Centuries from Smith and Head centuries put Australia in strong position in third Test

“It felt good,” Smith said on Fox. “Obviously I missed out for a little while so it’s good to get to three figures. Batting at the moment [generally] is quite challenging.”

Head and Smith greeted each other at the crease with Australia at 3-75 and with work to do following the early wickets of Usman Khawaja (21), Nathan McSweeney (9) and Marnus Labuschagne (12).

There was a feeling of calmness when Head scratched centre, eight days after his swashbuckling 140 in Adelaide that effectively set up Australia’s second Test victory.

With 89 in the second innings of the opening Test in Perth, Head was already in career-best form but had yet to notch back-to-back centuries in the longest form of the game.

The left-hander’s ability to swing momentum is unparalleled at the moment. He dines out on anything wide outside the off stump, looks a million dollars to anything full and shows disdain to the short ball.

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India, not for the first time this summer, had few answers.

It is not just the fact that Head hits a high percentage of boundaries – 18 fours on this occasion – but the remarkable speed at which the ball reaches the rope. His timing is impeccable and if he can maintain his appetite for runs, Australia’s hopes of beating India in a Test series for the first time in a decade look promising.

When Smith tried to hit Bumrah too hard through the covers and was caught in the slips, it ended a 241-run partnership – the highest by an Australian pair against India at the Gabba.

Smith is now just 195 runs shy of reaching 10,000 and still boasts a career average of 56.35.

Head slashed at a wide Bumrah ball and was caught behind for his equal fourth-highest score in Tests, level with the 152 he made against England at the same venue three years ago.

Ten summers ago, it was Smith who was the unstoppable force, plundering four hundreds in four Tests against India for a return of 769 runs at 128. At the halfway mark of the series, Head has compiled 392 runs at 98.

Useful contributions from Australia’s Alex Carey (45 not out) and Pat Cummins (20) late in the day inflicted further pain on the tourists.