Victoria's relentless seamers dismantled a formidable New South Wales batting lineup, securing a resounding 141-run victory at the MCG. The triumph was overshadowed by the exceptional performance of Mitchell Starc, who showcased his readiness for the upcoming Test summer with a match haul of seven wickets.
Victoria's victory was sealed before lunch on the fourth day, with Sam Elliott claiming the final four wickets, including the dismissal of Josh Philippe for a valiant 88. Elliott's 4 for 44 was complemented by Fergus O'Neill's player-of-the-match performance, which included figures of 4 for 29, 1 for 28, and crucial lower-order contributions of 28 and 33.
Elliott's breakthrough came when Philippe edged a cut behind point, falling just 12 runs short of a century. Starc, who had earlier claimed 1 for 35 in the first innings, fell for 18 after top-edging a pull shot. Nathan Lyon also succumbed to the pull shot, miscuing to a fielder behind square leg. Elliott wrapped up the victory by clean bowling Jackson Bird.
While the spotlight had been on Test hopefuls Marcus Harris and Sam Konstas, the post-match buzz centered around Starc's impressive display. NSW coach Greg Shipperd believes India will face a formidable challenge from Starc if conditions resemble those at the MCG.
"His pace, rhythm, and ability to engineer the sort of pace he was dealing with were exceptional," Shipperd said. "He changed the game when he decided to go short and really change the dynamic of the match. And in the second innings, we thought perhaps he'd done enough, but he kept coming. That's a good sign for Australia and troubles ahead, perhaps, on the right wicket for India."
Victoria coach Chris Rogers praised his batting group's contributions in challenging conditions, highlighting the first-innings partnership between Campbell Kellaway and Peter Handscomb and the second-innings stand between Sam Harper and Tom Rogers as match-winning efforts in the face of Starc's barrage.
"For a 21-year-old kid [Kellaway] to get 50, along with Pete, that's right up there with some of the best batting I've seen him do," Rogers said. "That 100 was critical in us winning the game and having a first-innings lead."
"And in the second innings, when they had us four for not many and Mitch Starc's got his tail up, we needed a couple of people to stand up, and two guys who were making names for themselves in Sammy Harper and Tommy Rogers played absolutely out of their skins, and that 130-run partnership was as good as I've seen from a partnership for a long time. Just absolutely fantastic."
Tags: #Cricket, #SheffieldShield, #MitchellStarc, #Victoria, #NewSouthWales
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