Virat Kohli insulted by Marnus Labuschagne ahead of Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Australia batter Marnus Labuschagne has changed a lot in the last few years. Labushagne recalled an incident during his first Border-Gavaskar Trophy match in 2018 and claimed that Kohli used to be quite intense back then.

However, he hasn't seen that aggression in Kohli since then. During the 2018-19 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, India created history under the leadership of Virat Kohli and won their first-ever Test series in Australia.

Also read: Gautam Gambhir ordered to take up India's batting coach role only for Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Marnus Labuschagne plays mind games on Virat Kohli

During a conversation with Star Sports, Marnus Labuschagne remembered the time when he faced Virat Kohli in an opposite team for the first time. The star Australian batter claimed that Kohli was India's captain back in 2018 and was quite intense during that series.

The series had plenty of fiery encounters between both teams. However, Labuschagne further mentioned that Kohli's aggression has gone down consistently since and he hasn't been the same.

"My first memory of Virat was probably, from a playing perspective, the 2018 series. He was captain at that time, I think, and he was quite intense. When I watched the series, it was a very intense series," Labuschagne said.

"I probably haven't seen that same Virat since then, you know, the start of that series. For a long time, he's just been a quality act, but my first memory would be that," he added.

Marnus Labuschagne's Test record against India

Marnus Labuschagne made his Test debut during this series. India went on to win that series 2-1 and scripted history by becoming the first Asian team to win a Test series in Australia. It was humiliating for Australia who had been so dominating at home over the years.

Australia played that series without their star players Steve Smith and David Warner as both of them were serving bans after being found to be doing ball-tampering.

Meanwhile, Marnus Labuschagne has a good record against India. The 30-year-old batter has scored 775 runs at an average of 45.58 in 10 Tests so far. He has struck three fifties and one hundred in Tests against India.

Virat Kohli's Test record in Australia

On the other hand, Virat Kohli too enjoys a great record against Australia. The 36-year-old India batter has scored 2042 runs at an average of 47.48 in 25 Tests against Australia. In terms of his records in Australia, Kohli has scored 1352 runs in 13 Tests at an average of 54.08 with 4 hundreds and 6 fifties.

The Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 will begin on November 22. Perth will host the first Test of the series while Adelaide will host the second Test, which will also be a day-night Test. The third Test will be played in Brisbane's Gabba. Melbourne and Sydney will host the Boxing Day Test and the New Year's Test respectively.

India will be under huge pressure going into the series after losing the home Test series to New Zealand recently. Virat Kohli had a horrible Test season as he managed just 1 fifty-plus score in five Tests.