Travis Head has lengthy been a thorn in India’s flesh, and his newest heroics within the Ashes have solely strengthened that popularity. The Australian left-hander has a behavior of rising spectacularly when the stress is at its fiercest, one thing Indian followers keep in mind all too properly from the 2023 ODI World Cup remaining and the World Check Championship decider earlier that very same yr. However his match-winning effort within the opening Ashes Check at Perth could be the best innings of his profession. On a energetic Optus Stadium pitch providing tempo and bounce, Australia have been tasked with overhauling 205 within the remaining innings. With common opener Usman Khawaja dominated out by way of damage, Head was pushed as much as open alongside debutant Jake Weatherald. The transfer, initially of venture, become a masterstroke.

Head tore into the English assault from the primary over, racing to a century in simply 69 deliveries and ending with a blistering 123 off 83 balls. His knock featured 16 fours and 4 sixes, and included two essential partnerships — a 75-run stand with Weatherald and a 117-run alliance with Marnus Labuschagne — that carried Australia to a outstanding victory inside two days. Former India head coach Ravi Shastri, watching the carnage unfold, couldn’t resist drawing parallels with the Indian heartbreak of 2023. Taking to X, he wrote:

Ravi Shastri submit

“Travis Head… two years in the past, you plunged my nation into silence. And in the present day, you’ve got achieved it once more, in the very best format of the sport, in blistering style, with one of many nice innings. Take a bow. England… that was particular.” Head finally fell to Brydon Carse, however the contest had been settled by then. Labuschagne and Steve Smith accomplished the formalities as Australia sealed a 1-0 lead in thumping fashion. England captain Ben Stokes admitted after the match that he was left “shellshocked” by Head’s onslaught, a sentiment that echoed throughout the cricket world. For India, England, and anybody else who has suffered by the hands of Travis Head, one factor is more and more clear — when the stakes are excessive, the left-hander turns into an unstoppable power.