Australia cricket team batter Travis Head has earned the reputation for being India’s tormentor-in-chief over the last couple of years. From the World Test Championship final in 2023, to the ODI World Cup final followed by the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the star has terrorized India in the big stages and in crucial matches. Once again, he has been flagged as a threat for Rohit Sharma and co. as India meet Australia in the Champions Trophy semi-final. But is Head really a threat in ODIs?
No need for India to have “Headache”
In nine ODIs against India, Head has managed to score 345 runs, averaging 43.12. Barring his 137-run knock that steered Australia to another World Cup in 2023, the batter has hardly put up any commendable performance against India. He has just one half-century apart from a ton against the Men in Blue. While he has managed to get some good starts, he has failed to convert them to a huge score. Naturally, his century in the ODI World Cup final will still haunt the Indians as it remains fresh in their memories. But India are equipped with the adequate firepower to tackle the menace this time around.
| Runs | SR | Ground |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 83.33 | Chennai |
| 39 | 100.00 | Eden Gardens |
| 4 | 66.66 | Indore |
| 29 | 76.31 | Bengaluru |
| 42 | 71.18 | Nagpur |
| 5 | 50.00 | Wankhede |
| 51* | 170.00 | Visakhapatnam |
| 33 | 106.45 | Chennai |
| 137 | 114.16 | Ahmedabad |
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Head’s weakness is undoubtedly playing against quality spin bowling. And India have no lack of options in the ongoing Champions Trophy. The likes of Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jadeja and Chakravarthy can easily trouble the Australian opener. For all we know, he could be sent packing even before he goes all guns blazing. India have their X-factor “Varun” who can torment Head and send him packing.
After all, Head is familiar with the trio of Kuldeep-Axar-Jadeja, having faced them in the ODI World Cup in 2023. However, he hasn’t faced Chakravarthy at all and this is where the mystery factor will come in. While Head is most likely to get off to an explosive start, he can easily be stopped short with spin. And given how the pitch in Dubai is assisting spinners, there’s isn’t a lot of scope for Travis to be a “headache” for India.
