New Delhi: There is a reason Travis Head has long been a recurring nightmare for Indian fans, and on Saturday he added England to that list with a blistering knock. Whenever Australia are in trouble, the left-hander somehow finds another gear, and that habit resurfaced in the opening Ashes Test in Perth. His 123 run knock in the fourth innings didn’t just guide the Aussies to a remarkable win but it also revived memories of Ahmedabad and the 2023 World Cup final where he single-handedly silenced a packed home crowd. Ravi Shastri felt that too and he didn’t hold back while applauding Head’s latest masterpiece.
Head walked out to open this time which is not his usual role after Usman Khwaja was ruled out with a back issue. On a bouncy Perth pitch and with a tricky target of 205 on the board, the situation called for calm and instead, Head chose controlled aggression. Within minutes he had England on the back foot, peppering the boundary boards and forcing Ben Stokes’ fielders into retreat.
Watching from afar, Shastri saw the familiar script unfold. He remembered the World Cup final and as Head powered fifty and he surged to a 69-ball hundred. Shastri summed it up simply on X, “Two years ago, you plunged my country into silence. And today, you have done it again… with one of the great innings.”
Travis Head… two years ago you plunged my country into silence. And today, you have done it again, in the best format of the game, in blistering fashion, with one of the great innings. Take a bow. England… that was special #Ashes #Cricket #AusvsEng #Head pic.twitter.com/uUDD4BOtTU
— Ravi Shastri (@RaviShastriOfc) November 22, 2025
It was exactly the kind of acknowledgement that only someone who has lived through the pain of Head’s past destruction could offer. Shastri called the knock “special,” a word that felt just right given the game ended in two days and Australia chased the target inside a single session.
A bold promotion pays off
Australia’s decision to send head came during the tea break on day two. Stand-in captain Steve Smith later revealed that the team were still debating the move when Head put his hand up. “I’ll do it,” he reportedly said and he meant it.
What followed was one of the most commanding Ashes innings in recent memory. Head struck 116 fours and four sixes as he stuck together stands of 75 with debutant Jake Weatherald and 117 with Marnus Labuschagne and made a pitch that troubled everyone else look almost friendly to him. England tried everything from short ball, wide lines to a change of pace but nothing unsettled him.
England tried short balls, wide lines, and changes of pace but nothing unsettled him. By the time Brydon Carse finally knocked him over, the chase was all but done. Stokes admitted afterwards that he was “shellshocked” and anyone who watched the innings knew exactly why.
Head’s approach had an edge to it, filled with aggression, fearless play rooted in trusting the method that has worked for him, even when runs have dried up. In many ways, it was the perfect response on a day when the so-called ultra-positive Bazball style struggled to survive the conditions. Head showed what attacking cricket looks like when backed by clarity rather than chaos. Aussies now lead the series 1-0, with the next Test set for December 4 at the Gabba.