The saying “slumps pass but excellence lasts” was exemplified by Mitchell Starc’s bowling masterclass against India in the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He destroyed the opposition in Adelaide with a career-best 6/48.
From the beginning, the veteran appeared to be on the money, and it seemed impossible to counter the channels he bowled in. The left-armer struck teenage batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal on the pads with a fuller ball that swung late, dismissing him leg before wicket on the opening delivery of the match. He did not, however, have the same level of success with the rest of his initial burst. Starc was removed from the assault after being creamed for five boundaries after removing Jaiswal.
But it would have been impossible to count out a formidable rival like Starc. After returning to the midst of the action, he bowled again and had Virat Kohli and KL Rahul grabbed in very identical way in the first two overs. The ball took the edge before reaching the fielders in the slip cordon, preventing both hitters from leaving the delivery at the last second.
In the first over of his new spell following the session break, Starc got rid of R Ashwin lbw. The tall threat quickly scored his fifth goal by eliminating Harshit Rana, a former teammate of his from the Kolkata Knight Riders. A bumper on the last delivery put Harshit in a bad position. He provided a large space between bat and pad on the wicket ball, which Starc’s inswinging yorker sneaked into to peg the off-stump back.
Starc’s dismissal of Nitish Kumar Reddy at the conclusion of the visitors’ innings was the last nail in India’s coffin. Reddy missed a shot to mid-off where Travis Head pouched an easy catch, and he died trying to go for a huge hit. As Australia made their way to the dugout after destroying India for just 180 in 44.1 overs, Starc appeared to be back to his best as he raised the ball towards a boisterous crowd who gave him a deserved send-off.
Check how X reacted to Mitchell Starc brilliant exhibition with the ball:
Mitchell Starc took 6 wickets with the pink boll 🩷
Now it is Jasprit Bumrah’s turn
Jassi bhai #AUSvIND #INDvsAUS #Jaspritbumrah𓃵 #MitchellStarc pic.twitter.com/H7S7kC50Vn— Hudda (@Hudda2024) December 6, 2024
Slow MITCHELL STARC has just registered his Career Best 48/6 in Test Cricket.. 🏏 pic.twitter.com/n6RYu5nscc
— Nawaz 🇵🇰 (@Rnawaz31888) December 6, 2024
No one…
Mitchell Starc to Yashasvi Jaiswal : #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/GTs7og4ePk
— UmdarTamker (@UmdarTamker) December 6, 2024
IND vs AUS 2nd Test, Day 1 Live: Indian Lions falter under the pink ball in Adelaide, as Rohit Brigade is bowled out for 180. Mitchell Starc shines with six wickets.#indvsausTestseries #PinkBallTest #MitchellStarc #TeamIndia #CricketTwitter #cricketlovers pic.twitter.com/36rQ6MgyJs
— Nihar Ranjan (@Niharra98749805) December 6, 2024
MITCHELL STARC Takes Nitish
6TH WICKETS FOR THE LEGEND
HATS OFF!! pic.twitter.com/XzuNgSBq07
— Tahmid (@SirTahmidAhmed) December 6, 2024
It came too fast this time.
6 wicket hall for Mitchell Starc pic.twitter.com/IRWUheew0S
— Scout (@crictologist) December 6, 2024
6 Wicket Haul for Mitchell Starc. Baller of Ballers 🔥🫵🏻 pic.twitter.com/YHHT6us8vT
— Hassan Zahid (@Iam_hassan10) December 6, 2024
India
