'The bouncers were not employed' - Harbhajan Singh on India's strategies against Travis Head on Day 1 of WTC Final

The World Test Championship final 2023 didn’t have a great beginning for India on Day 1 as Australia finished the day in a commanding position at 327/3 with Steve Smith (95*) and Travis Head (146*) at the crease. The Rohit Sharma-led side had their last success when Mohammed Shami destroyed Marnus Labuschagne’s stumps early in the second session.

However, following his dismissal, Smith and Head put on a massive unbeaten stand of 251* to finish the day on a high. Analysing India’s performance at the end of the day’s play, former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh felt that the southpaw should have been attacked with short-pitched deliveries early on in his innings to challenge his footwork.

"No doubt Travis Head batted extremely well. Dada also said that Test cricket is all about playing patiently but the counterattack he did apart from showing patience was praiseworthy. But it might be the first time that I don't agree with Dada,” said Harbhajan on Star Sports.

Harbhajan further said that no batter how great a batter you are even if you’re Ricky Ponting or Sachin Tendulkar the feet do not go forward.

"I feel tactically the bouncers, that could have been used at the start, were not employed. They used it too late. If they had been used earlier, the feet do not go forward, no matter how great a batter you might be - whether it is Ricky Ponting or Sachin Tendulkar. Then the new ball could have been used by pitching it up,” he added.

India have an uphill task to dismiss Australia on Day 2

There was widespread debate around whether India should pick Ravichandran Ashwin in the playing XI or Shardul Thakur. The team management went ahead with Thakur who dismissed David Warner in the first session of the day, however, he was also the most expensive bowler for India on Day 1 as he leaked runs at an economy of 4.20. On Day 2, India have an uphill task at hand to break Head and Smith’s partnership and dismiss Australia as early as possible.