WTC Final | Twitter lauds Travis Head and Steve Smith as Australia take control on Day 1

06/07/2023

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Steve Smith (95*) and Travis Head (146*) dominated the proceedings on Day 1 of the WTC Final against India helping Australia post 327/3 at stumps. After Rohit Sharma won the toss, the duo revived Australia from 76/3 and stitched an unbroken 251-run fourth wicket stand to put their side on top.

Considering the initial overcast conditions at The Oval, India skipper Rohit Sharma decided to bowl first with a four-member seam attack, consisting of Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, and Shardul Thakur, and a lone spinner Ravindra Jadeja. The lineup confirmed the omission of the current No. 1 Test bowler Ravichandran Ashwin, which was quite surprising, given Australia have four left-handed batters in their top six against whom he had an exceptional track record.

The Ashwin debate did not last long for much after Mohammed Siraj dismissed Usman Khawaja for naught in the fourth over. However, David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne did not allow any further damage for the next 17 overs, taking the scoreboard to 71/1. Under tricky batting conditions, the Indian seamers failed to trouble the Aussies until Warner gifted his wicket to Shardul Thakur. Still, Australia went for lunch at a strong position, having posted 73/2 at the end of 23 overs.

India began the second session with a bang, as Mohammed Shami cleaned up Labuschagne within seven balls after the break. At this point, the match was evenly poised, but Travis Head and Steve Smith had other ideas as they built one of the best partnerships in Australia’s rich Test history to claim the bragging rights for the day. While Smith showed resilience from one end, Head played at his usual aggressive pace to keep the scoreboard ticking. The Indian seamers, as well as Jadeja, looked helpless against the duo, as the Men in Yellow went past 300 without offering anything that resembled a half-chance. Head, whose sixth Test hundred came in just 106 balls, remained not out on 146, while Smith ended his day five runs short of his 31st century in the longest format.

Wowwwwwww! Great job from skipper!

pic.twitter.com/IaiyuBUCNC
— Spider Rashid (@RashidSpider) June 7, 2023

Bad day for Indian fans!

Aaj ka scenes!🫣#AUSvsIND pic.twitter.com/jPPwKNMA6q
— SportsCafe (@IndiaSportscafe) June 7, 2023

What a partnership this is!

Double century partnership between Steven Smith and Travis Head in the WTC Final against India. pic.twitter.com/YMiQU2eV7R
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) June 7, 2023

The man, The myth, The Legend!

We are going to witness Steve Smith the man of grit, patience, he's going to play like a monk for next 10 overs with new ball.
— Masilan Samuel (@MasilanSamuel) June 7, 2023

He is built different!

Highest scorer on this ground continues his journey ! #Stevesmith
— Vikram Sathaye (@vikramsathaye) June 7, 2023

Hahahaha! Lol

Before #WTCfinal

Rohit Sharma: i want to win at least 2-3 ICC trophies before giving up captaincy.

After #WTCFinals

Rohit Sharma: it's learning curve, team is learning to play final, we will definitely win one day. #INDvsAUS #AUSvsIND #WTC2023Final
— 🇮🇳 Mayank (Petrol++) (@Mayankaryan084) June 7, 2023

No comments!

Mereko ummeed bhi nahi thi Rohit ki captaincy mai....☺️

Rohit Sharma Test Captain🫥

Sunne me bhi kitna ajeeb lag raha hai....
— Jay (@jaychauhan07) June 7, 2023

This has to be questioned for sure!

I want rahul dravid and rohit sharma both to be there in post match presentation after the loss and the 1 st question ksy" Don't you think it's a pathetic decision of dropping world's no 1 spinner vs aus (5 left hand batters).

2 nd q

"Do india have ideas of winning icc trophy🏆.
— Masilan Samuel (@MasilanSamuel) June 7, 2023

Wows only!

Great captaincy by Rohit Sharma
— Berojgar Engineer (@s7986442103k) June 7, 2023

Evvarraaa meerantha!

Rohit Sharma confuse Ayyi Batting Teesukunnadu Match Malli First Nunchi Start Cheyandi#WTCFinals pic.twitter.com/h9lG0XSXse
— Msd Sujith (@MsdSujith11) June 7, 2023

He is not at all there in this game!