Australia opener Travis Head survived a couple of scares during the powerplay but was ultimately dismissed by India's mystery spinner with his very first ball, leaving Australia at 63/2 at the end of the powerplay.
Steve Smith won the toss and chose to bat first in Dubai. Travis Head, alongside his new partner Cooper Connolly, walked out to open the innings for Australia. Mohammed Shami started with the new ball for India, and it was a strong start for him with some early seam movement. An early opportunity to dismiss Travis Head slipped away in the second ball of the match when Head tried to flick the ball toward midwicket. He got a leading edge that went straight to Shami, but the ball didn’t stick in his hands, allowing Head to survive the first over.
Despite the early miss, Mohammed Shami took the wicket of Cooper Connolly in his next over with a comfortable catch to KL Rahul after Connolly edged the ball. It was a moment of elation for Shami as his stock delivery brought him success in the powerplay.
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Steve Smith joined Travis Head during the powerplay, but it was a slow start for Head, who scored only 1 run off 11 balls in the first four overs. Meanwhile, Ravi Shastri, from the commentary box, noted that this was Head's slowest start in ODIs.
However, Travis Head quickly found his rhythm, taking Hardik Pandya for a six and a four in consecutive deliveries. He continued to gain momentum, smashing Shami for three consecutive fours in his next over, looking well-settled at the crease, while Smith took his time at the other end.
Rohit Sharma introduced his spinners in the next over, with Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy making their mark in the middle. Kuldeep sustained pressure in his first over, conceding no boundaries, but Travis Head targeted him in his next over, hitting a six straight down the ground.
Varun Chakravarthy was introduced in the ninth over and immediately dismissed the well-settled Travis Head with a tossed-up delivery. Head attempted a slog but mistimed his shot, resulting in an easy catch for vice-captain Shubman Gill. The crowd reacted enthusiastically as Varun dismissed the dangerous Head for 39 runs off 33 balls.
Marnus Labuschagne then joined Smith in the middle, and Steve Smith found a few boundaries in Axar Patel’s over, helping Australia end the powerplay with a score of 63/2.
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