Mitchell Starc is widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers ever, and One-day international cricket has undoubtedly been his most excellent format. Starc’s figures speak for themselves – 219 wickets in 109 matches at an average of 21.78, an economy rate of 5.09, and a strike rate of 25.6. The left-handed bowler has collected nine five-wicket hauls.
Against India, he has yet to succeed. Indeed, he is yet to shine exactly in Tests, but he has had a few exceptional One-Day International games.
Here are the last three occasions where he caused problems for the Indian batting order.
1. MCG 2015, 6/43
After winning the toss for the second Carlton Tri-Series game, India decided to bat first. Mitchell Starc, who had a good outing in the previous match against England, got rid of Shikhar Dhawan for only two runs in the first over of the Indian innings and took control of the game.
Once the top-order collapsed, his dismissal of Suresh Raina (51), who had a 126-run partnership with the centurion Rohit Sharma (138), was crucial to the rest of the first innings. MS Dhoni, Axar Patel, Rohit, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were all dismissed by him in the last overs. While he was there, India could not go all out for the kill.
2. Adelaide 2020, 4/53
India has travelled to Australia for the second year running to pursue the Border Gavaskar Trophy. They entered the tournament having won the 2018–19 competition, the first time they had ever done so in a Test series played in Australia. The inaugural game took place with pink balls in Adelaide.
Mitchell Starc’s dismissal of Prithvi Shaw in the second ball of the Test set the tone for the game. He bowled a tight line and length with the new pink ball, posing several issues to India’s batting order.
As India was 196/4, the 33-year-old took a wicket by dismissing a well-set Ajinkya Rahane for 42 runs with the second new ball. With his help, India was bowled out for 244 the following day.
3. Vizag 2023, 5/53
During the second one-day International between Australia and India, which just ended in Visakhapatnam, Mitchell Starc was on fire. The series was already 0-1 when the tourists lost the first game by five wickets despite a brilliant spell from Starc. The toss was won by Steve Smith, who opted to bowl first. An outstanding stint from Starc in the powerplay saw him dismiss Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, and Suryakumar Yadav in the first five overs. The surface offered something for the pacers, and he could use that by coaxing some seam movement out of it.
The left-handed pacer was responsible for the dismissal of KL Rahul during the power play and got Virat Kohli to hit false shots. He completed his second five-wicket haul against India in this format by dismissing Mohammed Siraj, which ended India’s first innings.
