Use your head with Travis!

Australiarsquos spirited and muchneeded win in the daynight Adelaide Test has not only added to the intensity of an already feisty series but also answered and posed a few questionsThe thumping victory by Australia showed they havenrsquot lost their desire for winning Australia also reminded anyone who doubted it that they definitely know how to win These two factors were critical as it was imperative Australia level the series at oneallOn the personal side the ultraaggressive Travis Head proved that India has not found an answer to his extravagant shot making His twosided confrontation with Mohammed Siraj showed that a theatrical and expensive sendoff is not the answer to derailing Head especially when hersquos already made 140India need to find a way to seriously challenge Head with appropriate field placings that are matched by some sensibly aggressive bowling At the moment Head is dominating and in this mood hersquos capable of quickly putting Australia in a position of strength with his middleorder pyrotechnicsAlso ReadSyed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Mumbai set to lock horns with Madhya Pradesh in the finalPoking the sleeping bearThe Australian pace bowlers mdash who were overly criticised in Perth mdash revealed why itrsquos unwise to poke the sleeping bear Pat Cummins amp Co hit back in typically determined fashion by baring their lethal fangs It remains to be seen if they can maintain that level of performance for three more demanding Tests without the aid of the Adelaide lightsTheir supremacy in Adelaide not only displayed their talent and fire in the best light but it also exposed a few chinks in the Indian battingAustraliarsquos pace attack made patently clear how important it is to stifle the talented Yashasvi Jaiswalrsquos runscoring If India forge a strong opening partnership it makes life a lot easier for their middleorder playersIf the Australians continue to stifle Jaiswal they have a chance to get Virat Kohli in early Then it becomes important to get rid of him quickly By doing so and keeping Jaiswal quiet the Australians improve their chances of bringing the freespirited Rishabh Pant to the crease while the ball is still reasonably newHowever Indiarsquos major batting headache is skipper Rohit Sharma India will hope the middleorder is the right spot for Rohit and he rediscovers his batting formHis struggles with the bat were only matched by his occasionally confusing captaincy He appeared to be conservative in both endeavours in Adelaide and a more aggressive approach may jolt him out of his malaiseAustralia have shown in this series they prefer to play Jasprit Bumrah carefully and comparatively conservatively This is important as Bumrah is a seriously dangerous opponent and one to be treated with respectHowever there is a thing of treating an opponent with too much respect If Australiarsquos top order are looking to let as many balls of Bumrahrsquos go the Indian quick could be forgiven for thinking deliveries around offstump really worry the oppositionItrsquos fine to show respect but batsmen must always be thinking of how to score rather than how many deliveries can I let goMissing Shamirsquos skillsThe Indian pacemen who rely heavily on Bumrahrsquos skill were fortunate they had little bowling in the Adelaide second innings as it will aid in their recovery process However India have to ensure they have the right bowling balance for the Gabba Unfortunately they donrsquot have use of Mohammed Shamirsquos laudable talents as he would perfectly complement the skills of Bumrah and SirajThe onus is now on India to regain the upper hand as losing in Adelaide has allowed Australia to climb off the floor In this heavyweight series the adage is appropriate ldquoIf yoursquove got your opponent down donrsquot allow him uprdquoThe remainder of this titillating series will answer which side has both the will and the determination to end the five Tests on top The Gabba Test is crucial for both sides and while India may have won a glorious victory there last time the ground is still known as The Gabbatoir601No of runs scored by Travis Head in his last five Tests against India excluding the ongoing Brisbane Test at an impressive average of 7512