WTC Final 2023: Smith and Head help Aussies dominate on Day 1, Finish with a strong 327/3 

On Day 1 of the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Team India at The Oval, Steve Smith reached his half-century and Travis Head hit a century off only 106 balls to give Australia total control. After Pat Cummins and company were reduced to 76/3 in the second session of Day 1, the pair had forged an important partnership for the fourth wicket.

WTC Final 2023, Day 1 Highlights: Australia came back strong despite being 3 down

Mohammed Siraj, an Indian sprinter, defeated Usman Khawaja for 0 in the first session, giving India a solid start to the day. Prior to Australian southpaw David Warner’s 43 (60) dismissal, top-ranked batsman Marnus Labuschagne and the opener held down the fort by combining for a second-wicket total of 69 runs.

Early in the second session, Mohammed Shami removed Labuschagne (26) before Smith and Head made sure that Australia was still on the verge of amassing a massive first innings total. Australia reached 327/3 in 85 overs on Day 1 of the WTC final at The Oval thanks to Head and Smith’s outstanding partnership of 251 off 370 balls.

Love batting under shadow of Steve Smith: Travis Head

Travis Head, an Australian hitter, enjoys playing under Steve Smith’s shadow because it inspires him to give his best effort.

Australia led India by a large margin after day one of the World Test Championship final against India because to Head’s counterattacking 146 not out off 156 balls.

In an unbroken 251-run stand, he and Smith—who is five runs short of a century—shared the scoring.

“I’ve always said I do really enjoy batting with Steve because of how much attention he receives. He’s one of the best players in the world, probably our best player,” said Head.

“He’s our best batter, he’s unbelievable in these conditions, and he receives so much attention from opposition in terms of plans and how difficult he is to bowl to, so I’ve always said going out to bat with him, it feels like you’re in the shadow of that, you can sort of stay under the radar and go about your business,” he said.

Head hammered 22 fours and the only six of the game so far for his first century outside Australia.

Head further explains his frame of mind as compared to 2019

The southpaw said his current frame of mind and the technical changes he made to his batting after 2019 has contributed to his impressive run.

“Losing the toss in the morning I thought it was going to be a challenging day. Nice to contribute nice to get a good start.”

Talking about his approach, he added: “I said in the lead in to the game, if balls are there to be scored off I am going to score off it. There were challenging periods but the ball gets to the boundary very quickly here if you find middle of the bat.

“Technically, I have made those changes but for all around. I felt I needed to adapt to each condition. The foundations in my game has surely a changed a lot since 2019.”

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