Mitchell Starc, the pace spearhead of the Australian bowling attack added yet another remarkable feather to his illustrious cap as soon as he sent Ishan Kishan packing in the India vs Australia World Cup game in Chennai on Sunday, October 8.
Starc got rid of Ishan for a duck and jolted India’s chase early to bag his 50th World Cup scalp surpassing Sri Lanka’s left-arm pace bowling legend Chaminda Vaas. Starc is in elite company now as he has found a place among the top five leading wicket-takers in ODI World Cup history.
Starc, who is known for his ability to take the ball away from left-handers at a searing pace pitched one outside off and lured Ishan into playing a drive. Ishan fell for the bait and went for an expansive drive only to edge it straight to Cameron Green at first slip.
Starc dismissed Ishan for a golden duck and reduced India to 0 for the loss of a wicket. Ishan’s scalp has put the Australian seamer in elite company. Only four other bowlers have snared more scalps at ODI World Cups as compared to Starc – Glenn McGrath (71 wickets), Muttiah Muralitharan (68 wickets), Lasith Malinga (56 wickets) and Wasim Akram (55 wickets).
Ishan’s dismissal also helped Starc script yet another praiseworthy feat. The New South Wales-born has become the fastest bowler to claim 50 World Cup wickets in terms of the deliveries bowled. Starc has taken just 941 balls to scale the milestone and surpassed Lasith Malinga who held the record earlier. Malinga had taken 1187 balls to reach 50 wickets.
Starc is going to be extremely crucial for Australia in the ongoing World Cup. He was the leading wicket-taker for the Men in Green and Gold during the previous edition in 2019 and played a pivotal role in propelling Australia to the semis.
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