Australia’s left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc is capable of bowling upwards of 150 kmph. On October 19, he returned to ODIs after nearly a year. He opened the bowling and the first delivery was just short of a good length. The speed of the ball displayed during broadcast was a whopping 176.5 kmph, well above the fastest ball delivered by Shoaib Akhtar i.e. 161.3 kmph.
As expected, it was a technical glitch. The actual speed of the first ball of the innings Starc bowled to Rohit was 140.8 kmph. The opener played it towards mid-on to get off the mark on his return to international cricket after ICC Champions Trophy 2205 triumph.
Starc gets Kohli’s wicket
Starc was lethal in his opening spell. After Josh Hazlewood got rid of Rohit, extracting extra bouncer from the surface, the left-arm pacer bowled a maiden over to Kohli. In his next over, Starc bowled it outside the off stump. Kohli took the bat and edged one to backward point fielder Cooper Connolly who dived to his left to grab a stunner.
Disappointing start for Kohli
Kohli departed for an eight-ball duck. This is Kohli’s first duck in 30 ODIs on Australian soil. Also, Starc became the second bowler after England’s James Anderson to get Kohli out for a duck in two formats. Following the duck, his ODI average on Australian soil dropped below 50.
3 debutants in Perth ODI
Earlier, Australia captain Mitchell Marsh won the toss and opted to bowl first at Perth Stadium. Australia's playing eleven included two debutants -- Matt Renshaw and Mitchell Owen. Marnus Labuschagne was called up for an injured Cameron Green's replacement but he did not get a chance to feature in the side.
On the other hand, Rohit handed debut cap to fast-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy. India played without their in-form wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav as the conditions in Perth are seamer-friendly.