Since the start of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the biggest thorn in India’s bushes has been Travis Head. The middle-order batter, however, failed to continue his hot form in the 4th Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, departing for a duck. It was none other than India’s premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah who sent Head packing before the batter settled himself, giving India a prized wicket that shifted the momentum in the touring team’s favour.
Head has been the top-scoring batter in the series. Hence, his early dismissal gave the team a big boost. Head, hoping that Bumrah’s delivery would miss the stumps by a safe distance, saw his bails being dislodged as he decided to leave the ball. The batter had no option but to leave the pitch.
“Game-changer player is only one guy JASPRIT BUMRAH!”#TravisHead “leaves” without troubling the scorers! #AUSvINDOnStar 4th Test, Day 1 | LIVE NOW! | #ToughestRivalry #BorderGavaskarTrophy pic.twitter.com/p6a0gzc3BB
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) December 26, 2024
Bumrah did manage to pull India back into the game in the third and final session of the day but the first two sessions belonged to Australia.
Earlier in the day, debutant Sam Konstas played fearless cricket at the MCG to give Australia an early advantage in the series. Konstas and Khawaja opened for the Aussies and cemented a partnership of 89 runs.
The India bowling attack led by Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj struggled to get a breakthrough in the first session as the Aussies openers continued to build on their partnership. In the 14th over, Konstas smashed his maiden international fifty and became the second youngest to score a half-century for Australia in Test cricket.
Konstas’ blitz knock came to an end after Ravindra Jadeja came to the rescue of the visitors and removed the dangerous debutant from the crease in the 20th over.
Later, Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith also managed to bag respective half-centuries.
