Travis Head knocked his first century with a terrific knock in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Canberra, making sure his permanent spot in the team.
Head, the left-handed batsman who is playing his eighth Test match, was dropped on 87 at gully by Dilruwan Perera and went on to reach his first three figures in 155 balls on Friday.
The 25-year-old rookie scored an impressive 161 runs, that included 24 boundaries and a sixer before he got LBW by Vishwa Fernando. His previous highest knock was 84 runs during the first Test in Brisbane.
Head’s achievement at Manuka Oval will dismiss the criticism over the Cricket Australia’s decision to promote him to vice-captain.
Earlier, the hosts made a solid start in their innings after Tim Paine won the toss and elected to bat first.
Opener Joe Burns knocked his third Test century in 15 matches in style. Burns and No 5 batsman Head established formidable partnership after the Sri Lankan bowlers inflicted on Australian battling lineup to a shaky 3-28.
The visitors almost got away with early wickets after Fernando and debutant Chamika Karunaratne scalping the top order batsmen, including Marcus Harris (11), Usman Khawaja (0), and Marnus Labuschagne (6) in a short spell.
Australia were 384-4 at stumps.
