CHENNAI: In many ways, the writing was on the wall for India. In this instance, Australia batter Travis Head putting India to sword when it matters the most. Over the last 18 months, he has done it time and again against India. World Test Championship final, check. ODI World Cup final, check. To say that he was behind India's failure to capture global titles would not be an understatement.
So much so that every time he plays and misses, Indian cricket fans would relive the events of November 19, 2023 in Ahmedabad. So, when the Indian team arrived on the shores of his hometown — Adelaide — they would have had to pull off a mighty effort to stop him from scoring a century. As fate would have it, they couldn't.
Coming in after the fall of Steve Smith, Head went on to smash a typical, counter-attacking century — his third on the trot at Adelaide Oval — to put Australia on the driver's seat. By the time he was done by a pin-point yorker from Mohammed Siraj, Head had amassed 140 runs from 141 balls, having taken Australia's lead past 130. With Marnus Labuschagne and Nathan McSweeney setting the platform, Head built on it.
The South Australian knows the ground like the back of his hand. He understood the conditions, the attack that was in front of him and launched a calculated assault. He had his share of fortune as he would admit later, but Head made the most of it. The celebration after the century summed it all up. Head dedicated the century to his second child, who was born last month before paying tribute to his former teammate the late Phil Hughes who passed away ten years ago. His innings helped Australia finish with 337 runs on board.
When asked about his approach with the bat, Head explained, "30 overs seems to be about the mark on Adelaide Oval. For my whole career, it has felt like that's (whether it is) the red ball, pink ball the time you've got to put in and invest. Then it feels like the wicket gets slightly easier to bat on. Huge effort from those guys last night to do it."
While the 157 runs deficit was always going to be stiff, India came out with an attacking intent. It was a double-edged sword but the visitors felt they had to take a chance, especially after watching Australia bat. The pitch had obviously eased out, but the conditions were different. Australian pacer's release point — read tall fast bowlers extracting extra bounce off length — and pink ball swinging under lights meant they needed the discipline that Labuschagne and McSweeney showed on Friday. However, India went the other way and paid a price for it.
First, KL Rahul awkwardly tried to pull Pat Cummins only to be caught behind. Just a few overs later, Yashasvi Jaiswal fell to Scott Boland after a 31-ball 24. Shubman Gill looked at home while Virat Kohli's off-side issues continued. When it seemed like Gill would make it big, Mitchell Starc delivered a peach of an inswinger to clean him up. Cummins followed it up with a perfect delivery that hit Rohit Sharma's off-stump.
Once again, India were down in the dumps, leaving Rishabh Pant and Nitish Kumar Reddy to do the rescue act. The duo did produce some audacious shots to bring the deficit under fifty (29), but it all will depend on how the first session goes on Sunday. India have already lost half their side and will need both the youngsters to put on big scores — read at least 200-run lead — for them to have a chance at winning.
For now, Australia have the visitors on the ropes once again, all thanks to that South Australian — Travis Head.