Mohammed Shami had just given one of those performances that only come when he is in rhythm. Marnus Labuschagne was struck out for an awkward 26 when a rare full ball, his first after lunch, sailed in after pitching and struck Labuschagne’s off-stump. At that point, Steve Smith had only four runs when Australia was 76/3 on Day 1 of the World Test Championship final at the Oval.
India chose to bowl on a wicket that had a generous touch of green after winning the toss in the midst of a gorgeous sun-kissed afternoon and evening under a leaden sky that eventually turned blue. Then, in an odd move, captain Rohit Sharma maintained a sweeper on the off-side, giving Travis Head—who has the highest strike rate of any batsmen with 500+ runs or more in the current WTC cycle at nearly 82—the security of sitting down.
Head accepted the gift and, after everything was in place, set about dismantling an exhausted and disheartened Indian assault. He did this by using his quick hands to stroke the ball past mid-wicket and awkward cover and point for boundaries and to end the game. In the third session, he was also liberally fed short, wide balls to practise the ramp shot for goals.
Head’s career seemed to be at a crossroads at the Oval in 2019 after he was benched by Tim Paine and Justin Langer for the final Test of the Ashes despite having a respectable series. He demonstrated how crucial he has become to the lineup when he returned to the same location. He represents Australia’s take on “Bazball,” a motif that will be present in the forthcoming Ashes.
Head scored his sixth century, his first against India, and his first away from Australia with a brutal 146* (156 balls, 22×4, 1×6). India’s arch-enemy Steve Smith (batting on 95; 227b, 14×4) was his partner in crime during the unbroken 251-run fourth-wicket stand. He had eight hundreds against India with an average of over 65 runs in 18 Tests prior to this WTC final, totaling 1887 runs. His previous performances at the Oval have resulted in scores of 138 and 7, 143, 80 and 7. At stumps, the Australians were in the lead with a score of 327/3. The new ball used towards the conclusion of Day One did nothing but increase the pace of the runs.
India should reflect on their bowling technique. The short ball causes head trouble. The first one, though, didn’t come until he was far over 30. In the first session, Shami and his new ball partner Mohammed Siraj bowled admirably, giving the Australian batsmen the confidence to remain on the back foot. However, Siraj gave the crowd the first shout by catching Usman Khawaja from behind for a duck. He demonstrated how difficult batting may be by hitting Labuschagne on his glove when the bowlers continuously bowled in the proper spot. Not Umesh Yadav. He bowled from both ends of the pitch and supplied the release ball that let the pressure dissipate.
Prior to lunch, Shardul Thakur, who was chosen as the fourth seamer rather than the off-spinner R Ashwin, did an honourable holding job that resulted in numerous incorrect shots. He hit Labuschagne on the pads as the batter narrowly avoided being referred for an LBW. But David Warner’s head, who gave KS Bharat a pull with a glove, was his reward.
