Australia's lead pacer completes 650 wickets in international cricket

Australia`s lead pacer Mitchell Starc (Pic: AFP)

Australia's lead pacer Mitchell Starc completed 650 wickets in international cricket. The speedster achieved this milestone during the second test match against Pakistan at the MCG.

Starc struggled to bag wickets in the first innings but was destructive in the second innings as he dismissed four of Pakistan's batsmen for 55 runs in just 13.2 overs.

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In 263 international matches, Starc has registered 651 wickets at an average of 25.35 with the best bowling figures of six wickets for 28 runs. So far, the veteran fast bowler has 23 five-wicket hauls and two 10-wicket hauls under his belt. Mitchell Starc is Australia's fourth-highest wicket-taker of all time.

Starc has played 84 test matches and has taken 342 wickets. Registering 14 five-wicket hauls and two 10-wicket hauls, Starc's best bowling figures in Tests are six wickets for 50 runs. He is the fifth-highest wicket-taker in Tests, with Warne (708 wickets) at the top.

Starc has also played 121 ODIs, taking 236 wickets at an average of 22.96, with the best bowling figures of 6/28. He has nine five-wicket hauls in ODIs. He is the fifth-highest wicket-taker for Australia in ODIs, with pacer Glenn McGrath (380) at the top.

The pacer has 73 wickets in 58 matches, with the best bowling figures of 4/20. He is the second-highest wicket-taker in T20Is for Australia, with Adam Zampa (82) at the top.

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Coming into the match, Australia was put to the bat first and posted 318 in their first inning, with Marnus Labuschagne (63), Usman Khawaja (42) and Mitchell Marsh (41) being key contributors.

Aamer Jamal (3/64) was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan, while Mir Hamza, Hasan Ali and Shaheen Afridi took two wickets each and Agha Salman got one.

Australia secured a 54-run first-inning lead as they bundled out Pakistan for 264, despite half-centuries from Abdullah Shafique (62) and skipper Shan Masood (54). Skipper Pat Cummins (5/48) and Nathan Lyon (4/73) emerged as top bowlers for the Aussies.

In their second inning, Australia was shaken by early strikes by Shaheen and Mir and sunk to 16/4, but half-centuries from Marsh (96), Steve Smith (50) and Alex Carey (53) helped Australia get back in the game and secure a 316-run lead. Australia was bundled out for 262. Mir (4/32) and Shaheen (4/76) were the stars for Pakistan, while Mir also got two wickets.

In the chase of 317 runs, knocks from Shan (60), Babar Azam (41), Saud Shakeel (24), Mohammed Rizwan (35) and Agha (50) kept Pakistan alive after openers Abdullah and Imam Ul Haq were dismissed quickly, but the lower order did not put up any fight. Pakistan was bundled out for 237 runs and lost the match by 79 runs.

Cummins (5/49) took another five-wicket haul to finish with a ten-wicket haul, while Starc took four and Josh Hazlewood got one wicket. Cummins was given the 'Player of the Match' award. Australia have won the series 2-0 with a game to go.

(With ANI Inputs)