Australian opener Travis Head, known for his ability to step up on the big occasions, delivered yet another scintillating performance on Thursday, hammering an unbeaten 154 against England at Trent Bridge. This was Head’s first One-Day International (ODI) since his match-winning century in the 2023 World Cup final against India. The result was equally dominant – if not more impressive.

Head’s back-to-back ODI centuries quickly became the talk of social media because of their eerie similarities. His 137-run knock on November 19, 2023, led Australia to World Cup glory in Ahmedabad, and less than a year later, on September 19, 2024, he repeated the feat with a commanding 154*, putting Australia 1-0 up in the five-match ODI series against England.

Cricket fans, particularly in India, quickly pointed out the striking coincidences. Both centuries came on the 19th of the month, with the opponent team dressed in blue. Adding to the sense of deja vu, Head’s partner in both matches, Marnus Labuschagne, also found himself in the limelight again.

In the World Cup final, Labuschagne anchored the innings with an unbeaten 58 off 110 balls. On Thursday, he bettered that performance with a brisk 61-ball 77*, once again forming a formidable partnership with Head to secure the win.

Head's WC heroics

Travis Head took the game away from India almost single-handedly after the hosts had made a solid start with the ball in the final. After being bowled out for 240, India put Australia under instant pressure by removing David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, and Steve Smith early; however, Head, alongside Labuschagne, stabilised the Aussie innings and took the side to within touching distance of a victory, before Head was dismissed for 137.

The victory marked Australia's sixth World Cup title, while the Indian dreams of lifting a home World Cup for a second time – and third overall – were crushed.

On Thursday, however, while the Australian duo was busy creating another masterpiece at Trent Bridge, Indian cricket discussions centered around a different partnership – that of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, who had steadied India after an early collapse in their Test match against Bangladesh. From 144/6, the duo took centrestage with Ashwin smashing a century, as they remained unbeaten with India's score at 336/6.

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