Watch: Australia speedster Mitchell Starc brought his side right back into the contest against Sri Lanka with a fiery yorker which clattered into Kusal Perera’s middle stump.
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Sri Lanka got off to a bright start against Australia, with the left-handers Kusal Perera and Charith Asalanka ensuring that the team were 75-1 after nine overs. In the 10th over, Asalanka tried to sweep Adam Zampa and ended up gifting a catch to Steve Smith at the square-leg boundary.
This downfall didn’t dissuade Perera from going for his runs. He smashed Starc for a six in the next over. But the very next ball, Starc ensured that he had the last laugh.
Changing his length from good to full, Starc delivered the near-perfect yorker at just under 90 mph. Perera tried to stop the ball with his blade, but it crossed underneath the willow, shattering his middle stump.
Mark Nicholas called it, “The ball of the tournament so far”.
There were echoes of his beauty to Ben Stokes in the 2019 Cricket World Cup, with a perfect Starc yorker in that game proving pivotal as Australia secured a group stage win over the eventual champions.
You can watch the preceding boundary and the wicket here:
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