GALLE: Australia’s experienced pacer Mitchell Starc made his 35th birthday a memorable one by taking his 700th international wicket during the ongoing first Test against Sri Lanka here at the Galle International Stadium on Thursday.
The left-arm pacer amassed the milestone on the second day of the series opener when he dismissed Sri Lanka’s opener Dimuth Karunaratne on seven.
Starc bowled a short delivery just outside the off-stump channel, which hurried and climbed following the impact and thus ended up taking the outside edge, very close to the shoulder of the bat, and flew to Nathan McSweeney at gully.
As a result, Starc became the sixth-fastest bowler to take 700 international wickets, taking 373 innings.
Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan sits at the top of the list of the fastest to 700 international wickets, followed by India’s Ravichandran Ashwin.
The elusive list further features notable figures like Australia’s Shane Warne and Pakistan’s Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram.
Fastest to reach 700 international wickets
Muttiah Muralitharan – 308 innings
Ravichandran Ashwin – 351 innings
Shane Warne – 354 innings
Waqar Younis – 355 innings
Glenn McGrath – 358 innings
Mitchell Starc – 373 innings
Brett Lee – 381 innings
Wasim Akram – 382 innings
Anil Kumble – 389 innings
The left-arm pacer, who made his international debut for Australia in 2010, has taken 377 wickets in Tests, 244 wickets in ODIs and 79 wickets in T20Is, showcasing his brilliance across formats.
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