Former Australian captain and legendary batsman Ricky Ponting praised Travis Head after his match-winning century against India in the Adelaide Test. Ricky Ponting compared Travis Head to the legendary Adam Gilchrist and highlighted the similarities in their aggressive playing styles.
Head scored an aggressive knock of 140 runs off 141 balls in the first innings of the pink-ball Test in Adelaide. The left-handed batsman helped Australia take a 157-run lead. The hosts recorded a ten-wicket victory against India. Following his knock, Head rose to No. 5 in the ICC Men’s Test batting rankings.
Travis Head plays in a very similar way to Adam Gilchrist – Ricky Ponting
Speaking on an episode of ICC Review, Ricky Ponting recalled how Adam Gilchrist would cause damage to the opposition while batting at number 6 or 7. Ponting claimed that Head plays a similar attacking style, albeit a couple of positions higher in the order. batting .
“The obvious one is Gilly. The way Head plays is very similar to the way Gilchrist played, although a couple of places higher in the batting order,” Ponting said.
“Gilly was six or seven, and Travis is doing his damage at No. 5. I love sitting back and watching him play. It’s very refreshing to see guys play that way. No matter what the situation is, Travis is “I’m going to go out and play the same way, and I love that,” he added.
What he is doing has been spectacular – Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting praised Travis Head for his exceptional performances at crucial moments, but said it is too early to label him a great. He mentioned that Head delivered for Australia in key matches like the World Cup semi-final, final, World Test Championship and Ashes when the team needed him the most.
“I don’t think you can call him great yet. That’s not a knock on what he’s doing because what he’s doing has been spectacular,” Travis Head said in the same interaction.
“And many times, it has been when his team needed him the most. Think of the World Cup semi-final, the World Cup final, the World Test Championship, Ashes in Australia a couple of years ago. The big moments are when Travis has found a way to get up,” he added.
Travis Head will be next seen in action during the third Test in Brisbane
The South Australian cricketer made his international debut for Australia in January 2016 and has played 51 Tests, 69 ODIs and 38 T20Is. The left-handed batsman recorded scores of 11, 89 and 140 runs in the first two Tests of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) series between Australia and India.
He also became the first batsman to score more than 1000 runs against India in all formats since 2023, with a total of 1052 runs. Head scored a century in the final of the World Test Championship and the final of the ODI World Cup. He will next be seen in action during the third Test, which will begin on December 14 in Brisbane.
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