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Australian middle-order batter Travis Head stood tall against Team India on the opening day of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final at the Oval in London on Wednesday, June 7.
The left-hander completed his ton off just 106 balls, including 14 boundaries and one six. The 29-year-old came out when the Aussies were 76/3 and ensured he put the Aussies in the driving seat when he reached three figures.
Head looked in complete control throughout his innings, except for bounce troubling him for a short stint. It was the sixth ton of his test career, the first against India. During his knock, he also shared a 195-run* partnership with Steve Smith, taking all the Indian bowlers to the cleaners.
Following Travis Head's ton, the Australian dressing room gave him a standing ovation with skipper Pat Cummins, who also wanted to bowl first, wearing a bright smile on his face.
Watch Travis Head's century celebrations below:
Travis Head and Steve Smith put Australia in command on Day 1 of the WTC final
A clinical batting performance from Travis Head and Steve Smith put Australia in a commanding position after India invited them to bat first on Day 1.
Smith, in particular, struck his 68th half-century as he stitched a 150+ partnership with Head for the fourth wicket.
David Warner also contributed 43 to provide a decent start to Australia after Usman Khawaja departed for a duck. Marnus Labuschagne also added 26 runs and shared a fifty partnership with Warner.
For India, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, and Shardul Thakur returned with one wicket apiece.
At the time of writing, Australia were 271/3, with Head (111*) and Smith (74*) at the crease. The duo will look to stretch their partnership in the one-off Test.
Team India, on the other hand, would be keen to get rid of both the aforementioned batters before stumps on Day 1.
It’s worth mentioning that India, who lost the inaugural 2021 WTC final, dropped ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for Shardul Thakur in the WTC final.
Follow WTC 2023 final live score updates here.
