Travis Head vs Virat Kohli: India, Australia’s respective nightmares clash in ‘Battle at Adelaide’
The second ODI between India and Australia takes place in Adelaide on Thursday and will feature a clash between Travis Head and Virat Kohli, two of their respective countries’ most prolific superstars.
In four ODIs in Adelaide, Head scored 301 runs at an average of 75.25 and a strike rate of 97.72, including a century and two fifties. His best score on the field is 128.
In all international cricket, Head was equally impressive in Adelaide; He scored 967 runs and 15 innings in 13 matches at an average of 69.07, with four centuries and four fifties, and a best score of 175. The fondest memory in Adelaide for this explosive left-hander was his 128 against Pakistan in 2017, his first international century.
Virat, on the other hand, was good in ODIs in Adelaide with 244 runs, two centuries and a best score of 107 in four innings at an average of 61.00. Both centuries were historical; one was against Pakistan in the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup, making him the first Indian to score a WC ton against their arch-rivals.
In the other, which came four years later, he helped India level the three-match ODI series and eventually India secured their first ODI series win in Australia. At the Adelaide Oval, he is India’s all-time highest run-getter with 975 runs and 17 innings in 12 matches at an average of 65.00, five centuries and four fifties, and a best score of 141. Notably, he is also the all-time great visiting batsman at this venue and this is his home away from home. Amidst huge criticism during his first tour to Australia, whether it was his maiden Test century or his twin Test ton including 141 as he tried to chase 364 against Australia in his first match as Test captain, Virat made several career-defining statements in Adelaide.
Their last outing in Adelaide was the pink-ball Test in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy last year. While Head hit a magnificent 140 to give India nightmares again, Virat’s outside stump demons began to haunt him strongly once again as he failed to even get past 20 in both his innings, and his collapse sent him into Test retirement.
Who will emerge victorious from this mini-war in Adelaide?
