"He is probably scoring quicker now than Gilly probably ever did" - Ricky Ponting compares Travis Head to former great

Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has drawn comparisons between Travis Head and former keeper-batter Adam Gilchrist following the former's exploits on day one of the World Test Championship (WTC) final.

The Tasmanian believes Head is scoring at a faster clip than Gilchrist, who struck at 81.95 in 96 Tests.

Head stayed not out at 146 after day one of the WTC final against India at the Kennington Oval. The left-hander came after Marnus Labuschagne's dismissal and took the attack to the opposition from ball one. Head reached his fifty off 60 deliveries and got to his 100 off 106 balls.

Speaking to ICC, Ponting reflected that Head's strike rate of 81 in WTC speaks volumes of his abilities. The Australia World Cup-winning captain felt the southpaw's ability to put pressure on bowlers is remarkable.

"He probably is (similar to Gilchrist). In fact he is probably scoring quicker now than Gilly probably ever did. His strike-rate through this (World Test Championship) qualification period is 81, which is higher than anyone else in the world to have scored more than 500 runs," he said.

"His confidence is growing by the game, his strike-rate keeps going up, he hits boundaries early on in his innings which puts pressure back on the bowlers which is what you want from your middle order players, and his last two years have been quite remarkable," he added.

Head also did incredibly well when he was promoted to open the innings during the India tour earlier this year following David Warner's injury. The South Australian mustered 235 runs in three Tests at 47.

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"No good trying to over attack him" - Ricky Ponting laments Indian bowlers' approach

While Ricky Ponting further admitted that the Indian bowlers erred in their lengths, he expects them to get it right in the second innings. The 168-Test veteran added:

"I think when he first comes in you need to execute perfectly to him. It is no good trying to over attack him because if you bowl any bad ball, he is going to put it away. They will learn by the way they bowled to him in this first innings, and they will definitely adjust in this second innings, but sometimes it is too late."

Head and Smith stitched an unbeaten 251-run stand as Australia reached an imposing 327-3 by Stumps.