Though he was discomforted by the bumper barrage, Head fully deserved his sixth Test hundred. Strong through the off side, Head played cuts and drives as well as a ramp off Shami for six, but barely scored a run down the ground. Head plays Travballīefore England were playing Bazball, Head had Travball - he was leading runscorer during the last Ashes while striking at 86 runs per 100 balls.Īrriving just after lunch with Australia in a tricky position, Head hit back-to-back boundaries from the fifth and sixth balls he faced and score briskly from then on. On the first day of their six Tests between now and the end of July, Australia showed why they will present such a formidable challenge to Ben Stokes' England. Though there is a significant prize on offer here, their performance will be framed in the context of the Ashes contest to come. These cut-and-thrust tussles ensured entertainment was constant for a noisy but below-capacity crowd that was well behind India.Īustralia's tour begins and ends at The Oval. Labuschagne was involved in a thrilling duel with Siraj, while later Head jostled with the left-arm spin of Ravindra Jadeja and was tested by a barrage of short bowling in the 90s.
Still, Australia had to work hard to be in a position to cash in, especially in the face of some superb new-ball bowling from Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj - the second-wicket stand of 69 between David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne was incredibly valuable.
This was a compelling day of Test cricket, the two premier teams from the past two years duelling in challenging conditions that changed as time wore on.Įven though it was hard to blame India for wanting to bowl first, it may be that it was a good toss to lose for Australia - the pitch offered less movement and more consistent bounce after lunch.
They must strike early or risk being batted out of this final. India will return on Thursday with a ball that is less than five overs old. India, beaten in the first Test Championship final two years ago, opted to bowl first on a green pitch under grey sky and reduced Australia to 76-3.īut as batting conditions eased, India's back-up seamers could not carry the threat of the new-ball bowlers and Rohit Sharma's side may rue omitting off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. The fourth-wicket pair took Australia to 327-3 at the close. Head shared an unbroken stand of 251 with Steve Smith, who looked in ominous touch for his unbeaten 95.
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