Head ton helps Australia hit back after early strikes

December 15, 2024 2 min read

By Alex, CricTips Editorial Team · How we predict.

Australia Hits Back After Early Strikes

Travis Head continued his dominance against India, scoring his third hundred in six innings against them to power Australia to a strong position at Tea on the second day of the Brisbane Test. Head's unbeaten 103* and his 159-run stand with Steve Smith (65*) took the hosts to 234 for 3, raising questions about Rohit Sharma's decision to bat first.

Head and Smith Dominate Post-Lunch Period

The pair made the most of a good pitch to bat on, scoring 54 risk-free runs off 13 overs in the first hour after lunch. Bumrah bowled just two overs, but even he couldn't find a breakthrough, with Head ramping a short ball over the cordon for four.

India's Bowlers Struggle to Find a Breakthrough

Akash Deep swapped ends but couldn't find any luck, drawing false responses without finding the edge. Ravindra Jadeja was brought on after 48 overs, but his left-arm spin was hit over mid-off for a pair of boundaries. Head went up the gears soon after completing his half-century, taking apart Jadeja and Mohammed Siraj.

Smith Nudges to Half-Century

While Smith took 128 deliveries to reach his half-century, Head needed only 44 balls to go from 50 to 100, piling on the misery for India in a session where they managed no wickets.

Early Wickets for India

Earlier in the morning session, India's bowlers gave away just 76 runs at 2.56 while prizing out three top-order wickets. Bumrah was the pick of the bowlers, extending his mastery over the Australian openers. He beat Usman Khawaja on both edges and bowled Nathan McSweeney with a similar delivery to the one that got Marnus Labuschagne out.