Mitchell Starc’s fiery five-wicket haul in the Mackay Test saw him surpass Dale Steyn’s wicket tally. The Aussie pacer dismantled the Bangladesh top order, leaving them at 35/6 in the first session after their historic win in Darwin.
After a painful loss to Bangladesh at Darwin in the first Test, Aussie left-arm pace veteran Mitchell Starc struck with a vengeance, getting a five-wicket haul within the first seven overs of the Mackay Test, that took his past South African legend Dale Steyn among Test wicket-takers.
After a historic first-ever Test win on Australian shores at Darwin, the Bangladeshi batters had to bear the wrath of Starc as he started off the innings with a wicket of Shadman Islam on the first ball. The Darwin centurion Tanzid Hasan and skipper Najmul Shanto were not safe from the assault as they were both sent for a duck. At the end of the first session, Bangladesh was 35/6.
Starc’s Record-Breaking Spell
Starc’s fifer was a brutal one, as none of the batters could touch double figures, and four of them, Shadman, Tanzid, Shanto and a returning Litton Das, could not even open their account.
The left-armer has now overtaken Steyn (439) to enter the top ten wicket-takers in Test cricket with 440 wickets in 107 matches at an average of 26.33, with 19 five-fors and three ten-fors and best figures of 7/58.
With 761 international wickets, he has tied with Sri Lankan legend Chaminda Vaas as the 12th joint-most wicket-taker.
Match Overview
Coming to the match, Australia won the toss and opted to field. Australia (Playing XI): Travis Head, Matt Renshaw, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Cameron Green, Alex Carey(w), Beau Webster, Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood. Bangladesh (Playing XI): Shadman Islam, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Mominul Haque, Najmul Hossain Shanto(c), Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das(w), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Hasan Mahmud, Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam.
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