labuschagne couldn't have done it better than he did to make it here in the first place. After being left out of the provisional squad for the World Cup, the Queenslander had produced some very eye-catching performances in the ODI series in South Africa and India respectively, in the lead-up to the tournament. He was the in-form batter as Australia got set for the World Cup, and the moment there was an
