Cricket World Cup: Australia pacer Mitchell Starc celebrates.© AFP
Australian pacer Mitchell Starc has continued his good run across Cricket World Cups, keeping up his record of taking at least a wicket in every match he has been part of. In the match against Sri Lanka at Lucknow’s Ekana Stadium, Starc took 2/43 in his 10 overs, dismissing Dhanajaya de Silva and Lahiru Kumara. In 21 World Cup matches, Starc has taken 54 wickets at an average of 15.79 with best figures of 6/28. He has three four-wicket hauls and three five-wicket hauls in World Cups.
His 27-wicket haul in 2019 World Cup is the highest by a bowler in any edition.
Starc’s figures are more magnificent in 41-50 overs. In this span, Starc has bowled 177 balls and has taken eighteen wickets. With 104 dot balls, he has economy rate of 4.64 in this phase when batters look for big hits to finish off the innings well.
Starc’s wickets in death overs have come at an average of 7.61, which means he gives around seven runs per wicket. His strike rate is also 9.8 in death overs, which means he averages nine balls per wicket.
The Lucknow match is crucial for both Sri Lanka and Australia as they are yet to get points and lost their two World Cup matches.
Australia legbreak spinner Adam Zampa revealed that he had been suffering from a back spasm for a couple of days which played a major role in his low performance in their last World Cup match.
Zampa’s spin left the Sri Lankan batting line-up bamboozled as he claimed a four-wicket haul in his 8 overs giving away 47 runs. His magic in the first innings inspired Australia’s first victory in the ongoing World Cup as they defeated Sri Lanka by 5 wickets.
After the game, Zampa revealed that he had been suffering from back spasms which hindered him from bowling to his true potential in Australia’s defeat to South Africa.
With PTI inputs
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