Travis Head.
Travis Head. Image Credit: X

Very few players have been in such terrific form as the left-arm Australian all-rounder Travis Head has been across all formats. Whether it’s the 50-over format the longest form of the game, or the shortest one, he has smashed most of his opponents all around the park in a crazy way.

In the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and the United States of America, the Aussies didn’t enjoy a great time in the middle, but Travis Head was in sensational touch having smashed 255 runs in seven games at an average of 42.50 and a strike rate of nearly 160, with a couple of half-centuries in his bag.

After a month’s break from the event, the Mitchell Marsh-led side has started their UK tour with the three-match T20I series in Scotland, which has been a huge week for the home side in Edinburgh.

Travis Head equals fastest T20I fifty for an Australian player

The first T20I game at the Grange Cricket Club saw the visiting captain winning the toss and decided to bowl first to get the first taste of the track. The home side came out with some good intent with the bat in hand, led by George Munsey, and were placed with a high run rate.

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The left-arm batter smashed 28 runs in 16 deliveries, shouldering on a couple of boundaries and three sixes at a strike rate of 175, which pushed them over a decent position of 56 runs for the loss of two wickets in the powerplay. Even though the runs were coming, the team wasn’t able to keep the wickets in hand.

Captain Richie Berrington struggled for his 23-run knock in 20 balls, where the wicket-keeper veteran batter Matthew Cross wasn’t getting the ball from the sweet part of his blade thanks to his 27-run knock in 21 balls. At the end of 12 overs, Scotland carried them to 101/3 with the change of pace and did the trick in caging the home side to 154/9 in their allotted 20 overs.

The score felt decent only during the innings break before Travis Head decided to kill the game during the powerplay. After the early wicket of debutant Jake Fraser-McGurk on a duck, Marsh and Head put up a partnership of 113 runs in two balls fewer than the six overs. The score of 113/1 is now the team’s second-highest powerplay total.

Travis Head, the player in the Major League Cricket (MLC) tournament, took Brad Wheal for three boundaries in the first over while giving Brandon McMullen for a second over didn’t work in their favor as it went for 20 runs. On the last ball of the sixth over, the South Australian batter celebrated his 17-ball fifty, equaling Marcus Stoinis’ record as the fastest for the Australian team in the T20Is.

He kept the onslaught going with a 25-ball 80-run knock, shouldering on 12 boundaries and five sixes, at a striker rate of 320, which is now the second-best in terms of strike rate in men’s T20Is, among those who have at least faced 25 deliveries in the shortest format of the game.

Also Read: Watch- Travis Head’s Bat Broken Into Two Pieces By Andre Russell Missile Delivery

“I was a bit nervous, but nice to get some runs with the captain today. It has been a nice period for the last couple of years, really enjoying the environment and a few of us that have been around for a while and also loving the atmosphere with quite a few youngsters coming in.” Travis Head expressed at the end of the game.

Australia chased down the total with seven wickets in hand and two balls fewer than the halfway mark. The second game will take place on September 06.