After Guwahati success, Head eyes another big knock in final
IN FORM Australia’s middleorder batsman, eyeing an Ashes spot, looks to get runs to sign off the India tour on a high
HYDERABAD: Australia’s series-levelling win against India in the Guwahati T20I was dominated by one name – pacer Jason Behrendorff. His 4/21 stood out among other performances by the visiting team. One such was Travis Head’s unbeaten 109-run stand with Moises Henriques that saw the Aussies chase down a 119-run target with ease.
The middle-order batsman hoped to guide Australia to a series-clinching victory in the final T20I in Hyderabad. “It was nice to be in a winning partnership. As batters you want to be there and win games for Australia. With the series on the line, hopefully someone can do that again. Hopefully, it’s me again or Moises,” he said.
“If the bowlers can do what they did and get us in the game like they have all series it would be fantastic.”
Head, who got some starts in the ODI series, finally fired with a 34-ball 48 not out in the second T20I, batting at No 4.
“I’ve been able to get some starts throughout the tour and not go on I guess. I had some pretty poor execution on some of the dismissals. That’s probably been the most disappointing part,” he said.
“Just some little things I haven’t been doing is what I’ve really focused on in the last few training sessions. It was nice those things worked last game and I was able to come out of the tour with some success.”
Staying calm under pressure has helped the batsman. “I’ve got back to just some stuff I did at home. Some drill work I know just to slow things down and move into good position,” he said.
Head, 23, said he is eager to perform in India to get into contention for the Ashes squad. “The selectors have been pretty open. They said folks who are in form and are getting runs (will be picked for Ashes). I knew coming here if I got runs I would sort of move a bit closer to that or at least put my hand up.”