IND vs AUS: Travis Head has once again proved his worth in day-night Test cricket, scoring a brilliant century on the second day of the second Test in Adelaide during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Key insights into Head’s impressive record
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– Fastest Century Progression: Travis Head reached his century in 111 balls, beating the record he had achieved by getting the three-figure mark in 112 balls against England at Hobart in 2022. It was the third-fastest century for him in a day-night Test after the 125-ball blitz against the West Indies at the Adelaide Oval in 2022.
– Second-Most Centuries in Day-Night Tests: With three centuries in just 13 innings in day-night Tests, Head stands second only to Marnus Labuschagne, who has scored four centuries in 15 innings.
– Consistency Against India: Since 2023, Head has excelled against India, averaging 65.60 with 656 runs in 11 innings, including a century and two half-centuries. This is in stark contrast to his average of 30.47 against other teams in the same period, where he has managed 701 runs in 23 innings.
Rohit Sharma’s Dismal Form as Captain
Indian captain Rohit Sharma had a forgettable outing in Adelaide, and his recent statistics reflect a troubling trend for the seasoned batsman.
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– Failed to Cross Double Figures: Rohit has been unable to reach double figures eight times in 12 innings during the 2024-25 season, second only to Sanath Jayasuriya (2001) and Mominul Haq (2022) among captains who could not manage to cross double figures during a season.
– Low Batting Average: Rohit’s batting average of 11.83 in the 2024-25 season is the second-lowest for a captain who has played at least 10 innings and batted in the top six. Only Jeff Crowe, with an average of 11.80 in the 1987-88 season, has performed worse.
– Double Failures: In a Test match innings of both 2024, Rohit failed to cross double figures three times. The most recent failures occurred against Australia in Adelaide and earlier Bangladesh at Chennai and New Zealand in Pune. Amongst Indians, Virender Sehwag recorded this kind of poor return in an inning of more than one test more times than any Indian during 2006 when it happened four times.
– Historical Context: Other than Sehwag, only Ashok Mankad of 1971 and Aakash Chopra of 2004 had managed to not score double-digit scores in both innings during a particular season for India. Internationally, it is the record of Sanath Jayasuriya of 2001 and Mominul Haq of 2022 for captains that is shared with Rohit.
Other Notable Events During the IND vs AUS Match
– Shubman Gill vs. Mitchell Starc: For the first time in his Test career, Shubman Gill fell to Mitchell Starc. Till that time, he had faced 177 balls from Starc in 13 innings, scoring 162 runs with 23 fours and two sixes.
These contrasting statistics highlight the vast difference between Travis Head and Rohit Sharma. The head seems to be growing further into being a consistent match-winner under lights, whereas, for Team India, his form does not make amicable reading as they gear up to face the grueling 2024-25 season.
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