AHMEDABAD: Australian opener Travis Head came out all guns blazing against hosts India as he struck a brisk century in the ICC World Cup 2023 final at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Sunday.
Head achieved the milestone in the 34th over of Australia’s pursuit when he worked a length ball from Kuldeep Yadav towards the cover region and took a risky single.
He amassed the century in just 95 deliveries with the help of 14 boundaries and a six.
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His century-plus knock kept Australia afloat after the five-time champions had slipped to 47/3 in seven overs.
Travis Head joined forces with Marnus Labuschagne and put together an anchoring partnership.
When this story was filed Australia were 192/3 in 35 overs with Head (107*) and Labuschagne (41) firm at the crease.
For the unversed, this was Travis Head’s second century against India in an ICC event final.
He struck a sensational 163 in the first innings of the World Test Championship (WTC) Final which led Australia to take command of the showpiece fixture at The Oval.
Travis Head failed to emulate his brilliance in the second innings as he could score 18 but his first-innings exploits were enough to lead Australia to glory and also earned him the Player of the Match award.
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Put into bat first, India could accumulate a modest 240 in the allotted 50 overs as pacers-led Australia booked their strong batting lineup.
Mitchell Starch was the pick of the bowlers for Australia with 3/55 in his 10 overs while captain Pat Cummins bagged two wickets, leaking just 34 runs in his quota of overs.
Josh Hazlewood also played a pivotal role in keeping the Indian batting unit in check, returning with 2/60.
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