Mitchell Starc Passes Kapil Dev on All-Time Test Wicket List While Australia Get Bowled Over By Bangladesh

Mitchell Starc had a day worth remembering on Friday, August 14, even if his team did not.

The Australian left-armer dismissed Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batter Litton Das for a duck on the second day of the first Test at Marrara Stadium in Darwin, according to the Times of India. That wicket, his 435th in Test cricket, pushed Starc past India great Kapil Dev and into 11th place on the all-time list of Test wicket-takers.

Starc had already drawn level with Kapil's mark of 434 wickets a day earlier, on Thursday, when he removed Bangladesh opener Shadman Islam, according to crictracker. That wicket also carried its own piece of history: it made Starc the most successful left-arm bowler in Test cricket, surpassing Sri Lankan spinner Rangana Herath's total of 433, as reported by Republic World.

Notably, Starc reached the 434-wicket mark in just 106 Test matches. Kapil Dev needed 131 matches to get there across a career that ran from 1978 to 1994, according to crictracker. That is a materially faster rate for a bowler working across a very different era of Test scheduling and workload management.

Starc is now just five wickets short of South Africa's Dale Steyn, who occupies 10th place with 439 wickets, per both the Times of India and Hindustan Times. Within Australia's own bowling history, Starc still trails Glenn McGrath (563 wickets), Nathan Lyon (568) and Shane Warne, the country's all-time leader with 708 wickets, according to Hindustan Times and crictracker.

Australia was bowled out for 198 in the first innings. The top of the order gave Australia a promising start, a 45-run opening stand between Travis Head (22) and Jake Weatherald (23), but the innings unraveled to 74 for 4 before Steve Smith's 71 off 109 balls, including seven fours and a six, kept the total respectable.

Bangladesh seamer Hasan Mahmud was the one who did the damage, finishing with figures of 6 for 55, the best return by a Bangladeshi bowler against Australia in Test history, eclipsing Mohammad Rafique's 5 for 62 at Fatullah in 2006, according to Republic World. Mahmud's victims included both Smith and Head. It was his third five-wicket haul in 15 Tests, the second-most by any Bangladeshi pacer behind Shahadat Hossain's four hauls in 38 matches.

Mahmud credited a county stint with Kent for sharpening him for Australian conditions. "I was in Kent in Blackpool, and I got a 6-for there as well," he told ABC Sport, as quoted by both crictracker and Hindustan Times. "I've really enjoyed it in Kent because the conditions look similar in Australia and England. You get the new ball on a fresh wicket, and you get more bend, you get bounce, swing, and that's how your confidence grows."

He added that overseas five-wicket hauls carry particular weight for him. "I think every five-for is important to me, and I'm very happy to get a five-for overseas," Mahmud said, noting he has also taken fifers in India and Pakistan.

Taskin Ahmed added his own milestone during the innings, becoming the sixth Bangladeshi bowler to reach 300 international wickets, finishing with figures of 2 for 55 in the process, according to Republic World. He reached the mark in 204 matches with an average above 28. Bangladesh's all-time list is still topped by Shakib Al Hasan (712), followed by Mashrafe Mortaza (389), Mustafizur Rahman (384), Mehidy Hasan Miraz (369) and Taijul Islam (302).

Bangladesh made the most of favorable batting conditions in reply. Tanzid Hasan Tamim scored his maiden Test century, and he put on 102 runs for the second wicket with Mominul Haque before Josh Hazlewood removed Mominul for 49, according to the Times of India.

According to Hindustan Times, Bangladesh were looking good for a 200-run first-innings lead as Australia's batting lineup faced the prospect of a heavy deficit. Starc's bowling landmarks are locked in. Whether Australia can climb out of the hole its batting lineup dug in Darwin is the open question heading into day three.