Ind vs Aus: Matthew Hayden slams Australia for dropping Travis Head from first Test
Travis Head scored unbeaten 49 in Indore Test to guide Australia home.
Former Australian opener Matthew Hayden has criticised the decision of dropping Travis Head from the first Test against India in Nagpur which the hosts won by an inning and 132 runs.
"Australia just did not play their best side (in the first Test) – Travis Head should have been just about No.1 picked in that side,” he said as quoted by foxsports.com.au. “He has got wonderful intent to score, his strike rate is enormous. Gets that momentum and that belief in the batting changeroom. He is a mover and a shaker,” he added.
Also Read:WPL 2023, MI-W vs GG-W: Mumbai's Harmanpreet Kaur, bowlers annihilate Gujarat Giants in opener
The comments come on the back of Head's match-winning 53-ball 49 in the second inning of the third Test in Indore, which the visitors won by 9 wickets.
Notably, Head had scored four fifties and a century against West Indies and South Africa in the home summer before touring India. He was dropped because of Indian spinners' pre-conceived dominance against the left-handed batsmen.
Hayden, however, discarded the ideology and said that his current form should have been the criteria of selection and not the his record in the sub-continent.
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“He was brilliant last (Australian) summer. Who cares what happens a few years ago, he was in form! Needed to play that (first) Test. And now he is showing exactly why you pick him,” the former Aussie great said.
Read More:Mohammed Shami set to return for final Test in Ahmedabad as India eye spot in WTC final
Head, too, gave strong case for the comments to be made as he played a crucial role in helping Australia keep the four-match Border-Gavaskar series alive, which India lead by 2-1. Australia, with their win in Indore, also secured a spot in the World Test Championship final, to be be played in June in England.
Indore pitch, meanwhile, received a poor rating from the International Cricket Council (ICC) as the ball started to turn from the first hour of the Test which got over inside three days.
Batting first after winning the toss, India could managed only 109 runs in the first innings. The hosts although, pulled things back as they restricted Australia's first innings to 197. In the second innings, India again faltered as they got bowled out for 163 and Australia chased the 76-run target for the loss of one wicket only.
The fourth and final Test of the series will be played from March 9 in Ahmedabad.
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