Mitch masala: Mitchell Starc shines as Australia beats India by 10 wickets

Left-arm pacer runs through Indian top-order yet again to hand Australia a 10-wicket victory
Mitchell Starc claimed a fifer, his ninth in 109 ODIs, to bowl out India cheaply in the second match on Sunday. (Photo | AP)
Mitchell Starc claimed a fifer, his ninth in 109 ODIs, to bowl out India cheaply in the second match on Sunday. (Photo | AP)

CHENNAI:  KL Rahul has just walked out to the middle after the dismissal of Suryakumar Yadav — the Indian No. 4 who was trapped on the pads by an inswinger from Mitchell Starc for a first-ball duck. The Australian left-armer is on a hat trick. You might think this is from the first ODI in Mumbai, but it wasn’t. 

It all felt like deja vu as Starc had run through the Indian top-order, reducing them to 32/3 in 4.5 overs in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.

The six-foot-five inch-tall pacer was breathing fire from the moment he took the new ball after the tourists opted to bowl. His accuracy was on the mark once again at the YS Rajasekhara Reddy stadium, with Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, and Suryakumar back in the pavilion. Rahul’s first delivery was another close inswinger that the batter managed to survive. However, he did not last long. A couple of overs later, Starc pitched one on off-stump which shaped into the middle stump and hit the pads of Rahul, who tried to flick it through the leg side. Before even Rahul knew it, the umpire’s finger went up and India was four down. 

Starc would go on to get rid of Mohammed Siraj by coming around the wicket to finish off India’s innings for a meagre 117 in 26 overs, which the tourists had no trouble chasing in 11 overs without losing any wickets. The left-arm had a fifer next to his name, 5/53, his ninth in just 109 matches. Only Muttiah Muralitharan (10 in 350 games) and Waqar Younis (13 in 262 games) have more ODI fifers than Starc, but it should only be a matter of time before the Australian surpasses the legendary duo. 

‘’Starc is a hardworking bowler, knows how to effectively use the conditions,” S Sriram, former Australian team assistant coach who has worked with Starc for many years, told TNIE. “He knows his game well and knows how to set up a batter even when there are conditions that just about help a bowler. He always bowls with an intent to take wickets and when things work he is a difficult proposition to play.”

Among other things, what makes Starc stand out is the way he is able to adapt and improvise with respect to his pace or the angles depending on the conditions and the batter. A case in point is the difference in the way he pushed it wide and across to Gill and Rohit and brought it back for Yadav and Rahul.

"He analyses the batter well and makes subtle changes in his bowling maybe line, length or angle to get purchase. This ability to lift the quality of his game spontaneously makes him the best left-handed fast bowler in the world,” says Sriram.

In Rohit’s dismissal, the ball flew off the outside edge towards Steve Smith at first slip, who held onto the catch on the second attempt. After taking the catch, Smith suggested how the ball was wobbling on its way towards him. Even Mitchell Marsh revealed after the game it is a nightmare standing in the slips when Starc bowls. “It is horrible standing at slip when he bowls because it flies at about 80 mph off the edge. But it is great to see him bowl like this, we now have a rare chance to win an away series in India,” said Marsh.

Skipper Smith attributed the clinical performance that levelled the series to teamwork. “It was a quick one (the game and victory). Only 37 overs, you don’t usually see that. Starc with the new ball put them (India) under pressure. I didn’t know how the wicket was going to play. We were just trying to execute our plans. Just that kind of a day when the nicks went to hand. The way Head and Marsh played at the start. They just kept going and we are able to bounce back after the last game,” said Smith.

While India might have to regroup quickly to course correct, the fans in Chennai would be thrilled to witness a decider come Wednesday.

Brief scores
India 117 all out in 26 overs (Kohli 31; Starc 5/53, Abbott 3/23, Ellis 2/13) lost to Australia 121 for no loss in 11 overs (Head 51 n.o, Marsh 66 n.o).

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