Harbhajan Singh on India’s strategies against Travis Head on Day 1 of the WTC Final: “The bouncers were not used.”

Australia completed Day 1 of the World Test Championship final 2023 in a commanding position at 327/3, with Steve Smith (95*) and Travis Head (146*) at the crease. This was not a good start for India. Early in the second session, Mohammed Shami broke Marnus Labuschagne’s stumps for the last success for the Rohit Sharma-led side. Smith and Head put together a tremendous, unbeaten stand of 251* to end the day on a high note after his dismissal.

Former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh, analysing India’s performance at the close of the day, felt that short-pitched deliveries should have been used early in the southpaw’s innings to challenge his footwork.

“Without a doubt, Travis Head hit exceptionally well. Dada also stated that Test cricket is all about playing with patience, but his counterattack was laudable in addition to his patience. But this may be the first occasion I disagree with Dada,” Harbhajan stated on Star Sports.

Harbhajan Singh added that regardless of how good a batsman you are, whether you’re Ricky Ponting or Sacha Tendulkar, your feet do not move forward.

“Tactically, I believe that the bouncers that could have been used at the beginning were not deployed. It was used too late. No matter how outstanding a batter you are—Ricky Ponting or Sachin Tendulkar—if they had been utilised earlier, the feet would not have moved forward. The new ball could have been used by hurling it up,” he continued.

India must climb a steep incline to dismiss Australia on Day 2
There was considerable debate over whether India should select Ravichandran Ashwin or Shardul Thakur for the playing XI. The team management chose Thakur, who dismissed David Warner in the first session of the day, despite the fact that he was India’s most expensive bowler on Day 1 with an economy of 4. India faces an uphill battle on Day 2 to break the partnership between Head and Smith and dismiss Australia as soon as feasible.