Australian batsmen Travis Head and Steve Smith showed flexibility and skill to lead their team to a commanding position on the first day of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final against India at The Oval.
Opting to field first, the Indian bowlers dominated proceedings early on, reducing the Aussies to 73-2 before the lunch break.
In the fourth over of the innings, Mohammad Siraj took the wicket of Usman Khawaja, who tried to pull the leg side but the ball went to wicketkeeper Srikar Bharat, who took an extraordinary diving catch. Khawaja got out without scoring after facing 10 balls.
David Warner, who recently hinted at a possible retirement from Test cricket, managed to score 43 including eight fours before being dismissed by Shardul Thakur.
Marnes Leboschgen and Steve Smith battled hard to stabilize Australia’s innings before the lunch break. However, on his return, India quickly counter-attacked, courtesy the deceptive bowling of Mohammed Shami. Lebushagen succumbed to Shami’s deception, giving India a crucial victory.
Nevertheless, Head and Smith formed a formidable partnership, patiently collecting valuable runs for Australia. Head displayed some brilliant batting skills to complete his sixth Test century and ended the day unbeaten on an impressive 146 runs. Smith, providing unwavering support from the other end, remained unbeaten on a brilliant 95 runs.
By the end of play, Australia had firmly established their dominance in the match with a massive total of 327 runs for the loss of three wickets in 85 overs.
