Twitter Reactions: Marnus Labuschagne shines with remarkable ton as Australia end day 1 in commanding position

The first day of the opening Test match between Australia and the West Indies at the Perth Stadium saw total dominance from the hosts as they made the Windies bowlers toil hard throughout the day after skipper Pat Cummins called it right at the toss and elected to bat first.

While the West Indies did manage to take two wickets, it was the only sigh of relief for them in what was otherwise a tough day at the office with the likes of Marnus Labuschagne and Test batting mainstay Steve Smith making merry on what looked a very good batting surface.

Marnus Labuschagne’s fantastic ton puts Australia on top on the first day

The Aussies suffered an early setback when Jayden Seales dismissed explosive opener David Warner for just five runs against his name in just the fourth over. However, Warner’s opening partner Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne then took matters into their own hands and did not allow the Caribbean bowlers any chance of making a comeback.

They two batters succeeded in finding gaps and making neat placements as Australia’s scoreboard kept ticking. The duo added 142 runs for the second wicket stand before Khawaja was sent back to the pavilion for an impactful 65 runs.

After the southpaw’s dismissal, Steve Smith joined Labuschagne in the middle and both combined together to demoralize the opposition bowlers and fielders. Marnus went on to register a well-deserved century and continued his purple patch in Test cricket on Australian soil.

The South Africa-born cricketer did not show any signs of slowing down and just kept on taking the attack to the opposition whenever he got chances. Smith also offered some much-needed support from the other end and went on to register his half-century.

At the end of the day’s play, Marnus Labuschagne remained unbeaten on 154 runs off 270 deliveries and Steve Smith was not out on 59 runs from 107 balls. The duo has added 142 runs for the third wicket stand and the Aussies are comfortably placed at 293/2. For the West Indies, Jayden Seales and Kyle Mayers picked up a wicket each.

Here's how Twitter reacted to Labuschagne and Smith's outstanding batting display