Travis Head Trapped! How Bangladesh Have Done What India Couldn't In 2023 World Cup Final

India failed to contain Head in 2023 WC final [Source: AFP]

Travis Head, the Australian batter, might not be the most technically sound player, but he has excellent hand-eye coordination and has the ability to take down any attack with utmost ease. Over the last few years, India has felt his wrath across formats, and who can forget Head’s match-winning knock in the 2023 World Cup final?

He loves to play against India, and despite the two nations playing against each other on numerous occasions, the Asian team has failed to devise a plan to counter Head. It seems India doesn’t have a Plan B to dismiss the Aussie batter, but the same cannot be said about the Bangladesh bowlers.

In the ongoing Test series between Australia and Bangladesh, Head has been dismissed by the same mode on multiple occasions, and it seems Bangladesh have found the cheat code to get rid of him.

The wrongs India did, and the right Bangladesh has done

Despite having all the technology available, and team analysts analysing all the player data, the Indian team failed to exploit Head’s weakness. He took them down in the 2023 WTC final, won the World Cup for Australia in 2023, and then again tormented the Indian team in the BGT 2024-25.

Team India bowlers made one basic mistake: That was to push the ball away from Head, allowing him to free his arms to score runs. Head loves to clear his front leg and whack the bowlers when given a chance to extend his arms, and India played into his hands.

Be it Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, or any other bowler, everyone bowled to Head’s strengths and made him nearly invincible against them. However, that mistake has been avoided by Bangladesh.

So far, the Australian batter has played three innings against the Tigers in the ongoing series, and he has been dismissed in the same way in all three innings. The Bangladesh bowlers have come around the wicket, cramped him for room, and brought the ball back into him as Head’s stumps have been knocked over on all three occasions.

Also Read: Travis Head's Weird Act in Disbelief After Hasan Mahmud Outfoxes Him

The batter, who loves to free his arms, was suddenly not given the luxury to do that, and this is how Bangladesh trapped the dangerous batter.

Decoding India's Travis Head mistake with 2023 ODI World Cup stats

The 2023 ODI World Cup was India’s biggest match of the decade, and a win against Australia would have helped them become three-time ODI champions. However, Head spoiled the party for them with a match-winning hundred.

It is also fair to say that the Indian bowlers allowed the Australian opener to take the game away from them by bowling away from his body, and the stats reveal the story.

(Indian bowlers vs Head in first 10 overs of 2023 WC)

• As the data reveals, Head played 26 deliveries in the first 10 overs of the 2023 ODI World Cup, and out of those, the Indians bowled 11 away-going deliveries (42.30%).
• Head has a simple weakness: you bring the ball back into him, cramp him for room, and more often than not, he throws his wicket away. While Mohammed Shami tried the same on multiple occasions, Jasprit Bumrah stuck to the away-going deliveries in the first 10 overs.
• Eventually, the opener survived the initial burst and took down the Indian attack, with Mohammed Siraj also bowling deliveries away from him.

Also Read: ICC Test Rankings Updated: Harry Brook Reclaims No. 1 Spot, Dethrones Travis Head

Analysing how Bangladesh have taught India how to dismiss Head

(How Bangladesh bowlers exposed Head's weakness)

• As the data reveals, Head has so far faced 101 deliveries in the ongoing Test series against Bangladesh, and out of the 101 balls, 56 have been incoming deliveries.
• Head has tackled 55.4 percent of incoming deliveries, which suggests that Bangladesh have done their homework and the plan has worked. In all three innings, Head has been dismissed trying to play an attacking shot to a delivery that was closer to his body.
• His stumps have been uprooted on all three occasions, as Bangladesh have hardly given any freebies to him.

Why does Travis Head struggle against deliveries that come into him around the off-stump?

Travis Head has a tendency to stay inside the line of the ball. Therefore, it's difficult from the bowler's perspective to induce an outside edge off his bat by taking the ball away from him. However, the bowlers can exploit his vulnerability around the off stump by bringing the ball back into Head, especially bowling from around the stumps. 

India didn't learn from their World Cup mistakes as Head tormented them in BGT 2024-25

One expected India to learn from their mistakes when the team toured Australia in 2024 for a five-game Test series, but nothing changed as the Australian batter once again dominated the Indian bowlers.

Barring Jasprit Bumrah, none of the Indian bowlers worked on exploiting Head’s weakness as he struck centuries for fun and helped the Aussies win the BGT.

He scored 448 runs in five Tests and slammed 2 counter-attacking centuries as India kept bowling away from his body, and he kept on piling up runs against them.

Final verdict

Travis Head has been one of the best Australian batters in recent years, and despite having a glaring weakness in his technique, the famed Indian bowling attack failed to decode it, whereas the Bangladesh bowlers showcased their worth in the ongoing Test series.

Head has often struggled against incoming balls targeting his body, and Bangladesh have used this method to perfection; it is something the Indian bowlers should take note of if and when they collide with Head next time around.

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