"Pretty positive win": Australia pacer Starc on victory over India in 2nd Test

Dec 08, 2024

Adelaide [Australia], December 8 : Following his side's 10-wicket victory over India in the Adelaide Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Australia pacer Mitchell Starc said that it was a "positive win" for the hosts.
India's inconsistent pink-ball Test record continued as Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins demolished a helpless Indian batting attack, helping the side secure a morale-boosting, series-levelling 10-wicket win after a massive 295-run loss at Perth in the first Test. With this, the series is level 1-1.
Speaking after the match, Starc said that many people criticized the Aussie side after the defeat in the Perth Test. Starc said that pink ball cricket is more like a white ball than a red ball.
The pacer added that the Aussies were very positive with bat and ball and got the rewards.
"Pretty positive win. There was lots of outside noise after the game but we left Perth in Perth. Cannot really put my finger on it. [On his excellent record in Adelaide] Nothing changes in my approach. Probably slightly fuller lengths. It [the pink ball] is more like the white ball than the red ball. We were really positive with bat and ball and got the rewards. It's nice when the ball hits the stumps. I have been learning a lot from Pat and Cummins over the last seven years or so. So I have added to my bow the one that goes away and still able to bring one back. I always had that air speed and swing but I have also been someone who leaked a bit," Starc was quoted by ESPNcricinfo as saying.
Recapping the match, India won the toss and opted to bat first. However, they had to face the wrath of a moving, erratic pink ball and its mastermind, Mitchell Starc (6/48). Except for a 69-run stand for the second wicket between KL Rahul (37 in 64 balls with six fours) and Shubman Gill (31 in 51 balls, with five fours) and a fighting 42 in 54 balls (three fours and three sixes) from Nitish Kumar Reddy, there was not much highlights from India who were skittled out for 180 runs. Skipper Cummins and Scott Boland also took two wickets.
In the first innings, a 67-run partnership between Nathan McSweeney (39 in 109 balls, with six fours) and Marnus Labuschagne (64 in 126 balls, with nine fours) for second wicket set the platform for Travis Head to impose his domination over Indian bowlers yet again with a counter-attacking 140 in 141 balls, with 17 fours and four sixes, just when Aussies lost some regular wickets. His century took Australia to 337 runs and gave them a 157-run lead.
Jasprit Bumrah (4/61) and Mohammed Siraj (4/98) were top bowlers for India. Ravichandran and Nitish got a wicket each.
In their second innings, India appeared even more toothless as the star-studded top-order and middle-order returned back to pavillion despite starts from Jaiswal (24 in 31 balls, with four boundaries), Gill (28 in 30 balls, with three fours) while KL Rahul (7) and Virat Kohli (11 in 21 balls with a four) failed to score well. India ended day two at 128/5.
On the third day, Pant also lost his wicket for 28 in 31 balls, with five fours. From there on, it was not looking back for the Aussies, who skittled out India for 175 runs in 36.5 overs. India lead by just 18 runs, setting Aussies 19 runs to win.
Skipper Cummins (5/67) took a majestic five-wicket haul, his eighth as a captain. Boland took 3/51 while Starc took 2/60.
Set a target of 19 runs, Khawaja (10*) and McSweeney (9*) chased it down without breaking a sweat in 3.2 overs.