Live Cricket Update – AUS vs IND 3rd Test Day 2, – Live

Shiva Jayaraman tells us how important Head’s wicket is for India:

Ominous and familiar signs for India as Travis Head quickly moves to 20 from 35 balls after surviving some good deliveries thrown at him early in his dugout. He has been a thorn in India’s side for the past year. Since the final of the previous WTC cycle in June 2023, he has made 748 runs in 11 innings at a strike rate of 105.94 across formats, with key contributions in clutch games.

In this series, until lunch on Day 2 of the Brisbane Test, Head has scored 260 of the 735 runs Australia scored off the ball. The second highest is Marnus Labuschagne, with 81 runs from four innings. Currently, Head’s contribution of 35.37% of his team’s figures is the highest by a batsman in a series of three or more matches since Brian Lara made 688 out of the 1540 runs scored by the West Indies batsmen in the 2001-02 Sri tour . Lanka. Including Lara’s effort, there have been only five other instances where a batter has had a higher team run contribution in a streak of three or more games.

Andrew McGlashan also have some thoughts:

Travis Head again lurks as a threat for India. Having avoided a fourth consecutive first-ball duck at the Gabba, he has set himself even though he was challenged by Akash Deep before lunch. Significantly, he has come in after the 30-over mark with the ball a little softer. It feels like there has been a slight shift in mindset from Australia’s top order, where it is as much about the time they can soak up as the runs scored in conditions that have become tougher in recent years.

Batting averages are certainly down – both in international and domestic cricket in Australia – and while that shouldn’t always relieve batsmen of control, it has made Australia’s middle-order’s ability to counter an important part of their game.

“Probably the last three years in Australia, since the ball change (an extra layer of varnish and a prouder seam), it’s been quite challenging for top-order batting,” Steven Smith told Channel 7 before play. “I think you’ll see that in the numbers. Go back five years and you’ve got to put 450-500 on the board in the first innings to be in the game.

“Now if you put a three in front of it, you’re well on your way to winning the game. Things have certainly changed, it’s probably as difficult to bat as I’ve seen in Australia in the last 14 years, especially for the top batsmen…(but) if you get to the 35-40 over mark, this ball stays pretty hard and guys like Travis Head and Mitch Marsh can come in and score very quickly.”