Australia's Steve Smith Forced to Leave Practice with Injury Scare

Australia's batting team is anchored by Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne. Even if the pair haven't played well in Test matches for almost two years, champion players are always a possibility. Prior to the pink-ball Adelaide Test match against India, Smith and Labuschagne have been putting in a lot of work in the nets. The hosts were alarmed on Tuesday as Smith and Labuschagne both struggled with injury issues.

Labuschagne also had an injury scare earlier in the day. The 30-year-old was shown being struck and briefly resting on the ground in a video that RevSportz posted. Labuschagne, however, was not seriously injured because he quickly stood up and resumed his practice. Steve Smith was hit in the finger. Marnus Labuschagne was batting with Australia's No. 4 batter when he was hit in the right hand.

Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne Viral video:

After losing the first Test by 295 runs in Perth, Australia is already under a lot of pressure. The Pat Cummins-led team felt confident in their chances going into the five-match series, especially after India's crushing 3-0 home loss to New Zealand.  Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne have both been having trouble scoring runs in the longest format. Smith hasn't scored a century in 23 innings.

Maruns Labuschagne suffers an injury scare while batting in the nets in Adelaide ahead of the 2nd #INDvsAUS Test Match. He was hit by a rising ball from Vettori.

Labuschagne continued to bat after the hit. @debasissen & @CricSubhayan report from Adelaide #BGT2024 pic.twitter.com/JnJx0gmP6G

— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) December 3, 2024

In the first innings, Marnus scored two runs from fifty-two balls. In the second innings, he was unable to challenge the scores. Mitchell Johnson, a former pacer for Australia, has stated that Marnus should be benched for the pivotal Adelaide Test. Steve Smith and Marnus would now try to compete in the Adelaide Test match against India, scheduled to start on Friday, December 6.

As the entire batting order was under pressure to recover from being bowled out for 104 runs in the first innings, Smith and Labuschagne were unable to leave their imprint in Perth. With a scorching 89 in the second inning, Travis Head was the standout performance. The hosts will struggle to defeat India in the series unless the top-order steps up. Josh Hazlewood, meanwhile, will not play in the Adelaide second Test due to a minor injury to his left side. Brendan Doggett and Sean Abbott have been called up by Australia as possible replacements. 

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