Border–Gavaskar Trophy: Smith, Head call the shots, leaving India on the mat

The ‘Big Four’ debate to decide on the top batter in Test cricket — among Steve Smith, Joe Root, Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson — went out of fashion some time ago. It’s perhaps time to rake it up again, Kohli’s patchy form notwithstanding, with Smith almost turning the clock back at The Gabba with century No.33 on Sunday, 15 December.

Now 35, the Australian with the most unorthodox batting approach among the four, has been there and done that — and showed he was willing to go to any length to be back among the runs again. It’s his first century in a year.

Smith’s volunteering to open the innings after the exit of David Warner didn’t pay any dividends at first. But the former captain remained undeterred, enduring a torrid welcome from the Indian bowlers before settling down to an epic partnership with Travis Head, the perennial thorn in India’s flesh.

At the peak of his prowess, Smith was the one who simply loved occupying the crease and thrived in the face of adversity. With his team losing three early wickets, Smith dropped anchor again (with a strike rate of 53.16) while Head took over the aggressor’s role. When Smith finally left after scripting yet another batting landmark – that of reaching his 10^th Test century against India in less than 50 innings — the hosts were clearly in the driver’s seat.

Dream sequence

Head, meanwhile, continued to flourish in the ongoing Border–Gavaskar Trophy, coming up among the runs with alarming regularity. His telltale scores in the three Tests — 11, 89, 140, 152 — as he continues his torrent of cuts and pulls with brute power keep alive the mystery of why India’s pace bowlers fail to test him with the short-pitched stuff.

“We have had a few partnerships before, and hopefully, more to go. I felt good. Missed out for a little while now. Nice to get to triple figures. I said to a few guys, batting has been difficult, especially against the new ball. A lot of credit must go to them as well,” Smith said later.

The Smith–Head pair plundered the runs off India at will, in perfect conditions for batting. With the 377 runs scored by the hosts on this second day, the Indian batters will have to show enormous staying power to keep the team afloat in this Test.

What was worrying about the Indian bowlers’ display and captain Rohit Sharma’s choices was the lack of planning against Head. For instance, the visitors did not use the bouncer strategy against the batter — remember the World Test Championship (WTC) final last year? — when the whole world knows that short balls are his weakness when he is new at the crease.

During the Adelaide Test, a frustrated Rohit Sharma took a pot shot at his bowlers by saying Jasprit Bumrah couldn’t be bowling from both ends — something he could well be muttering to himself on Sunday as well. Not only did Bumrah claim his second five-wicket haul of the series, he looked by far the best bowler on view — and he must have sorely missed Mohammed Shami at the other end.  

To be fair, Mohammed Siraj, who has now spent four years in international cricket, used the short ball tactic against Head — but the fielders were nowhere near the right spots to take advantage of the opportunities he presented. Take Siraj’s delivery short on middle leg, to which Head just rose overhead, arching back and ramping it over third man. Had a fielder been there at the spot, though, Head would have been walking back to the pavilion.

Instead, the odds are now stacked against India again — and the Indian team management could well be at the receiving end of brutal trolling for the decision to field first.