Mitchell Starc’s Iconic Spell to Sachin Tendulkar: The Moment That Marked Him for Greatness

Ricky Ponting reminisced about Mitchell Starc’s fiery spell to Sachin Tendulkar, a moment that convinced him the pacer was destined for greatness.

Ricky Ponting Hails Mitchell Starc After Historic Six-Wicket Haul

Australia pacer Mitchell Starc stole the spotlight with a sensational six-wicket haul in the second innings of the pink-ball Test against West Indies in Jamaica. His fiery spell reduced the hosts to just 27 runs — the second-lowest Test total ever — as Starc recorded career-best figures of 6/9, claiming five wickets in just 15 balls.

Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting lauded Starc’s brilliance, saying the left-arm quick was always destined for greatness. Ponting highlighted that from the moment Starc debuted, he looked like a future 100-Test veteran with 400-plus wickets.

Starc, who made his first-class debut for New South Wales in 2009 at age 19, broke into the Test side within two years. Ponting credited his height, raw pace, and ability to swing the new ball as key weapons behind his success.

“He’s really now stacking up an amazing career – over 400 Test match wickets. Everyone who saw him early knew he had the potential to become a 100-Test, 400 or 500-wicket fast bowler for Australia,” Ponting said on ICC Review.

“He’s 6’5”, consistently in the high 140s, sometimes touching 150 km/h, and swings the ball into right-handers – that’s a lethal combination,“ he added.

‘Starc’s fiery spell to Sachin Tendulkar’

Ricky Ponting reminisced about an early moment that convinced him Mitchell Starc was destined for greatness — a blistering spell against Sachin Tendulkar. Ponting revealed that Starc bowled with such pace and bounce that the Master Blaster struggled, even fending a short delivery into short leg.

“When you could see that sort of pace and bounce and have someone like Sachin not be able to cope with it, I think that was the reassurance for all of us that there was probably something extra special there for Mitchell Starc,” Ponting said.

Starc has since fulfilled that promise, becoming only the second Australian pacer after Glenn McGrath to feature in 100 Tests. He has claimed 402 wickets at an average of 27.02 in the format. Beyond Tests, Starc has represented Australia in 127 ODIs and 65 T20Is, taking 323 wickets across limited-overs formats.

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