Travis Head and Steve Smith etched their name on history books with an unbeaten 251-run partnership on Day 1 of World Test Championship (WTC) final at Kennington Oval, London. Head and Smith now hold the record for the highest partnership in an ICC event final including World Cups, Champions Trophy and WTC final.
Previous partnership record
The previous record belonged to former Australian captain Ricky Ponting and Damien Martyn. Against Sourav Ganguly-led India, Ponting and Martyn shared an unbeaten 234-run partnership at the Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg. Ponting scored 140 runs from 121 balls whereas Martyn scored 88 runs from 84 deliveries.
Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden came close to breaking the record with a 172-run partnership against Sri Lanka in 2007 ODI World Cup final. Gilchrist went berserk and scored 149 runs from 104 balls. Hayden played second fiddle with 55-ball 38.
Head’s record
Head now also holds the record for highest individual score by a batter in WTC final. Head became the first batter to score a century in WTC final. In the previous WTC final between India and New Zealand, there were only two half-centuries with Devon Conway’s 54-run knock being top score.
Head, Smith dominate
Head walked in to bat in the second session after Marnus Labuschagne got bowled by Mohammed Shami. Head counter-attacked and got to his half-century from 61 balls. The southpaw reached his century from 106 balls. At Stumps, Day 1, he remained unbeaten for 146 off 156 deliveries including 22 fours and one six.
On the other end, Smith remained unbeaten on 95 from 227 deliveries including 14 fours. Smith registered his 14th fifty-plus score against India joining Hayden on the second spot. The list is headed by Ponting who has 20 fifty-plus scores in Test cricket against India.
Records in sight on Day 2
Head also has a chance to become only second Australian batter at no.5 after Michael Clarke to score a Test century against India. Also, Smith needs 18 more runs on Day 2 to become third Australian batter after Ponting and Clarke to score 2,000 Test runs against India.
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