The 35-year-old Delhi Capitals (DC) left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc delivered a sensational performance for his franchise in the 10th match of the Indian Premier League 2025 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Dr YSR ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam.
Mitchell Starc was roped in by the Delhi Capitals for INR 11.75 crore at the IPL 2025 auction held in Jeddah on November 24, 2024.
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Mitchell Starc becomes first Delhi Capitals pacer to bag 5-wicket haul
Starc looked threatening from the start in the match against SRH and he started off by dismissing the explosive batsman Ishan Kishan in the 3rd over of the match. In the same over, he also picked the big wicket of Nitish Kumar Reddy.
Then, he picked probably the biggest wicket of the match when he dismissed his bunny, Travis Head, in the 5th over. Starc was not satisfied with it as he produced another double-wicket over, removing Harshal Patel and Wiaan Mulder to complete his 5-wicket haul in 3.4 overs.
With this, he became the first-ever pacer to bag a 5-wicket haul for the Delhi Capitals in the history of the Indian Premier League and only second bowler after Amit Mishra, who achieved the feat against Deccan Chargers in Delhi in 2008.
Overall, Starc has 23 five-wicket hauls in First-Class cricket, 12 five-wicket hauls in List A cricket, but finally, at the age of 35, he bagged his maiden five-fer in T20 cricket today.
Mitchell Starc brutally mocks Travis Head
Travis Head is unarguably one of the most dangerous batters in the history of cricket, but he has been treated like a clueless schoolboy by the left-arm pacer Starc from his early days in cricket.
Overall, the duo have come against each other in 11 innings and Starc has dismissed him 6 times in 95 balls, conceding just 59 runs. Also, in the Indian Premier League, Head has been dismissed twice in 2 innings by Mitchell Starc, scoring just 10 runs in 7 balls.
Speaking during the mid-innings break to Murali Kartik, Starc brutally mocked Travis Head, saying that he doesn’t take strike because of the fear of being dismissed.
“(On dismissing Head six times in T20s) I think that’s why he doesn’t face the first ball anymore,” the premier left-arm pacer said.
I am 35 and I am not young, but hope there’s still little life left – Mitchell Starc
Mitchell Starc was also delighted with the way his team bowled against the power-packed SRH batting unit. He said:
“We know how such a powerful side Sunrisers are. We knew powerplay wickets were key. All-round, it was a fantastic performance in the first innings of this game. It’s nice to be in a new franchise. Our second game, it’s been great to settle in with the guys and get to know a few people. “
Mitchell Starc further said that he has very little cricket left in him and having not played a lot of T20 cricket, he wants to share his experience with young cricketers. He said:
“I am 35 and I am not young, but hope there’s still little life left. I haven’t played too much T20 cricket across those 15 years. I am an older one, there’s a chance to talk to the young guys, try and help where I can. I still enjoy my cricket, still love the competitive nature of it and that’s why I am still playing.”
