‘Play the new ball properly’ – Cheteshwar Pujara advises India the technique to tackle Mitchell Starc

In the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024–25, Australia has won the second Test, India has won the first, and the third match has ended in a tie. Mitchell Starc, the top pacer for Australia, has been particularly impressive in the final two games of the first three.

India’s batting attack has been terrorised by Starc, who has found his footing and is predicted to repeat the feat in the fourth Test match at the MCG. But recently, seasoned Indian batsman Cheteshwar Pujara spoke out about the speedster’s recent exploits.

Pujara gave the Indian squad advice on how to counter Starc’s bowling and even gave him credit for his recent performance.

In his first five overs, or his opening spell, he has claimed the majority of his wickets. Because he gets weary, we must force him to bowl the second and third stints and bat well in the first five overs, Pujara told Star Sports.

Mitchell Starc wasn’t very efficient when he was bowling with the old ball to Bumrah and Akash Deep. Play the new ball correctly, then. So far in this series, he has been their best bowler. Over the past one to one and a half years, he has really improved his bowling. In my own experience, we thought we could score runs when he bowled in the previous two series. But now it appears that he will take wickets when he bowls,” the Saurashtra batsman explained.

Mitchell Starc accuracy has significantly increased: Cheteshwar Pujara

The renowned batsman also showered Starc with compliments, saying that his bowling has significantly improved recently. He noted that he is in excellent form and has been bowling very few loose deliveries.

“He is much more accurate now. There aren’t many loose deliveries coming from him. He is regularly hitting the good length spot, bowling at the stumps, and gaining swing. He is a different bowler now. He appears more menacing than Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins. Therefore, especially with the new ball, we will need to control his bowling,” the 36-year-old continued.