Travis Head Vs Kagiso Rabada: Will South Africa's Star Pacer Beat The Explosive Opener?

Kagiso Rabada and Travis Head [Source: @mad_maxholics/X.com]

Australia and South Africa, the World Test Championship Finals rivals are all set to face off in the big stage in the Champions Trophy. With both teams eyeing the semi-final spot from Group B, the match at Rawalpindi will be an intense one.

With star-studded lineups from both sides, the match will be one hell of a battle to watch especially for two key players from opposite camps who have the potential to turn the match for their sides on their heads.

Travis Head and Kagiso Rabada are two of the key players from their respective teams and a matchup between a left-handed batter and a pacer is always interesting to see. With Head eyeing a horde of runs and Rabada looking to repeat previous match glory, here's a look at who can outsmart whom on the battlefield on February 25.

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Why Will Travis Head Be Important For Australia?

• Travis Head as an opener is explosive. The southpaw boasts a solid strike rate of 115.85 in the 38 ODI innings he has played. He also boasts an average of 50.54 as an opener which cements his reliability as well.
• Interestingly, Head boasts a solid strike rate against South Africa as well. With a figure of 118.7, Head also boasts 3 fifties to his name against the Proteas out of the 13 ODI innings he played. Hence, he can be a big performer for his team in the upcoming clash.
• With Head's solid track record of boasting 202 runs against South Africa in just the ODI powerplays, he can craft a solid innings for the rest of the team to build on giving Australia a nice cushion from the very start. 

Travis Head vs Kagiso Rabada

Table - Travis Head vs Kagiso Raba in ODIs

In the 5 matches, Travis Head faced Rabada, the latter managed to dismiss him 3 times with 31 dots out of 55 balls. Though Head brags a solid strike rate of 112.7, his dismissal rate of 60% against Rabada places him in the weaker side where the pacer can gain an upper hand over Head during the match.

Will Rabada Dominate Travis Head?

Kagiso Rabada, South Africa's pace spearhead, known for his raw pace and accurate yorkers have a good track record against left-hand batters. In his 101 innings, Rabada has dismissed southpaws for a whopping 57 times which makes his dismissal rate 56.44%. He also is an able bowler who dominates with his seam movements as seen in his dot ball percentage of 63.1.

Table - Kagiso Rabada vs Left-Hand Batters In ODIs

Despite having the ability to stifle the runs too at an economy rate of 5.49, Head might get an upper hand over Rabada during the powerplays as the batter has thrashed the Proteas pacer 38 runs with 6 boundaries in the powerplays in ODI encounters.

Travis Head, known for his explosiveness is somewhat weak against right-arm pacers. Although the Aussie opener boasts a strike rate of 113.9 against the right-arm pacers, he has been dismissed 36 times out of 64 matches which records his dismissal rate at 56.25%. 

Table - Travis Head vs Right-Arm Pacers In ODIs

With a tight equation placed from both players, it will be interesting to see who will outfox the other in the upcoming Australia vs South Africa match. For now, accounting Head and Rabada's recent form, it is safe to say that the latter might win the battle on the match day.

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