When was the last time Travis Head did well against a non-blue jersey team in T20s?
Travis Head’s love affair with blue-jersey teams is known to all, be it in the international circuit or franchise-based league tournaments. Ever since his performance against India at the men’s ODI World Cup 2023 final, which handed Australia another ICC title, fans have been talking about his noteworthy performances against teams that wear blue jerseys.
At the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL), where Travis Head represented SunRisers Hyderabad, some of his finest performances came against teams that had the blue color in their kits.
Be it Mumbai Indians (MI), Delhi Capitals (DC), Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), or Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), who changed their iconic red-black jersey to blue-red, Travis Head managed to perform well almost every time the opposition wore blue.
But when was the last time he did well against a team not wearing blue in the T20s? Though Australia played New Zealand before the IPL and Head's performance in one of the three games was noteworthy, the Kiwis had a good amount of blue in their jersey, which counted the scenario out.
Hence, Travis Head's last impactful T20 performance against a team that didn't have blue or a shade of the color in their jersey dates back to September 2023, when the Aussies toured South Africa for five ODIs and three T20Is.
A brilliant bowling display of 4/31 by Sean Abbott derailed South Africa's momentum in the first innings, but Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram, and Donovan Ferreira's knocks helped the Proteas get to 190/8 at the end of the 20 overs.
Australia's start to the chase was shocking, as Markram struck on the first ball to send Matthew Short packing. But what followed next was absolute carnage by Travis Head. He formed crucial partnerships with Mitchell Marsh, Josh Inglis, and Marcus Stoinis to get into the 90s.
He was eventually dismissed on the penultimate delivery of the 17th over, just nine runs short of a century. Bjorn Fortuin picked up the crucial wicket and dismissed the Australian opener at 91(48).
But not much was to be done later as Head had put the game away from the Proteas' reach. The visitors completed the chase in 17.5 overs to win the match by five wickets, with 13 balls to spare.
Travis Head is currently a part of Australia’s squad at T20 World Cup 2024. In the team’s campaign opener against Oman, the opening batter was dismissed for just 12 runs off 10 deliveries. Notably, Oman's jersey didn't feature the blue color.
Nonetheless, Marcus Stoinis and David Warner’s efforts with the bat followed by equally effective contributions from the bowlers helped the Aussies bag a 39-run win.