IN LEAGUE WITH LEGENDS

HEAD'S INNINGS AGAINST RICKY PONTING'S IN THE FINAL OF 2003 IN JOHANNESBURG AND ADAM GILCHRIST'S IN THE FINAL OF 2007 IN BRIDGETOWN. IT IS ENOUGH FOR IT TO BE MENTIONED ALONGSIDE. BOTH OF THOSE WERE STATEMENT INNINGS. HEAD'S WAS, AS WELL, IN A DIFFERENT WAY. THOSE WERE TWO-HOUR CAPSULES OF AUSTRALIAN SUPREMACY.

- Rahul Bhattacharya

Australia is a great cricket nation and Travis Head played an innings worthy of it. Patrick Cummins is a great cricketer and a wonderful captain and he led as a worthy representative of it. No doubt India is strewn with the debris of broken expectation, but it is never bad form to rejoice in the skill and spirit of others. Head and heart, Australia's performance for a sixth World Cup title, had both. They played a perfect match on the biggest night.

It is hard in the moment, with yellow-clad Australian players on the outfield in a shimmering mess of shiny golden paper, to assess Head's innings against Ricky Ponting's in the final of 2003 in Johannesburg and Adam Gilchrist's in the final of 2007 in Bridgetown. It is enough for it to be mentioned alongside. Both of those were statement innings. Head's was, as well, in a different way. Those were twohour capsules of Australian supremacy. Head's spoke to Australian indestructibility.

Two and a quarter matches into the campaign, it felt like it might already be hurtling towards a finish. But who ever really believes such things about Australia? Certainly not Australia. Having recovered from the early stutter, they were then down and out against Afghanistan in Mumbai. There Glenn Maxwell smacked a double-century while nearly immobile. An Australian, goes an old hitherto undiscovered saying, holds a bat between his teeth and plays on if keeps his chances of a World Cup alive. Some versions have it as between his eyelids.