Men of Steel

Australia's Mitchell Starc hit the deck really hard against Scotland at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart yesterday as his four-wicket burst gave the Aussies a massive victory. Photo: Reuters

MITCHELL STARC

If you who had predicted as to who would become the highest wicket-taker in this World Cup before it started, the names of Mitchell Johnson and Dale Steyn must have been right up there. Mitchell Starc? Well, maybe somewhere after these two. But at the end of the first round, which would be finished with two matches today, the former two are nowhere near the top ten while the latter is on top of that list with 16 wickets in five innings. It should come as no surprise if one analyses Stacr's ODI career. The 25-year-old left-armer has an extra-ordinary record in one-dayers with 77 wickets in 38 innings. He has five 5-wicket hauls and six four-fors to his name. One of those four-fors came against Scotland yesterday as the Scots were bundled out for 130. Starc's average in this World Cup is 8.5 and his economy rate 3.67.

SURESH RAINA

India's lower-middle order had hardly been tested in the first five matches of World Cup, thanks to the top four, who had scored the bulk of runs be it setting up a total or chasing. But it was different scenario yesterday against Zimbabwe as the Indians found themselves in a bit of bother, losing first three for just 71 runs, chasing a challenging target of 288. That's when Suresh Raina arrived at the crease, and even after the fall of Virat Kohli some 21 runs later, managed to bail India out with an unbeaten century. The left-hander scored 110 runs off 104 balls, with nine boundaries and four maximums, and forged an unbroken fifth wicket stand of 196 runs with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni to ensure India's sixth win on the trot.