Australia's first centurion in the World Test Championship Final, Travis Head was named Player of the Match after his mammoth 161 helped the team clinch their maiden WTC title following their 209-run victory over India at The Oval on Sunday.
Chasing a mammoth 445 for victory, the Aussies bowled out India for 234 in the final innings to finish the match inside the first session.
Head, who scored his sixth Test hundred in this match and his first outside Australia, was involved in a record 285-run partnership for the fourth wicket with former captain Steve Smith, who made 121 in the team's first innings total of 469 in London.
That partnership proved to be the backbone of Australia's victory as they gained the upper hand in the first-two days after which the Indians were always playing catch-up to them.
Hard work of 2 year pays off
"It's amazing. A lot of hard work over two years. [Positive approach] has been the approach for two years. I wanted to be proactive and score if the balls were there and then if they bowl in nice areas you try and be good enough to stay out there for long periods.
"I was tested through my innings. It was nice to be able to bat as well as we did with [Smith]. It was an amazing Test from him. I've always had the confidence. It's been about going out there and expressing that," Head said after the match.
Travis Head 2.0
Head's career was in jeopardy for a while when he was struggling for runs and even found himself out of the Test squad. But a change in his approach to batting saw him get back among the runs and in the team.
"It took me some time to find a blueprint in first-class cricket and Test cricket. I've always been open to change. Always been committed to knowing what I needed to do to step up. I've bedded down some what. I'm trying to be as consistent as I possibly can for the team," Head said.
