Australia owned Day 1 of the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) Final as they were 327/3 at the close of play. Currently taking place in London at the Kennington Oval is the high-stakes match.
In slightly cloudy conditions, Team India was given the opportunity to bat first before being given Australia. The Australian batters were troubled by Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj, and the in-form Usman Khawaja was even dismissed for a duck.
David Warner, however, put in the work by stopping the new ball. Before his demise, he made 43 out of 60, thanks to a harmless delivery from Shardul Thakur.
With Australia in a precarious position of 76/3, Shami took the crucial wicket of Marnus Labuschagne shortly after lunch as India began to make progress.
Travis Head and Steve Smith eventually teamed up to thwart the Indian attack. Conditions improved for batting as the day went on, and some errant bowling by India’s seamers didn’t help either. Head stepped up to the plate and batted forcefully.
The Indian bowlers were worn out as Smith chose to play cautiously in the early part of his innings. Before attacking the Indians in the third session, both players scored 97 runs in the second. Smith and Head each contributed as many as 157 more runs for Australia over the course of the final session’s 34 overs, putting their team in control.
The Indian bowling attack will try to improve on its past errors and seek to eliminate Australia as quickly as possible. Smith and Head are both unbeaten at 95 and 146 with Australia’s score currently at 327/3. At the WTC Final, some records were also broken on Day 1.
Following are the top three records that were broken throughout the day
1. Rohit Sharma is the oldest player to have led India in a major ICC tournament final
Rohit Sharma will be optimistic that his country will win a significant ICC trophy after a lengthy 10-year absence, despite India being thoroughly destroyed on Day 1. In his first final as India’s captain in an ICC tournament, he will try to take the initiative offensively with the bat.
In addition, Rohit, who is 36 years and 38 days old, has made history by leading India in an ICC major tournament final at the oldest age ever. When Mithali Raj led India in the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 final at the age of 34 years and 232 days, she broke the previous record.
2. Travis Head becomes the first centurion in a WTC final
When he put the Indian bowlers to the test on Wednesday, Travis Head displayed exceptional batting technique. The left-hander quickly scored runs by pouncing on every pitch that was available for contact.
He reached his century off 106 balls in the 65th over of the day, becoming the first player to ever hit a century in a WTC final. Devon Conway previously held the record for the highest score in a WTC championship (54 against India in 2021).
On Thursday, the 29-year-old will resume his innings. With the help of 22 boundaries and a six, he is currently batting on 146* runs off 156 balls.
3. Steve Smith and Travis Head’s 251*-run partnership is the highest ever in a major ICC tournament final
India was completely defeated by Steve Smith and Travis Head’s unbroken 251 run partnership for the fourth wicket. After Australia lost two quick wickets, they were given a difficult task of batting in difficult conditions.
The two, however, have batted admirably well. The 251 runs they scored together are currently the highest partnership in an ICC major tournament final. Ricky Ponting and Damien Martyn, two Australians, also held the prior record. In the ICC 2003 World Cup final in Johannesburg, the two right-handers combined for 234 runs against India.
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