Travis Head smashes fastest 100 in day-night Test history

Australia (AUS), the hosts, are in a dominant position on Day 2 of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT 2024-25) day-night, or pink-ball, test. At his Adelaide home field, star batsman Travis Head maintained his magnificent form against his old rival India (IND). The Australian bowler not only dominated the Indian bowlers but also set yet another world record.

With the exception of Usman Khawaja’s early wicket and Steve Smith’s subsequent dismissal, the Indian team was dismissed for 180. Notably, considering the unpredictability of the pink ball, the remaining top-order batsmen made respectable contributions. The day’s highlight, though, was Head, who went on to surpass his own record for the fastest century in pink ball Test history.

Travis Head played bravely and counterattacked the Indian bowlers to score quickly when Australia was just a run ahead of India with half the team back in the hut. As a result, the hosts had a sizable lead by the time he was removed by Mohammed Siraj, as the score had surpassed 300 runs.

In 2022, Travis Head struck a century against England, his bitter opponents, in Hobart.

For those who are unaware, this was before today, December 7. He needed to hit the milestone with 112 balls during that knock. However, he broke his own world record by scoring today’s century a ball faster, requiring 111 balls.

The explosive Australian is, in fact, the owner of the top three names on the elite list. Head is ranked third as well because of his 2022 thrashing of the West Indies. It took him 125 deliveries to reach the three-figure mark. Speaking of today’s exciting knock, Head was fortunate to be kept on the pitch at some points.

He was batting at 78 when he received his first reprieve from Ravichandran Ashwin. He tried to slog sweep, but Siraj put down the catch, which was a difficult opportunity. Curiously, Harshit Rana’s delivery outside the off-stump line on the same score sailed by Rishabh Pant and Skipper Rohit Sharma despite taking a heavy edge off Head’s bat since the first slip fielder wasn’t yet stationed.

Lady Luck seemed to be on Head’s side, as this was his third tonne at the Adelaide Oval. Interestingly, Head waved to his wife and daughter, who were present to enjoy the occasion, and dedicated his century to his newborn kid. Australia is ahead by 157 runs at stumps on Day 2 after being bowled out for 337 in their opening innings. The challenge now for Team India is to eliminate the lead first, then aim to establish a reasonable enough target to have a chance of a comeback in the pink ball test.

Fastest century by a batter in Day/Night Tests