Australia firmly gripped the opening day of the WTC final, ending Wednesday with a score of 327/3. A dominant performance by Travis Head, who smashed a century, and Steve Smith, who passed fifty, put the Aussies in the driver's seat. Head finished the day undefeated on 146, while Smith remained not out on 95*, leaving the Indian bowlers struggling for answers. The only highlights for India were single wickets taken by Siraj, Thakur, and Shami.
After Rohit Sharma won the toss and decided to bowl, India got off to a flying start when Siraj caught Usman Khawaja for a duck. The joy was short-lived as David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne rebuilt the innings, putting on 69 runs together. It took until the 22nd over for Shardul Thakur to break the deadlock, dismissing Warner for 43.
The pressure mounted further when Shami produced a brilliant delivery to remove Labuschagne for 26. Having taken two wickets in short order at the start of the second session, India felt they were on the verge of a breakthrough. However, that hope was extinguished by Smith and Head, who played with composure and strength to overpower the bowling attack.
Head took a highly aggressive approach, scoring rapidly to put India on the defensive. His massive 251-run partnership with Smith, spanning 370 balls, has set Australia up for a potentially huge first-innings total. India now faces the uphill task of returning with intensity on Day 2 to regain control of this championship clash.