FILE PHOTO: Cricket - Ashes - Fifth Test - England v Australia - The Oval, London, Britain - July 31, 2023 Australia's Steve Smith watches as England's Zak Crawley takes a catch to dismiss him off the bowling of Chris Woakes Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs/File Photo
MELBOURNE (Reuters) -India nemesis Travis Head scored another century and supporting act Steve Smith ground out a fifty as the pair dominated an entire session to push Australia to 234 for three at tea on day two of the third test in Brisbane on Sunday.
Head, who scored a match-winning 140 in the pink ball test in Adelaide, was unbeaten on 103 at the Gabba, with Smith 65 not out having shrugged off dire form with a workmanlike knock.
With Head setting the pace showing typical belligerence, the pair marched off at the break with an unbroken 159-run partnership, having blasted 130 runs in the session to put Australia well in command.
Head struck a Jasprit Bumrah full toss for three in the final minutes before tea to bring up his ninth test century and soak up cheers from a sell-out crowd on a steamy afternoon.
Pace spearhead Bumrah, who removed both Australia's openers in the morning, could make no further inroads and had little support from his bowling colleagues as the ball aged.
Mohammed Siraj sent down some overs but appeared well short of his best. The pacer had come off the ground for treatment in the morning after clutching at his hamstring.
With another 10 overs until the new ball, India face a task to halt the Head-Smith juggernaut after tea.
Rohit Sharma's men had shared the points up to lunch, grabbing early wickets after only 13.2 overs were bowled on a rain-hit day one.
Australia resumed on 28 for no loss and Bumrah struck with his seventh ball of the morning having opener Usman Khawaja feather an edge to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant to be out for 21.
Bumrah then removed Australia's rookie opener Nathan McSweeney for nine in his next over with a ball that angled in, caught a thick edge and sailed to Virat Kohli at second slip.
Smith, out of form and under pressure, came to the crease bringing yet another technique change after playing a straighter line in Adelaide where he was out for two.
The crab walk across the stumps returned as Smith came dangerously close to repeating his leg-side dismissal at Adelaide when he swished at the first ball faced from Bumrah.
Siraj, booed in Adelaide for his send-off of Head, continued to make mischief as he marched past on-strike batsman Labuschagne and switched the bails around.
Labuschagne switched them back defiantly but was soon caught in the slips for 12 by Kohli after a loose drive at relief bowler Nitish Kumar Reddy.
Reddy's wicket broke a hard-earned 37-run partnership but India's hopes of further inroads were dampened as Siraj pulled up sore in his 11th over, clutched at the back of his knee and immediately called for the team physio.
He went off field for treatment but jogged back out to a mix of cheers and boos for the last 10 minutes before lunch.
The five-match series is tied 1-1.
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
