Travis Head's brilliant hundred helps Australia fight back after losing early wickets

Travis Head delivered another masterclass ton against India, smashing his third century in six innings against them. His unbeaten 103, combined with Steve Smith's solid 65*, put Australia in a commanding position by Tea on Day 2 of the Brisbane Test. Their partnership of 159 runs helped the hosts reach 234/3, raising more questions about Rohit Sharma's decision to bowl first on what has turned out to be a great batting surface so far.

Rohit’s Decision to Bowl First Backfires

Unlike the slow and cautious morning session, Head and Smith shifted gears after lunch. With the ball already 43 overs old, they added 54 runs in the first hour without taking any risks. Indian captain Rohit Sharma rotated his bowlers, searching desperately for a breakthrough. Jasprit Bumrah beat Smith's bat a few times and tried to test Head with a short ball, but the batter cheekily ramped it over the slips for four.

Smith essentially had a tough time because Akash Deep made him blunder a few shots and even hit him on the pads, but when India checked with a review, it turned out the ball wasn't going to hit the stumps. Even though Smith was struggling a bit, Head was just performing well and looked very relaxed doing it. He easily scored his third 50+ in a row this series, getting through the fielders and making completely certain the runs kept coming.

Head Takes on Jadeja and Siraj with Ease

After bowling for 48 overs, Ravindra Jadeja was brought into the game, but since the ball wasn't spinning much, Head decided to play very strongly against him, hitting boundaries over mid-off, but he didn't simply stop after a few shots. Once he hit his fifty, he moved forward, attacking both Jadeja and Mohammed Siraj hard. Siraj tried to slow him down with short balls but Head just hit more boundaries by pulling and ramping. Since the fielders were spread out, it was easy for Head to score single runs too. He completed his century, hitting it in only 44 balls past his fifty, making the Indian bowling team run out of options.

At the other end, Smith quietly reached his half-century off 128 balls, playing the perfect supporting role to Head. Earlier in the day, India's bowlers had done a good job in the extended morning session, conceding only 76 runs while picking up three key wickets. Bumrah was at his best again, dismissing both openers. He found Usman Khawaja's edge with a splendid delivery that straightened after pitching and got Nathan McSweeney with another superb ball.

Labuschagne Falls as Australia Takes Control After Lunch

Head got off to a strong start, right before Smith managed to dodge a few tight LBW shots just before they all went for lunch. That was the moment Australia began to take control after they came back from lunch. Before that, while trying to hit a leader, Marnus Labuschagne, playing alongside Smith, made 37 runs and then got out. Nitish Reddy delivered a full one, and Labuschagne tried to conjoin it but ended up getting caught by Virat Kohli at second slip.

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