Australia's left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc is in red-hot form in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. Compared to 11 wickets in four Tests in the last edition, Starc has taken 14 wickets from three Tests already including his career-best six-fer in pink-ball Test. India's out-of-favour Cheteshwar Pujara who was not much bothered by Starc said that Indian batters need to tire him out. Pujara feels that Starc will not be as lethal as he has been with the old ball so far.
“He has taken most of his wickets in his first five overs, his first spell. We need to bat well in the first five overs and make him bowl the second and third spells because he gets tired," Pujara said on Star Sports. “When Mitchell Starc was bowling to Bumrah and Akash Deep with the old ball, he wasn’t that effective. So, play the new ball properly."
Pujara revealed that the Indian team on their last tour of Australia did not look at Starc as a threat. Moreover, the batters looked at him as an opportunity to attack and score quickly.
“He has been their best bowler thus far in this series. He has improved his bowling a lot in the last one to one-and-a-half years. If I talk about my personal experience, when he used to bowl in the last two series, we felt we could get runs. However, now it seems like when he comes to bowl, he will pick up wickets," the 36-year-old said.
Starc - the most dangerous bowler in Australian side
Pujara lauded Starc for working on his accuracy and not giving away easy runs. He went on to call him the most dangerous bowler in the current Australian side.
“His accuracy has improved a lot. He is bowling very few loose deliveries. He is bowling at the stumps, hitting the good length spot consistently, and getting swing. He has become a different bowler. He is looking more dangerous than Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood. So we will have to manage his bowling, especially with the new ball," he added.
Starc's record at the MCG
Starc has played seven Tests at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) taking 25 wickets at an average of 30.16. In his last appearance against India at the venue in red-ball cricket, he took four wickets as the tourists won by eight wickets.
