Travis Head continued from where he left off against India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, in Sri Lanka albeit in a different batting position on Wednesday, January 29 in Galle. Head returned to the top of the order to sort of take the bull by its horns and send a message as it gets difficult to bat on slow and turning tracks and that's what the moustache-twirling left-hander delivered at the top by smashing the fastest fifty by an Australian batter in Tests in Sri Lanka.
Head came firing on all cylinders and wasn't looking to spend time on the crease but rather was aggressive and seemed like he wanted to score as many runs in as few balls as possible. Head was successful in his attempt as he scored a 35-ball half-century, the fourth fastest by an Australian batter in Tests and the joint-second fastest by any player in Tests in Sri Lanka, equalling Sanath Jayasuriya's record, 24 years ago.
Fastest Test fifty by a batter in Sri Lanka (number of balls faced)
30 - Tillakaratne Dilshan (SL vs NZ) - Galle, 2009
35 - Sanath Jayasuriya (SL vs BAN) - Colombo SSC, 2001
35 - Travis Head (AUS vs SL) - Galle, 2025*
37 - Tillakaratne Dilshan (SL vs IND) - Galle, 2010
Fastest fifty by an Australian batter in Tests
23 - David Warner (vs Pakistan) - Sydney, 2017
29 - Bruce Yardley (vs West Indies) - Barbados, 1978
32 - Mitchell Starc (vs South Africa) - Perth, 2012
35 - Travis Head (vs Sri Lanka) - Galle, 2025*
Australia's stand-in skipper Steve Smith won the toss and opted to bat first on Day 1 of the Galle Test. Head returned to the top of the table but Usman Khawaja striking form after a below-par Border-Gavaskar series would have been the most heartening outcome from the opening partnership.