Australian pacer Mitchell Starc completed 50 wickets in the ICC World Cup, becoming only the second Australian and overall fifth bowler to do so. The pacer accomplished this milestone during India’s ICC Cricket World Cup campaign opener against Australia in Chennai. In the defence of 200 runs, Starc drew the first blood, removing Ishan Kishan for a golden duck. He ended with figures of 1/31 in eight overs. In 19 WC games, he has 50 wickets at an average of 15.14, with best bowling figures of 6/28.
Starc’s 27 wickets in 10 World Cup games in the 2019 edition of the tournament is a record that stands still. He has taken the most wickets in a single edition of the tournament. He also took 22 wickets in the 2015 edition at home, in which Australia also won the trophy for the fifth time.
The highest wicket-takers in World Cup history are: Australia’s Glenn McGrath (71 wickets in 39 matches), Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan (68 wickets in 40 matches), Lasith Malinga (56 wickets in 29 matches) and Pakistan’s Wasim Akram (55 wickets in 38 matches).
Starc has taken his 50 World Cup wickets in just 941 balls, becoming the fastest to reach the milestone in terms of balls taken. The second-best here is Malinga, who reached the landmark in 1,187 balls. Greats like McGrath, Akram, and Muralitharan are below Starc in this list.
Coming to the WC match between India and Australia, Australia lost Mitchell Marsh for a duck, but opener David Warner (41 in 52 balls with six fours) and Steve Smith (46 in 71 balls with five fours) helped the Aussies recover with their 69-run second-wicket partnership. Marnus Labuschagne (27) tried to take the Aussie innings forward with Smith, but following Smith’s dismissal, Australia faced a collapse.
The spin trio of Ravindra Jadeja (3/28), Kuldeep Yadav (2/42), and Ravichandran Ashwin (1/34) wreaked havoc on Australia’s line-up of recognized batters while the pace trio of Jasprit Bumrah (2/35), Mohammed Siraj (1/26) and Hardik Pandya (1/28) removed the lower order, sinking Australia from 110/3 to 199 all out in 49.3 overs. Mitchell Starc (28) tried to help the Aussies play the full quota of 50 overs, but he failed.
In the chase of 200, India lost Ishan Kishan, skipper Rohit Sharma, and Shreyas Iyer for ducks, leaving India at 2/3. Then a 165-run stand between Virat (85 in 116 balls with six fours) and KL Rahul (97* in 115 balls with eight fours and two sixes) helped India secure a six-wicket win. Josh Hazlewood (3/38) was the best bowler for Australia.
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