Travis Head’s magnificent century took center stage as Australia launched a strong counterattack against India on the opening day of the World Test Championship final at The Oval on Wednesday.

Despite losing the toss, Australia ended the day in a commanding position at 327/3, with Head unbeaten on an impressive 146 and Steve Smith not out on 95.

The duo reached their partnership of 250 runs on the final ball of the day, with Smith elegantly guiding Mohammed Shami through the covers for a boundary.

Australia found themselves in trouble at 76/3 after being put into bat under bowler-friendly conditions. However, as the sun emerged from behind the clouds, the runs began to flow.

“Losing the toss this morning, we’ve done exceptionally well,” Head remarked in an interview with Sky Sports.

“I was trying to make sure I was in a really good position. I got tested through parts of that. I just tried to work through those periods and be adjustable and stay relaxed.”

Head encountered some trouble against left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja but managed to counterattack right from the start of his innings, with 24 of his first 27 runs coming through boundaries. This aggressive approach put pressure back on the Indian bowlers while Smith adopted a more conventional batting style.

“I always love batting with Steve,” Head commented. “You need to have plans bowling to him because he’s so unique. You say he played second fiddle, but I always feel I’m playing second fiddle to him and can go a bit under the radar.”

By the time India resorted to short-pitched deliveries to challenge Head, he was well settled, and a pulled single off Shami took him to a brilliant century off just 106 balls, including 14 fours and a six.

“Travis just goes about his business, sees the ball, and hits it,” praised Smith, who reached his half-century off 144 deliveries. “He shifted the momentum. It was a tremendous innings.”

India took the new ball towards the end of the day, but it had little effect on a day that saw captain Rohit Sharma hoping for more wickets after winning the toss.

As Smith and Head defied the Indian attack, Sharma may have questioned the decision to leave out off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, the top-ranked Test bowler in the world, who could have posed a threat to Australia’s top-order featuring three left-handed batsmen.

India had a strong start to the match, their second WTC final after losing to New Zealand in the inaugural 2021 edition in Southampton. Mohammed Siraj dismissed Usman Khawaja for a duck with an excellent wobble-seam delivery, reducing Australia to 2-1 to the delight of the predominantly pro-India crowd of nearly 23,000.

However, David Warner, who had struggled with just one century in his previous 32 Test innings, showed resilience and struck three successive fours off Umesh Yadav after digging in. Warner’s promising innings ended on 43 when he gloved a pull shot off medium-pacer Shardul Thakur, resulting in a well-caught dismissal down the legside by diving wicketkeeper Srikar Bharat.

Marnus Labuschagne, the top-ranked Test batsman in the world, fell early in the second session, getting bowled between bat and pad by a swinging delivery from Shami.

The WTC final represents the only major men’s cricket trophy Australia has yet to win. Additionally, it marks the beginning of a packed schedule of six Tests in eight weeks for Australia, including a five-match Ashes series against England.