How many times have you seen a bowler be the Player of the Match in the IPL for figures of 1/36 in four overs? Mitchell Starc might have been the first bowler to bag that honour. And despite what the scoreboard might look like, it was richly deserved. Starc was the key to Delhi Capitals first taking Rajasthan Royals into a Super Over, and then winning the game. The win put DC back on top of the points table in IPL 2025. It also reminded everyone that Starc was still one of the all-time greats with the white ball.
Delhi Capitals had made 188/5, and Starc kept the Rajasthan Royals to 188/4 in a thrilling finish. IPL 2025 has been a particularly fruitful tournament so far for Starc. In six games, he has 10 wickets. The economy rate is a shade over 10, but given that Starc bowls almost exclusively in the powerplay and at the death, that is an acceptable rate.
His strike rate is 13, so he’s picking up almost two wickets per game. Getting important wickets is where Starc provides most value. But like he showed on Wednesday (April 17), he can be extremely difficult to score off too. Especially when he’s in rhythm.
The Starc masterclass at the death
Starc was brought back for the 18th over, with the Royals needing 31 runs in 18 balls. Nitish Rana was on 50 off 26, with Dhruv Jurel 13 off 10.
The Starc show began with an almost perfect execution of yorkers, all tailing with reverse swing at high pace. The fourth ball trapped Rana in front, the fifth seemed destined to crash into Shimron Hetmyer’s stumps, but an inside edge, just about sent it scurrying past and into the boundary.
If over No.18 was almost flawless, over No.20 was perfection itself. The Royals needed 9 to win, Starc kept them to just eight. And even getting to eight runs was a scramble. There was never any doubt that Starc would bowl a third successive over with the game tied.
He later admitted that he was surprised the Royals went in with two left-handers in their choice of three batters, because he was getting the ball to reverse away from lefties. He was also clear that he wouldn’t be veering away from his basic game-plan of nailing the yorkers – simply because when he gets it right, it doesn’t matter that batters know what’s coming. They can’t do anything about it anyway.
“I’ve played long enough that everyone pretty much knows what I’m going to do,” Starc smiled. “If I can execute more often than not, it’s going to be okay. “Yeah, I was probably a little surprised they had left-handers with the ball tailing in and my angle.”
The return of saliva
The IPL allowing bowlers to use their saliva has been a significant aid to bowlers, particularly those like Starc who can be so effective with reverse swing.
“We can use saliva this season, and since there isn’t much grass on the surface, you can get the ball to reverse,” said DC captain Axar Patel. “I feel it’s fair for bowlers, given how the grounds are, and how batsmen’s bats are, and how runs keep flowing.”
Rana echoed the same sentiment too. “Obviously the credit goes to Starc, but the saliva makes a lot of difference. We didn’t use saliva at all in the last 2-3 years, and we didn’t do this type of batting even in the nets. Reverse-swing had completely gone away from cricket, whether it was red ball or white ball.
Suddenly, if someone can execute 11 yorkers in 12 balls at a 145 pace, that too with reverse swing, then you have to give Starc the credit. After a long time we’ve seen this kind of death bowling, specially in the IPL.”
But as Axar said later: “Getting reverse-swing is one thing, but executing it is very important… under pressure, he was executing it. I was just reminding him to be clear with his plans, and trust himself. I was getting the same response: ‘Don’t worry, skip. I’ll do it’.”
When Starc is bowling in that fashion, it is true that his skipper need not worry.
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