Starc pounces on Bangladesh vulnerability
Star turn
Mitchell Starc didn't find a lot of swing for a long time against Bangladesh. When he finally found shape away from the right-handed Mashrafe Mortaza - in his fourth spell - he didn't waste any time. In the next eight balls, he bowled three batsmen and brought a swift end to Bangladesh's innings, half-an-hour ahead of schedule - they lost four wickets for one run.
Before his demolition of the tail, Starc had managed to cramp Tamim Iqbal on the pull and end the opener's surge towards a well-deserved century. Only Hazlewood, Starc's partner with the new ball, had bowled more deliveries to Tamim on the day. It was a battle of attrition that often involved Starc digging it in back of a length, before turning to his signature full zingers. Tamim came out on top through that contest, even demonstrating on occasion that he knew exactly when to expect Starc's change-up.
Starc's patience stood out, however. He hadn't had a particularly good lead-up to this match, having taken only five wickets in four international innings, since his return from a foot injury. But he was happy to mirror Bangladesh's relaxed approach keeping things tight till a window of vulnerability was offered. And when it was, he finished with four wickets.
The wow moment
Starc's hat-trick ball was the perfect yorker. It started off slightly wide of the corridor, swung in viciously and looked destined for a rendezvous with Mustafizur's well-exposed off stump. The outcome was anticlimactic - the ball whistled past the inside edge of the bat and the outside edge of the stump, ending up plushly in Matthew Wade's grasp.
Stats that matter
- The 43rd over of Bangladesh's innings was the first instance of a triple-wicket maiden in the Champions trophy
- This was Starc's 13th haul of four wickets or more in ODI cricket. Among the six bowlers he equalled on that figure, and the eight who've taken more than 13, Starc is the only bowler to have played fewer than 150 matches - this was his 67th game
What they said
"Hopefully the skipper is happy with that or he might get a few short ones," Mitchell Starc reacts to his captain's appraisal of the bowlers after the New Zealand game