Ahead of the four-day practice-match between Australia A and India A, batsman Travis Head on Saturday said that Virat Kohli has an unbelievable bowling attack at his disposal. Head will be leading Australia A in the practice match against India A, and he is looking to gain some much-needed time in the middle. “They are a really important couple of games for us, not just as an Australia A squad but also an Australian squad and we want to start putting the Indian guys under pressure,” ESPNCricinfo quoted Head as saying.
Head was a part of the Australian squad that lost the four-match Test series against India in 2018-19. India had defeated the hosts 2-1 to gain their first-ever Test series win Down Under.
“It’s the way they were able to back up and support each other, not dissimilar to how we are with our attack, you get through the new ball and someone like (Mohammed) Shami comes on and he’s just so relentless on his length. There was just no rest that, you had to be on for every bowler. That is expected of Test cricket but that was my first real look at a quality attack like that. Those next spells are as strong as their first so you have to be on 100 per cent of the time,” Head said.
“I think my game has developed a long way since then. You take confidence from everything you’ve done, you take experiences from every game you’ve played and every team you’ve come up against. Nice to have some memories from that series, but they are an unbelievable bowling attack and being well supported throughout,” he added.
Head has played 17 Tests for Australia, and he averages 41.96. The left-handed batsman recently recorded scores of 171 not and 151 in the four matches for South Australia in the Sheffield Shield.
Australia A will be led by Travis Head, and Test regulars Joe Burns and Tim Paine are a part of the squad. Australia’s senior team is led by Paine and the experienced campaigner will be looking to gain some game-time ahead of the four-match Test series against India.
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The four-day practice game will be clashing with the second T20I between India and Australia. The Virat Kohli-led side may play some of their regulars in the practice match, and as a result, those players will miss out on the second T20I.
The practice match will be played at the Drummoyne Oval, Sydney. After this match, India will also get much-needed practice with the pink ball ahead of the first Test against Australia.
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