Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne excite everyone to lead Australia to victory

Head was challenged by Ashwin’s sharp spin and used the tip of his racquet to hit a ball from Jadeja, which slipped to ankle height. As another Ashwin delivery bounced on Labuschagne and went through to a leg slip, India referred loudly only to find the ball missed the glove by a wide margin.

Head and Labuschagne argued that the hard, shiny SG ball posed the greatest danger before it started to wear down, emphasizing defense with occasional singles in the early overs.

The Australians also consciously tried to keep the game going at their preferred pace and not let themselves be rushed by India’s weirdos. This reached comical proportions as Labuschagne stopped Ashwin several times in a row, leading the movement of the blank sheet used as a privacy screen to cover an electronic sponsors screen.

After 10 overs, the referees called for a rally. As if on cue, Head went into aggressor mode, hitting Ashwin for four across the midwicket and six across the floor, either side of a sharply held two.

Amid Indian complaints about the spare ball, Labuschagne joined the goal with a crisp slap sweep from Jadeja and a flashing drive from Ashwin as the goal slipped below the required 40.

Head’s clear-eyed proactivity continued as Rohit Sharma attempted the pace of Umesh Yadav for a desperate final throw of the dice, but it was left to Labuschagne to loft Ashwin for the winning runs.

News, results and expert analysis from the sports weekend are sent out every Monday. Sign up for our sports newsletter.