Starc roars back with three wickets on IPL return

Mitchell Starc is back, and it's like the new ball destroyer has never been away.

Not that it started well in Jaipur; the Indian Premier League is not the easiest arena for a bowler to ease his way back into action.

More than three months after he had last bowled in competition Starc steamed in to open up for Delhi Capitals at Rajasthan Royal's Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Friday - and saw Yashasvi Jaiswal pull his 142kph "loosener" over deep square leg for six.

A dot ball followed, then a 143kph thigh-high full toss which caught Jaiswal by surprise. He spooned it up off the splice for Starc to pocket. Not a typical Starc wicket, but they all count and he was happy to claim it.

The 36-year-old was even happier after his second spell, when he dismissed both set batters, deceiving Ravindra Jadeja (20 off 14 balls) with his slower ball then, crucially, cramping Riyan Parag ending a superb 50-ball 90.

While Donovan Ferreira cut loose to smack an unbeaten 47 off 14 balls, including ten off Starc's last two, Royals were restricted to 6-225.  

Capitals' reply was launched by a century-plus partnership between Pathum Nissanka (62 off 33) and KL Rahul (75 off 40) at 12-an-over. After that it was cruise control to victory, achieved with seven wickets and five balls to spare.

Starc finished with 3-40 in his first spell since finishing on the losing side for Sydney Sixers in the BBL final on January 25. Injures to elbow and shoulder have delayed his arrival in the IPL and he admitted he has a few other body parts strapped up as well. 

"Nice to get some cobwebs out, get some miles in the legs. Take out that first ball I might be happy," said the Sydneysider.

"In terms of ticking the boxes with the skills, I was in a position to do most of what I want to do. I hadn't bowled to a batter until three nights ago."

Starc added he felt he would benefit from the run, and Delhi need him firing. They went into Friday's match having lost five matches out of eight. This win keeps them in playoff contention, four points behind Royals in the fourth and final qualifying place.

His captain, Axar Patel, was certainly delighted to have his strike bowler back.

"The way Starc bowled, I want to say that's why he's a legend - after three months, he's playing and putting in a performance like this."

IPL 2026 standings

Team	Matches played M	Wins W	Losses L	Ties T	No results N/R	Net Run Rate NRR	Deductions Ded.	Total points PTS
1 Punjab Kings KXI	8	6	1	0	1	1.043	0	13
2 Royal Challengers Bengaluru Men RCB	9	6	3	0	0	1.42	0	12
3 Sunrisers Hyderabad SUN	9	6	3	0	0	0.832	0	12
4 Rajasthan Royals RAJ	10	6	4	0	0	0.51	0	12
5 Gujarat Titans GUT	9	5	4	0	0	-0.192	0	10
6 Delhi Capitals Men DEL	9	4	5	0	0	-0.895	0	8
7 Chennai Super Kings CSK	8	3	5	0	0	-0.121	0	6
8 Kolkata Knight Riders KKR	8	2	5	0	1	-0.751	0	5
9 Mumbai Indians MI	8	2	6	0	0	-0.784	0	4
10 Lucknow Super Giants LSG	8	2	6	0	0	-1.106	0	4

Legend

M: Matches played

W: Wins

L: Losses

T: Ties

N/R: No results

NRR: Net Run Rate

Ded.: Deductions

PTS: Total points

Australians in IPL 2026

Chennai Super Kings: Matt Short ($255k), Spencer Johnson ($255k, replaces Nathan Ellis ($340k))

Delhi Capitals: Mitchell Starc ($2m)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Josh Hazlewood ($2.13m), Tim David ($510k)

Punjab Kings: Marcus Stoinis ($1.9m), Ben Dwarshuis ($745k), Mitchell Owen ($510k), Cooper Connolly ($510k), Xavier Bartlett ($136k)

Kolkata Knight Riders: Cameron Green ($3.5m)

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Pat Cummins ($3.5m), Travis Head ($2.38m), Jack Edwards ($510k, withdrawn)

Lucknow Super Giants: Josh Inglis ($1.49m), Mitchell Marsh ($578k)