ADELAIDE: Australia’s Travis Head has been a perennial thorn in India’s flesh and it was more of the same on Saturday as the left-hander produced a match-defining hundred to deflate the tourists in the day-night second Test in Adelaide.

Head produced match-winning hundreds on both occasions when Australia beat India in the finals of the World Test Championship and the 50-overs World Cup last year.

The 30-year-old reprised the India tormentor’s role at the Adelaide Oval where he wowed 51,642 fans with a breakneck 140 before Australia demolished India’s top order to close in on a series-levelling victory.

At stumps on day two the visitors were floundering at 128-5, still 29 runs adrift, after a fiery blast under the Adelaide Oval lights from Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Scott Boland.

Rishabh Pant was on 28 and Nitish Kumar Reddy 15 as the hosts eye their eighth straight pink-ball victory in Adelaide to level the five-Test series after being crushed by 295 runs in Perth.

Australia were all out just after tea for 337 with Head producing a typically flamboyant knock on his home ground in front of a big crowd.

Batting at five, he scored at almost a run a ball, slamming 17 fours and four sixes, while Marnus Labuschagne chipped in a gritty 64 to build a first-innings lead of 157.

“I hope it’s going to be a dominant position, we have played well over the last two days,” said Head. “It’s nice to contribute to that, I felt like I played well personally. It’s nice to make use of some chances, play well and put us in a good position.”

After Australia resumed on 86-1, Jasprit Bumrah (4-61) ensured the tourists did not have to wait long for a breakthrough.

Opener Nathan McSweeney, playing only his second Test, added just one run to his overnight score before edging Bumrah behind for 39.

The crafty seamer also dismissed Steve Smith for two, strangling the out-of-form batter down the leg side with wicketkeeper Pant taking a diving catch.

Labuschagne kept his head down and collected runs without courting risks en route to only his second half-century in his last 11 Test innings.

Head, coming in at the other end, was more assertive and hit off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin over the mid-off ropes for his second boundary.

Reddy broke their 65-run stand when Labuschagne cut him to gully where Yashasvi Jaiswal took a sharp catch.

Head could not be contained, though, and the left-hander continued to play his shots on his way to a 63-ball fifty.

Mitchell Marsh fell caught behind to Ashwin even though replays showed no bat-ball contact and the batter did not challenge the decision.

Head continued to cut and pull with abandon and also had his share of luck. One of his edges flew between wicketkeeper and first slip and, on another occasion, Mohammed Siraj could not hold on to a tough catch in the deep.

Head took a single off Ashwin to bring up his hundred before gesturing to his wife, daughter and newborn son in the stands.

Siraj (4-98) finally stopped the batting carnage, bowling him with a yorker, with the pair involved in a fiery exchange in the aftermath after the Indian quick gave the hometown hero a send-off.

In reply, India struggled as the sun went down with K.L. Rahul lasting just 10 balls before Cummins sent a short one to the ribs and he gloved to Alex Carey behind the stumps.

Jaiswal, out for a golden duck in the first innings, made 24 this time, but he had no answer to Boland, whose first ball angled away and took a nick to Carey.

Boland stunned superstar Virat Kohli (11) in similar fashion, with Carey holding his third of the night to leave India tottering at 66-3.

Shubman Gill was next to go after a determined 28, with his middle stump removed by Starc, before Cummins bowled Indian captain Rohit Sharma for six.

India bowling coach Morne Morkel admitted his team had their work cut out, and praised Head’s contribution.

“Head is a guy that is looking to score, as a bowler he puts you under pressure,” he said. “So your execution gets tested. When he came to the crease we bowled really well, I thought we could knock him over, but credit to him, he got through that phase then put the pressure on us.”

Scoreboard

INDIA (1st Innings) 180

AUSTRALIA (1st Innings, overnight 86-1):

U. Khawaja c Sharma b Bumrah 13

N. McSweeney c Pant b Bumrah 39

M. Labuschagne c Jaiswal b Reddy 64

S. Smith c Pant b Bumrah 2

T. Head b Siraj 140

M. Marsh c Pant b Ashwin 9

A. Carey c Pant b Siraj 15

P. Cummins b Bumrah 12

M. Starc c Rana b Siraj 18

N. Lyon not out 4

S. Boland b Siraj 0

EXTRAS (B-13, LB-1, NB-7) 21

TOTAL (all out, 87.3 overs) 337

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-24 (Khawaja), 2-91 (McSweeney), 3-103 (Smith), 4-168 (Labuschagne), 5-208 (Marsh), 6-282 (Carey), 7-310 (Head), 8-332 (Cummins), 9-332 (Starc), 10-337 (Boland).

BOWLING: Bumrah 23-5-61-4 (5nb), Siraj 24.3-5-98-4 (2nb), Rana 16-2-86-0, Reddy 6-2-25-1, Ashwin 18 4-53-1

INDIA (2nd Innings):

Y. Jaiswal c Carey b Boland 24

K.L. Rahul c Carey b Cummins 7

S. Gill b Starc 28

V. Kohli c Carey b Boland 11

R. Pant not out 28

R. Sharma b Cummins 6

N.K. Reddy not out 15

EXTRAS (B-5, LB-2, NB-2) 9

TOTAL (for five wickets, 24.0 overs) 128

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-12 (Rahul), 2-42 (Jaiswal), 3-66 (Kohli), 4-86 (Gill), 5-105 (Sharma).

TO BAT: R. Ashwin, J. Bumrah, H. Rana, M. Siraj

BOWLING: Starc 9-0-49-1 (2nb), Cummins 8-0-33-2, Boland 7-0-39-2

Published in Dawn, December 8th, 2024