Having finished his first innings with incredible figures of 6/12 in 10 overs, which included a five-wicket haul during the first seven overs of the innings, the left-armer hunted four more scalps for 39 runs in the second innings. After Australia lost the first Test at Darwin by nine wickets, Starc dismantled Bangladesh with fire, pace, relentlessness and aggression that has become so associated with him over the years. Australian left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc surpassed legends Ravichandran Ashwin and Chaminda Vaas in international cricket’s all-time wicket charts with a ten-wicket haul against Bangladesh in the second Test at Mackay on Sunday.
Starc won the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his ten-wicket haul and the ‘Player of the Series’ award for 12 wickets in four innings at an average of 12.08, topping the wicket charts in a bowler-dominated series. Starc unleashed his fury on Bangladesh batters, getting his five-wicket haul in the first seven overs and reducing Bangladesh to 12/5. He got some assistance from skipper Pat Cummins (3/25). Bangladesh was 39/9, but avoided the embarrassment of being bowled out for their lowest Test score (their lowest score being 43), as Shoriful Islam (14) emerged as their top-scorer.
Australia won the toss and opted to field first. Starc’s fifer was a special one as four of five batters got out for a duck.
After a dismal all-round performance led to Australia’s first-ever loss to Bangladesh on their home soil, the bowling group, particularly Starc, responded with vengeance and trademark Aussie fire, not allowing Bangladesh to cross the 100-run mark in either innings. Australia’s flaws with the bat, however, continue to persist, and the team would want them addressed ahead of the Test series in South Africa in October.
