As the top bowler in the current Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT), Australian pacer Mitchell Starc has received high appreciation from India’s seasoned Test batting veteran Cheteshwar Pujara. Prior to the Boxing Day Test, Pujara spoke about Starc’s bowling’s notable progress.
With a 1-1 record in the BGT series, the two teams will try to face off against each other again in Melbourne beginning on December 26. Despite the weather, India was able to secure a vital draw in the third Test match in Brisbane. When Josh Hazlewood was injured and unable to play in the series, Starc has been an invaluable asset for Australia.
Just behind India’s Jasprit Bumrah, Starc has taken 14 wickets at an average of 22.86 in six innings, ranking him as the series’ second-highest wicket-taker. Pujara pointed out that Starc’s present form differs from his performances in the previous BGT series.
He has been their most effective bowler throughout this series. And Mitchell Starc has made significant progress in his play over the past one to one and a half years. And he’s quite talented. I can speak from personal experience when I say that I used to believe that I would score runs if he played against me during the last series in 2018. Additionally, it feels like he will take wickets when he plays in this series,” Starc told Star Sports exclusively.
He is making fewer loose deliveries when bowling: Cheteshwar Pujara
Starc is now a dangerous bowler, especially with the new ball, thanks to his increased accuracy and steady length hitting, Pujara noted. The Indian hitter added that the Indian top-order has been hampered by Starc’s ability to extract swing.
Thus, what makes a difference? The difference is that he is now much more accurate and has longer lines. He’s bowling less loose deliveries now. He is using the stump to play. All of the balls are striking the good length region. He is swinging. He has therefore changed as a player as a result of the changes he has made to his game. He also appears to be more dangerous than Hazlewood and Cummins. Therefore, we must attend to his game, particularly with regard to the new games. There, he has claimed the most wickets in his first spell of five overs,” he continued.
For India to succeed, Pujara underlined that managing Starc’s early periods will be essential. Australia’s 10-wicket triumph in the pink-ball Test in Adelaide was largely due to the pacer’s six-wicket haul.
Thus, if he bats well in the first five overs, bring him in for the second or third spell. since he becomes weary. Thus far, neither the third nor the fourth spell has seen any action from our top order. The lower middle order and tail-enders are the ones who have participated. Mitchell Starc was not very efficient when bowling, as we could see there when Bumrah and Akash were batting. They will therefore need to do well in their upcoming game,” Pujara said.
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