Ravichandran Ashwin is known as one of the smartest minds in cricket and has been pretty active on X since he retired earlier this month after the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. On Wednesday, he shared a cool insight about Travis Head’s batting practice as the Aussie batsman gears up for the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.

Head has been a real headache for India during the series, scoring some key runs, including two centuries. His explosive performance was vital in Australia’s comeback win in Adelaide earlier this month. Still, he’s been dismissed several times by pacers coming around the wicket, with both Harshit Rana and Jasprit Bumrah having success with that tactic.

Ashwin noted that during his practice, Head appeared to be focusing on protecting his off-stump, trying to clear a higher area around it to tackle the round-the-wicket challenge.

Head had a bit of a worry with an injury before the fourth Test, but he seems ready to go in Melbourne. Australia is eager to build on their momentum after the win in Adelaide. They also showed they were the stronger batting team in Brisbane, scoring 445 runs and then dismissing India for just 260.

Focus on the BGT

Travis Head is clearly the standout player in the current series, racking up over 400 runs (409) in just three Tests, while no other batter has even hit 300 yet. He’s kept up his aggressive approach, boasting an impressive strike rate of 94.24.

Head has really been the backbone of the Aussie batting lineup, with Alex Carey being the next highest scorer at just 162 runs. The opening pair of Usman Khawaja and Nathan McSweeney have had a tough time, with McSweeney even getting dropped for the last two Tests. Marnus Labuschagne hasn’t found his rhythm either, and Steve Smith only started scoring again in Brisbane, finally hitting a century after a rough patch.

On the Indian side, KL Rahul is the second-best batter in the series, accumulating 235 runs over six innings. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Nitish Reddy are currently in third and fourth place, respectively.

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