Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc bowled a rousing opening spell against India in the 1st ODI between the two teams in Perth. Starc dismantled India’s top order with a 5-over spell in which he registered figures of 5-1-20-1, helping the hosts dominate the Shubman Gill-led side.
Starc set up Virat Kohli and dismissed the batter for an 8-ball duck. However, this did not turn out to be the main point of his charm at all. In fact, it was one of his deliveries to Rohit Sharma that went viral on the internet instead. Starc’s first ball to Rohit Sharma was clocked at 176.5 kmph – perhaps the fastest recorded in the history of ODI cricket. Starc’s ball to Rohit has a speed of 176.5 kmph.
The incident quickly went viral on the internet as cricket fans joked about what was apparently a quickfire mistake on Sunday 19 October. That said, Starc has bowled quite a fiery spell for India’s top order, averaging around 140 kilometers per hour. One of Starc’s fastest legitimate deliveries was clocked at around 145kph, again to Rohit Sharma.
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Starc troubled the former Indian captain with his lengths and the sheer bounce he was able to generate off the track in Perth. He didn’t allow Rohit to get off the blocks quickly, which visibly frustrated the Indian opener.
Starc’s pressure eventually resulted in a wicket in the 4th over of the match when Josh Hazlewood managed to pull the Indian skipper’s outside lead to second slip. A frustrated Rohit Sharma walked off the ground after scoring just 8 runs off 14 balls and lost his wicket on a ball he should have perhaps left alone.
Australia’s tails were up after Hazlewood’s wicket. Starc capitalized on the pressure early and dismissed Virat Kohli for an 8-ball duck in the 7th over. Kohli, batting with a newly open stance against Starc, looked to push a ball that angled over him and ended up with a left-of-point catch where Cooper Connolly finished it off.
Australia had India by one more wicket in the 9th over when India captain Shubman Gill bowled an innocuous delivery that went down the leg side back to the keeper.
India scored just 27 runs for the loss of 3 wickets in the powerplay – their joint worst performance since 2023 in ODI cricket.
– The end
Issued by:
Kingshuk Kusari
Published on:
October 19, 2025
