Against his favourite opposition, at his home ground, and in front of friends and family, Travis Head delivered a batting masterclass, smashing 140 off 141 balls as Australia posted 337 in their first innings, securing a healthy lead of 157 runs. Batting under lights was always going to be challenging, and the Australian bowlers capitalised, rattling India’s batting line-up. At stumps, India ended a disappointing day at 128/5, trailing by 29 runs.
The final 40-45 minutes of play were disastrous for India. The Australian pacers exploited the perfect bowling conditions, leaving the visitors reeling. Pat Cummins triggered the collapse, with Scott Boland and Mitchell Starc providing strong support. Openers Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal looked promising but fell to risky shots. Senior players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli endured double failures, scoring just 6 and 11, respectively. Rishabh Pant and Nitish Kumar Reddy will resume tomorrow, with India needing a monumental effort to turn the tide.
Earlier in the day, India’s bowlers adopted a fresh approach. After focusing on the off-stump channel yesterday, which yielded limited success, they targeted the stumps. The strategy paid off immediately as Jasprit Bumrah bowled a superb delivery to dismiss Nathan McSweeney. Soon after, Steve Smith edged one down the leg side. Two early wickets in the first hour put India on top as Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj maintained tight lines and lengths, restricting Australia’s scoring.
Australia struggled until Travis Head joined Marnus Labuschagne at the crease. Head injected much-needed energy, counter-attacking with his aggressive style. After a steady start, he quickly found his rhythm, hitting clean boundaries and boosting the run rate. Together, Head and Labuschagne stitched a 65-run stand that began to tilt momentum back to Australia. The breakthrough came when Nitish Kumar Reddy dismissed Labuschagne.
Post-lunch, Head shifted gears and adopted an ultra-aggressive approach, but wickets fell regularly at the other end. Mitchell Marsh edged one to the keeper off Ravichandran Ashwin, opting not to review despite some doubt over the decision. Alex Carey then joined Head, and the duo added a brisk 72 runs, pushing Australia’s lead further out of India’s reach. During this phase, Head stormed to his eighth century on his home ground, peppering the field with boundaries.
The late-order batters, Starc and Cummins, chipped in with powerful hits, although Cummins was dismissed just before the dinner break. Armed with the second new ball, India’s bowlers quickly cleaned up the Australian innings, but the damage had been done.