Australian left-hander Travis Head has etched his name alongside some of cricket’s greatest legends by claiming his 11th Player of the Match award in Test cricket following his match-winning performance in the fifth and final Ashes Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The achievement sees Head surpass Virat Kohli and Viv Richards while equaling the tally of icons like Rahul Dravid and Imran Khan.

Head’s match-winning 163 powers Australia

Travis Head shone with the bat as Australia defeated England by five wickets to seal a 4-1 Ashes series victory. Opting to bat first, the Three Lions posted 384, but Head’s terrific knock put the hosts right in control. The southpaw smashed 163 off just 166 balls, with the help of 24 fours and one six. Steve Smith also contributed with a well-crafted century (138) as Australia posted 567, taking a first-innings lead of 183 runs.

So crucial was Australia’s first-innings lead that they won the game despite England fighting back through Jacob Bethell’s 154-run knock. Head scored 29 in the second innings, finishing the match with 192 runs to his name, earning him the Player of the Match award for his brilliant batting.

Surpasses Kohli, equals Dravid and Imran Khan

This turned out to be the 11th Player of the Match award for Head in Test cricket, allowing him to surpass Virat Kohli in the list of players with the most Player of the Match awards in the format. Notably, Kohli called time on his Test career last year and remains active as an international player only in ODI cricket.

Malcolm Marshall, Matthew Hayden, Kevin Pietersen, R Ashwin, Younis Khan, Viv Richards, Anil Kumble, and Stuart Broad also clinched 10 Player of the Match awards in Test cricket.

Head has equaled the feat of Imran Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Aravinda de Silva, Rangana Herath, Shaun Pollock, Kane Williamson, Glenn McGrath, Daniel Vettori, Allan Border, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, and Rahul Dravid, all of whom have 11 Player of the Match awards in Tests.

South Africa’s legendary all-rounder Jacques Kallis tops the list with a tally of 23.

“It’s special to have my name up there”

This was Head’s first Test century at the SCG, making the achievement even more special for the left-hander.

“It’s special. There’s a couple of good names up there. I have always found it tough to bat here, so it was nice to be up the order, nice to face the hard new ball and nice to contribute again,” he said.

“Every hundred you get is going to be well cherished, but I’ll probably hold the couple at the start of the series when everything was on the line and we had an opportunity to win the Ashes series, that was the pleasing part. Then, I guess from a personal perspective, it’s nice to finish a series well in the fifth Test with runs again and make sure we don’t take the foot off.”

Head’s 528 runs in the series at a strike rate of 87.12 made him the highest run-scorer and the standout performer for Australia. His aggressive approach and ability to take the game away from England at crucial moments proved decisive in Australia’s 4-1 Ashes series victory.