Australia’s part-timer Travis Head managed to break the crucial yet dangerous partnership between Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant, with India still needing 220+ runs to win the ongoing Boxing Day Test on Day 5 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne.
Travis Head’s strategy to start with Rishabh Pant has paid off, and Australia has broken the crucial partnership of 88 runs off 197 balls to make a comeback in the ongoing fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 at the MCG in Melbourne.
Travis Head breaks crucial partnership as Rishabh Pant falls to his strategy
Well, Rishabh Pant has once again lost his wicket while attempting a big shot. The Travis Head delivery was just short of a length, and Pant thought it was perfect for a pull shot. However, the left-hander couldn’t get under it properly and ended up hitting the ball wide of long-on, where Mitchell Marsh takes a brilliant catch to end Pant’s innings at the MCG.
Read Also: Watch: Sam Konstas’ sledging backfires as Yashasvi Jaiswal hits him with thunderous shot
Mitchell Marsh ran to his left, kept his focus on the ball, and reverse-cupped it safely, even as he hit the ground to help Australia get the much-needed breakthrough in the ongoing Boxing Day Test against India with Pant departing for 30 off 104 balls, with 2 boundaries to his name.
After taking the important wicket of Pant, Travis Head came up with a never-seen-before gesture to celebrate the wicket against India. Head’s gesture looked obscene and vulgar, which quickly caught the attention of fans and officials around the world.
Watch Travis Head’s inappropriate celebration here:
Travis Head gets Rishabh Pant and pulls out a unique celebration 👀#AUSvIND | #PlayOfTheDay | @nrmainsurance pic.twitter.com/EVvcmaiFv7
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 30, 2024
Now, it will be interesting to see if any action is taken against Travis Head for this unusual celebration, as such an obscene gesture falls under a Level 1 offense in cricket.
Well, and yet again, a well-set batter’s dismissal led to a quick Indian batting collapse that has been the story so far in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Australia. At the MCG, Ravindra Jadeja and Nitish Kumar Reddy fell cheaply after the Indian wicketkeeper’s wicket.
India looks for draw in the Boxing Day Test
The final session has brought excitement back into the ongoing Boxing Day Test between India and Australia in Melbourne. Australian captain Pat Cummins surprised everyone by starting with Travis Head, but the decision worked as the part-time spinner broke the crucial partnership by getting Pant out, caught in the deep by Mitchell Marsh.
Read Also: Watch: Steve Smith pulls off a stunner to dismiss Nitish Kumar Reddy for 1
Next, Scott Boland got rid of Ravindar Jadeja, who could face only 14 balls for just 2 runs, and then Nathan Lyon dismissed Nitish Kumar Reddy, who stole the show with the maiden Test century in the first innings, for just a single on Day 5 at the MCG.
Earlier, Sunil Gavaskar slammed Pant by saying, “You can’t be successful in Test cricket if you think that going aerial is the only way to score runs in Test cricket. You will have to play shots down the ground and look for singles and doubles. His shot selection was terrible.”
Currently, India is seven down for 141 runs, and they still need 199 runs in 21 overs to win the fourth Test, so they can only do to save their remaining wickets to pull off another draw in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.