Starc surpasses Rangana Herath to become leading left-arm bowler in Tests

Darwin, Aug 13 (IANS) Veteran Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc surpassed Sri Lanka great Rangana Herath to become the most successful left-arm bowler in the history of Test cricket.

Starc reached the landmark during the opening Test against Bangladesh at Marrara Cricket Ground when he dismissed opener Shadman Islam. The wicket took his Test tally to 434, moving him one clear of Herath’s 433 wickets.

The milestone came in Starc’s 106th Test and added another significant achievement to an already decorated career. He is now level with former India captain Kapil Dev on 434 Test wickets and is closing in on South Africa pace legend Dale Steyn, who sits 10th on the all-time list with 439 scalps.

Starc needs six more wickets to move past Steyn and enter the top 10 of Test cricket’s leading wicket-takers.

The Australian’s achievement also strengthens his position at the top of the left-arm wicket-taking charts. Herath is second with 433 wickets, followed by Pakistan great Wasim Akram with 414. New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori has 362, while Sri Lanka’s Chaminda Vaas has 355. India’s Ravindra Jadeja is sixth among left-arm bowlers with 348 Test wickets.

Starc had entered the Bangladesh series with 433 wickets and the possibility of overtaking both Kapil Dev and Steyn firmly in sight. Ahead of the series, however, the 36-year-old played down the importance of personal milestones, stressing that Australia’s wider objectives remained his priority.

“It means I’ve played a bit. It is cool and very humbling to be spoken about with those guys. But that stuff doesn’t mean a whole lot while you’re still playing. You don’t get too far ahead,” Starc had said ahead of the series as quoted by ICC.

Starc has been one of Australia’s most consistent performers in the ongoing WTC cycle. Before the Bangladesh series, he had taken 46 wickets in eight Tests, including 31 during Australia’s Ashes victory over England.

However, his historic achievement was accompanied by a difficult day for Australia with the bat. After winning the toss and choosing to bat first, Australia were bowled out for only 198 in the opening Test at Darwin.

Bangladesh’s fast bowlers exploited the conditions brilliantly, with Hasan Mahmud producing a career-best 6/55. Steve Smith was Australia’s leading scorer with 71, but no other batter managed to pass 30.

Starc then gave Australia an early breakthrough with Shadman Islam’s dismissal, taking his personal tally to 434 and moving beyond Herath.

–IANS

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