KKR celebrate 'perfect Starc day' after Pakistan batter loses his stumps against Australia - Watch

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Australia are all over Pakistan in the ongoing Test series down under. The Aussies are on the brink of a 3-0 clean sweep and have been the dominating force in the series.

And amid the 3rd Test in Sydney, an incident during Pakistan's 2nd innings has caused a lot of joy for IPL side Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

KKR celebrated the wicket of Pakistan batter Abdullah Shafique on Friday (January 5), who lost his poles with a superb delivery by Mitchell Starc. It was the very first over of Pakistan's 2nd innings, and Starc provided the hosts the perfect start.

Starc set Abdullah Shafique up for the first five balls with a few outswingers, but then the last one of the over nipped back and disturbed the timbers. Shafique had a huge gap between his bat and pad, and the ball snuck through the gully and rattled the stumps.

It was not a pretty sight for Shafique or Pakistani fans, but a brilliant one for Starc, Australia and Starc's new IPL employers KKR. The Knights were quick to celebrate the moment as they tweeted the video of Shafique losing his poles.

"Perfect way to 'Starc' the day," the caption wrote from KKR in their social media post celebrating the wicket of their prized asset.

Incidentally, Starc was bought by KKR in the recently-conducted IPL 2024 auction. The world-class Australian pacer was roped in for a humongous Rs. 24.75 crore, which makes him the most expensive player in IPL's history.

Starc will be hoping to put KKR back in the title race as he makes a return to IPL after an eight-year-long hiatus. The 33-year-old has been brilliant in this Test series, picking up 12 wickets in three matches.

Despite having a sudden upper hand in the 3rd Test, Pakistan have lost their advantage and are reeling at 68 for 7 at the end of the third day. The visitors are leading by a paltry margin of 80 runs and will have to do something miraculous to get something of this tour.