Dinesh Karthik said Travis Head will be again the key wicket for India in the first semifinal between India versus Australia in Dubai on Tuesday. Australia have defeated India in the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup in Ahmedabad.
“It used to be New Zealand for a wee bit. In these knockout games, they always had the better of India, but you have to say it’s Australia at this point of time,” Dinesh Karthik told Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain in the Sky Sports podcast.
“If at all, there is a team that they would think that on most days they’ll challenge India has to be Australia. And it’s actually what Ravi Shastri said, you know, at this point of time, the mental block is more one player than Australia itself, Travis Headache.
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“He has actually, in any format. And they will be looking for that wicket because that wicket early will actually make them breathe a lot easier for the rest of the game, because World Test Championship Final, the recently concluded Australia Series, World Cup Final, you take any big game, he’s actually scored once. And he’s been the difference between winning and losing.”
Cricket – First One Day International – England v Australia – Trent Bridge Cricket Ground, Nottingham, Britain – September 19, 2024 Australia’s Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne celebrate after the match. (Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers)
Nasser Hussain said it might get tricky if India gets Travis Head early then they might have to be careful. He said: “Don’t take your eye off just because suddenly you get a key man out.”
Karthik replied: “Couldn’t agree with you more. Definitely, it’s not the end of the game, but I think they’ll breathe a lot easier because till the time he’s around, especially the tempo that he’s batting, because they’ve tried tactically various fields, various lines, he just finds a way to get that boundary.”
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How to get Travis Head out?
With no Bumarah, what will be India’s plan against Travis Head?
“I have a feeling they will end up playing four spinners, especially with the way Varun bowled and this pitch, more than anything else, it makes sense to play Varun and he is, again, a wicket-taking opportunity against a lot of the Australians,” said Karthik.
Australia’s captain Pat Cummins, Australia’s Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne pose with the trophy after wining the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup final match against India in Ahmedabad. (AP)
“People who have played him in IPL will know him a little better, but the guys who are playing him for the first time, he is a challenge without a doubt because he turns the ball both ways and hits a very consistent length as well.
“With Travis Head, it’s very obvious, you know, his strength could easily be his weakness, which is if you bowl outside the off stump and it swings a bit, he could definitely call, but also he doesn’t back away from slashing at it. Yeah, and it has swung here a little bit more than in Pakistan, it has, the new ball has, but you have to be spot on with him. His margin for error, we do this, the technology on the TV, where if you have fourth stump, it goes for four and if you’re a middle and leg, it goes for four, leg side, he plays that pick-up shot, so you have to be sort of top of middle and off stump.”
