Leg and Off: Do India have a mental block when it comes to bowling to Travis Head?
Another Sunday, another crucial India-Australia contest and much to the chagrin of Indian fans - it was another Travis Head masterclass. The man, who has made cooking Indian bowlers a habit over the past two years, was at it again on Day 2 of the crucial third Test in Brisbane.
Head tore the Indian attack apart for 152 of the most authoritative and soul-crushing runs on a cricket field. Each of his 18 boundaries were a dagger in the heart of the Indian players and the fans as Australia rode his back to reach a dominant 405/7 in their first innings.
India are well aware of the 'Cut the head of the snake and the body will follow' being applicable to this fragile Australian line-up. Yet when it comes to Australia's 'Head' (Travis Head), they seem to have no answers.
The sight of the Australian southpaw seemingly has the Indian team in shivers these days, begging the question of whether Travis Head has entered their minds and won half the battle even before he begins.
A closer look at the headache Head has repeatedly caused in make-or-break situations to Team India might answer how much of it is his brilliance, India's indifferent strategies and their mental concession at his arrival to the crease.
A look at Travis Head's 'Rags to Riches' journey against India
Travis Head did not always dominate the Indian cricket team - if that's possible to believe now. The dashing left-hander averaged only 29.90 against India in six Tests until the end of 2022.
However, since 2023, Head has averaged an extraordinary 73.45 in seven Tests against the Indians with three centuries. The numbers are similar in ODIs as well, with the batter averaging 75.33 in four matches since 2023, while he averaged only 23.80 in five games before 2023.
So, what changed with Head and why this sudden rise from rags to riches? For starters, Head became a permanent member of the playing XI across formats since the beginning of last year and his role in Tests was crystal clear - go all out on the attack and be a game-changer in the middle-order.
While the role is fraught with risk, Head's natural instincts and skillset align perfectly with that school of thought. Yet, when it comes to India, he has reserved their bowlers for special treatment, especially in crucial situations of big matches.
Head 2.0's most underrated contribution to crush Indian hearts are the often-forgotten cameos in the low-scoring Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India last year. On raging turners, the 30-year-old scored a couple of 40s and a 90 in the final three Tests to help Australia claw back from a 0-2 deficit and finish with a decent 1-2 series defeat.
Yet, India must have not seen what was to come from the Adelaide-born cricketer then.
Head broke Indian hearts for the first of many times in the World Test Championship (WTC) final last year. Coming into bat with Australia reeling at 76/3, he scored a breathtaking 163 to help them eventually pull off a 209-run win and deny India an ICC title they seemed destined to.
Yet, who would have known that was only the appetizer to the main course Head was about to dish months later. After rampaging through the home ODI World Cup at the end of last year without losing a single game, Head once again stood between India and glory.
Chasing 241 in front of a rowdy Ahmedabad crowd dreaming of an Indian triumph, Head blasted 137 off 120 deliveries to single-handedly turn the tide and help Australia win a sixth ODI World Cup title. Several Indian fans and players are still to recover and come to terms with that onslaught.
The southpaw threatened to repeat the same in the T20 World Cup this year with a scintillating 43-ball 76 but India found a way to escape with a narrow win enroute to their title run.
And finally, coming to the ongoing series, Head has held together a brittle Australian batting lineup with three consecutive rearguard actions. While his second innings 89 in the first Test at Perth couldn't deny India a massive victory, the 141-ball 140 more than made up for it.
The series-levelling knock came with Australia in trouble, much like his 160-ball 152 at Brisbane today.
The thin line between form, strategy and mental block
While there is much truth to Travis Head saving his best for Team India, his overall form since 2021 has been almost as incredible. The destructive batter has averaged close to or over 50 in three of his last four Test seasons at a strike rate of over 80.
The ODI numbers are even better for Head with an average of almost 60 and a strike rate of over 120 in 27 outings. Similarly, he averages almost 37 at a strike rate of 177.52 in 22 T20Is since 2022.
Hence, Head has been in a rich vein of form over the past three years overall across formats and his assaults on India can be seen as par for the course.
India may have also erred in strategy - selection and bowling to dismiss Head on a few occasions. As devastating as he is all around the ground, Head has shown the tendency to be uncomfortable with short-pitched deliveries.
Yet, India have been accused of pitching way too many balls in his arc without peppering Head with a barrage of short deliveries.
Former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar told the broadcasters after Head's carnage in Adelaide:
"It's just baffling. We heard about it in WTC final, we started to get into uncomfortable situations. It was similar in the World Cup final. We hardly tested him. Pitch it up, he might throw bat, he might get the middle of the bat, or there is a possibility that he might edge it, but India never tried to put him under pressure."
"You have to ask them. Harshit Rana got it a bit wrong, Siraj got lovely bouncer, Bumrah does too between shoulders and helmet. Nothing of that sort was tried, everything was around middle. Australian and South Africans are very good with playing such deliveries," he added.
Coming to selections, Head was dismissed by debutant Harshit Rana by a peach in the Perth Test and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin created a proper chance in Adelaide off Head that was dropped by Mohammed Siraj.
Yet, both Rana and Ashwin are missing in the playing XI of the ongoing Brisbane Test, making Head's life relatively easier.
Having said all of that, do India also have a mental block against Travis Head? Like anything, muscle memory and habits can be good or bad and in India's case with Head, it is hard to deny some of that playing a role, especially in this series.
There is a sense of inevitability when he walks out to bat against India and the fielders aren't as vociferous against him as they maybe to a struggling Marnus Labuschagne.
All of that indicates a certain degree of mental aspect playing a part in the whole Head vs India narrative. Much like South African fans go 'oh, oh, here we go again' in the waning stages of an ICC tournament, fearing the worst, the Indian players perhaps say something similar to themselves when the Aussie No.5 comes into bat.
While India can be forgiven for carrying a mental block against Head for all the damage he has caused over the past two years. However, that cannot be used as an excuse for them not taking care of the controllables like selections and strategies.
For India to emerge victorious the Border-Gavaskar Trophy a third consecutive time in Australia, stopping Travis Head remains more critical than winning the heads or tails battle at the toss.