Mohammed Shami had just produced one of those deliveries that he does when he’s in rhythm. A rare full ball, his first after lunch, which seamed in after pitching, crashed into Marnus Labuschagne‘s off-stump, dismissing him for an ungainly 26. Australia were then 76/3 on Day 1 of the World Test Championship final at the Oval with Steve Smith only on four.
It was game on after India had won the toss under a leaden sky that changed hue to blue on a glorious sun-kissed afternoon and evening and elected to bowl on a wicket that had a generous tinge of green. Then, curiously, skipper Rohit Sharma kept a sweeper on the off-side, allowing Travis Head, who has the highest strike rate for batsmen with more than 500-plus runs in the current WTC cycle of nearly 82, the comfort of settling down.
Head accepted the gift and once set, went about carving up a weary and dispirited Indian attack, using his fast hands to stroke the ball through mid-wicket and squarish cover and point for boundaries and take the game away. He was also generously fed with short, wide balls in the third session to essay the ramp shot for boundaries.
It was at the Oval in 2019 that Head’s career appeared to be at the crossroads after he was dropped by Tim Paine and Justin Langer for the final Test of the Ashes despite having a decent series. Back at the same venue, he showed how integral to the line-up he has become. He is Australia’s version of ‘Bazball’, a theme that will play out in the upcoming Ashes.
Head struck a savage 146* (156 balls, 22×4, 1×6), his sixth ton, his first versus India and first away from Australia. His partner in crime during the unbeaten 251-run fourth-wicket stand was India’s nemesis, Steve Smith (batting on 95; 227b, 14×4). An aggregate of 1887 runs before this WTC final in 18 Tests with eight centuries at an average of over 65 against India is reason enough to fear him. At the Oval, his previous outings have fetched him scores of 138 and 7, 143, 80 and 7. The Aussies were in pole position at stumps at 327/3. The new ball taken towards the end of Day One only added to the run flow.
India will do well to introspect how they bowled. Head gets inconvenienced by the short ball. However, the first one around his throat came only when he was well past 30. As well as Shami and new ball partner Mohammed Siraj bowled in the first session, they allowed the Aussie batters the security of staying on the back foot. Siraj provided the early cheer though by getting Usman Khawaja caught behind for a duck. When he hit Labuschagne on his glove, it showed how tough batting could be if the bowlers consistently bowled in the right area. Umesh Yadav didn’t. He bowled on both sides of the pitch, providing the release ball that allowed the pressure to evaporate.
Shardul Thakur, picked as the fourth seamer ahead of off-spinner R Ashwin, did an honest holding job prior to lunch, inducing a plethora of false shots. He struck Labuschagne on the pads as the batter survived a couple of close LBW referrals. His reward, though, came in the form of the scalp of David Warner, who gloved a pull to KS Bharat.
Both teams wore black armbands and observed a minute’s silence at the start to express solidarity with the victims of the triple train crash in Odisha.
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