Varun Chakravarthy ends Travis Head’s unparalleled dominance against spinners in ODIs

Varun Chakravarthy became the first spinner to dismiss Travis Head in the powerplay. In the Champions Trophy semi-final clash between India and Australia, the 31-year-old had a slow start before changing gears after Cooper Connolly’s dismissal. He smacked three back-to-back boundaries against Mohammed Shami and six against Hardik Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav, and he was looking in sublime touch.

India desperately needed the wicket of Head to bounce back into the contest. Captain Rohit Sharma introduced Varun Chakravarthy in the ninth over of the match and that move worked wonders for the Men in Blue. He sent Head packing in the second ball of his first over as Australia were reduced to 54/2. The opener tried to take on Chakravarthy as he attempted to clear the ropes but failed to time it. Shubman Gill, who was stationed in the long-off, picked up a good catch as Head departed after scoring 39 runs off 33 balls.

With that, Head’s unparalleled dominance against spinners in the powerplay came to an end. He has played 117 balls against spinners and scored 135 runs at a strike rate of 115.38. 

Travis Head vs spin in Overs 1-10 in ODIs

Runs: 135

Balls: 117
Dismissals: 1 (today)
SR: 115.38

Steve Smith rescues Australia

With the team being two wickets down inside the powerplay, Australia needed someone to step up and bring back the momentum. Steve Smith rose up to the challenge and played an extremely vital knock with the bat. He took on the Indian spinners and helped Australia rebuild the innings. Batting at number four, Marnus Labuchagne looked in good touch but he departed for 29 runs. Later, Josh Inglis too departed for 11 runs. Ravindra Jadeja picked up both the wickets.

Smith nevertheless kept pushing and Alex Carey supported him well so far. This partnership will be vital for Australia to post a defendable total on the board.