Unrelenting in his India bashing, the Aussie middle order mainstay adds to India’s misery with a masterly 150+ score
This is a remarkable comeback for him, from three consecutive golden ducks in his last three innings at the Gabba, to 152
He has struck his third ton in the last four Tests against India, second on the trot, and his 2nd century at the Gabba
Head credits his continuing success against India to his familiarity with the Indian team, with which they have been playing more often
Steve Smith too achieves ton, more laboured though
Sports website backs demand for Mohd. Shami to be flown-in to rest ‘tired’ Siraj
In the form that he is in against India, the rising star of Aussie cricket Travis Head, is looking almost invincible as he piles on the misery on the visitors. With a 150+ score in the Aussie first innings of the third Test at the houseful Gabba in Brisbane on Sunday, he now has two consecutive centuries, and a score of 89 in the four innings he has played so far in the 5-match series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.
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With Steve Smith also grittily hanging on to complete a century, their 241-run partnership powered the hosts to an imposing 405 for 7 at stumps on the second day of the Test, the first day of which was almost completely washed out due to rain.
The situation could have been worse for India had not Jasprit Bumrah woven his magic again with the second new ball, taken post tea, to send them both back to the pavilion, along with allrounder Mitchell Marsh in between.
(Subsequently, on a rain-interrupted first session on the third day, Australia, looking to make fast runs, were bowled out for 445, and Indian batsmen repeated their disastrous Adelaide start to totter at 22-3; 4/1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 6/1 Shubman Gill, 22/3 Virat Kohli), all falling to what the expert commentators described as loose shots upfront, instead of showing the resolve to apply their minds as per the demand of the situation).
Jasprit Bumrah’s feat
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Bumrah, once again proved the lone counterbalance to the Travis Head-led Aussie onslaught, finishing the day with a fifer (5 for 72), his 12th in Test cricket. He is now 2nd on the list of Indian pace bowlers with the maximum five-wicket hauls, after the legendary Kapil Dev, who has 23 to his credit. Overall, among all Indian bowlers, R Ashwin leads the list with 37 fifers.
Bumrah has also reportedly become the Indian bowler with the highest number of five-wicket hauls in Tests outside Asia. With his 10 hauls outside Asia, he has surpassed Kapil Dev’s previous record of nine.
His latest five-wicket haul is the Indian pace spearhead’s third in Tests in Australia. With this he has reportedly become the first visiting bowler to claim three or more fifers in Australia since Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria in 2010, and the first pacer to do so since Pakistan legend Wasim Akram in 1990.
Travis Head’s India love story
Travis Head continues his love story with India. He had powered Australia to an emphatic 10-wicket win in the second Test at Adelaide, the pink ball Test, where he scored 140 off 141 in the first innings and was not required to bat in the second innings. Head now averages 113 in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar series, with another 89-run score in the second innings in the first Test at Perth.
Of the nine Test centuries to his credit so far, he has struck three of them in the last four Tests against India, the first being 163 he scored in the first innings of the World Test Championship (WTC) final at the Oval in June 2023, which proved crucial in Australia winning the title.
Overall, in 11 matches against India, he has amassed 1,048 runs at an impressive average of 52.40, including three centuries and five half-centuries.
In his comments to the broadcasters at stumps on day two, Head credited his continuing success against India to his familiarity with the visitors. “We are playing a lot against them,” he remarked.
Travis Head’s ton against India at the Gabba, his second century at the iconic ground following the 152 he scored against England in 2021, portends ominously for India as Australia has never lost a Test in which he has hit a century. A loss here could shatter all remaining hopes India might be harbouring of making it to the WTC final for a third straight time.
The 30-year-old Head came to bat with the hosts reeling at 75 for three following another inspired spell by Jasprit Bumrah early on Day 2, continuing his dominance over the Australian openers. He dismissed them both in the opening half-hour of play on Sunday with the addition of only 10 runs to the Aussie overnight total of 28/0.
After the third wicket fell, with batting allrounder Nitish Reddy, getting rid of Marnus Labuschagne, Head strode in and resumed from where he left off in his home ground at Adelaide, plundering the Indian bowling attack for runs to all parts of the turf, in an exceptional display of batsmanship.
At the other end, his senior partner Steve Smith, appeared to build on his innings after a shaky start, before coming into his own. Between lunch and tea, and an hour thereafter, the Indian bowling attack was taken to the cleaners with a boundary or two being hit every over.
Head raced to his century and then to the 150-run mark at run-a-ball, and Smith laboured to his century, before India took the new ball as soon as it became due, and Bumrah again turned the tables on the Aussies.
Steve Smith’s milestones
With his century, Steve Smith reached a couple of milestones in his Test career. He reportedly became the first player to score 10 of more centuries against two different opponents in Test cricket. Smith has accumulated 12 hundreds against England, and his latest innings in Brisbane marked his 10th century against India.
Smith’s 33 Test centuries are reportedly the second-most for Australia, surpassing Steve Waugh’s tally of 32. He is only behind Ricky Ponting’s record of 41.
India’s two changes
India made two changes to the XI that was crushed by 10 wickets in the Adelaide pink ball Test, replacing pacer Harshit Rana expectedly with Akash Deep and spinner R Ashwin with Ravindra Jadeja.
Playing three different spinners in as many Tests of the current series was quite surprising.
One would have expected Washington Sundar, who played the first Test at Perth, and was replaced in the second at Adelaide by R Aswin, to return for the third Test because of his exceptional all-round performance in the historic India win at the Gabba in the previous BGT series. But instead Jadeja was preferred. He has remained wicketless in the 16 overs he has bowled so far.
Jasprit Bumrah with Mohammed Shami is what India need, says Sports website insidesport.in
For Travis Head’s stats against India, and support for Mohammed Shami, please visit the following links of the sports website:
https://www.insidesport.in/cricket/travis-head-test-stats-against-india/
