Mitchell Starc completes 100 ODI wickets in Australia: Decoding stats
Star Australian seamer Mitchell Starc created history with his brilliant new ball spell against Pakistan in the first ODI on Monday. The match was played at Melbourne Cricket Ground, where Starc's fiery new ball performance had Pakistan openers Saim Ayyub and Abdullah Shafique in trouble. The display of skill and consistency saw both openers falling to Starc, who took his 100th wicket on Australian soil in ODIs.
A fine spell from Starc
Starc started his dream spell by sending debutant Saim Ayyub back in his second over. Starc's successful run continued as he dismissed Abdullah Shafique, who edged him to wicketkeeper Josh Inglis. He later shattered Shaheen Afridi's stumps to register his third wicket of the match. Starc ended with impressive figures of 3/33 in 10 overs, contributing significantly to Australia's bowling performance against Pakistan.
Starc joins elite group of Australian bowlers
Starc became the sixth bowler from his country to take 100 wickets in ODIs at home, alongside legends like Brett Lee (169), Glenn McGrath (160), Shane Warne (134), and Craig McDermott (125), and Steve Waugh (101). Playing his 54th game at home, Starc has raced to 102 scalps at 21.10. His economy reads 4.83 as the tally includes three fifers.
Here are his overall numbers
Starc has been Australia's mainstay pace spearhead for over a decade. The left-arm seamer is one of the six Aussie players with over 200 wickets in ODI cricket. With his latest spell, Starc has raced to 244 wickets from 126 ODIs at an incredible average of 23.29 (5W: 9). Against Pakistan, he has 27 wickets across 12 matches at 19.
Pakistan's struggle and Rizwan's captaincy debut
Pakistan struggled all through their innings, unable to keep the runs flowing. After losing both openers on 24, new white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan joined star batter Babar Azam at the crease. Rizwan scored 44 on his ODI captaincy debut. Contributions from debutant Irfan Khan (22), Shaheen Afridi (24), and Naseem Shah (40), Pakistan managed 203/10. Pat Cummins and Adam Zampa took two wickets apiece.
