Mitchell Starc has forged an uncanny reputation as one of Test cricket's most formidable new-ball bowlers. His left-arm pace, sharp swing, and accuracy have become a nightmare for opening batters around the world. Starc has developed an uncanny knack to strike in the very first over of an innings, often breaking games open even before they begin. Over the years, he has come up with some of the most memorable first-over wickets in modern cricket that have shaped series and set the tone for big matches, showing why he is one of Australia's greatest match-winners. Here, we look at every one of Starc's famous first-over wickets in the order they happened, keeping all details of each dismissal intact. These moments explain why Starc, with the new ball in hand, can be considered one of the most dangerous bowlers the game has ever seen. Every First-Over Wicket by Mitchell Starc in Test Cricket 1. Murali Vijay (India) - Fourth Test, 2014-15, Sydney It wasn't until his 15th Test that Starc started his now famous run of first-over wickets, removing Murali Vijay caught behind after three deliveries with Australia having piled on 7-572 declared. Also Read | Watch: Ben Stokes Run-Out Disaster After Inglis Nails One-Stump Direct Hit 2 & 3. Kraigg Brathwaite and Rajendra Chandrika (West Indies) - Second Test, 2015, Kingston A double strike for Starc in the second innings of the second Test. He cleaned up Kraigg Brathwaite bowled three balls in and after Darren Bravo got off strike next ball, Starc got the wicket of Rajendra Chandrika as well. It marked a forgettable Test debut for Chandrika, who bagged a pair in his first outing after Starc removed him without scoring in the first innings as well. 4. Adam Lyth (England) - Second Test, 2015, Lord's The first Ashes entry to this list comes via Adam Lyth, who played at a wide one at the Home of Cricket. Peter Nevill was behind the stumps on Test debut and took his first catch after only two balls. 5. Dimuth Karunaratne (Sri Lanka) - Second Test, 2016, Galle A fortunate one for Starc who got Dimuth Karunaratne with the first wicket of the match in Galle. It was a juicy half-volley on the pads which the opener clipped to Joe Burns at midwicket. It began a stranglehold that Starc would have over the left-handed batter; he got him out nine times at an average of 17.44. 6. Dilruwan Perera (Sri Lanka) - Third Test, 2016, Colombo Off-the-cuff opener Dilruwan Perera was sent out to open in the second innings of the final Test in Colombo as stumps neared on the third day. Perera, perhaps out of his depth, misjudged a full, swinging delivery and didn't offer a shot. Plumb. Starc finished a breakout tour with 24 wickets at 15.16. Also Read | Top 5 Left-Arm Pacers with Most Test Wickets, Ft. Mitchell Starc 7. Stephen Cook (South Africa) - First Test, 2016-17, WACA Ground Another scalp in the first over of the match and a screamer from Mitch Marsh at gully. The allrounder went flying as the ball flew off Cook's bat. 8. Dean Elgar (South Africa) - Third Test, 2016-17, Adelaide Another nice ball from Starc and another stunning catch in the cordon. This was full and swinging away from the left-handed Elgar who edged to Steve Smith in the slips where the Australia captain took a classy catch down low. 9. KL Rahul (India) - Second Test, 2018-19, Perth Stadium On your way! Mitchell Starc strikes in the first over to remove Rahul! https://t.co/be4URKvTIw #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/4fVaVyTs56 — Telegraph Sport (@telegraph_sport) December 17, 2018 A two-year break in between first-over wickets for Starc, but the drought ended with the dismissal of India opener KL Rahul in 2018. Rahul was caught in two minds and as he went to withdraw his bat in the form of a leave, he chopped the ball onto the stumps. Also Read | Australia in Pink Ball Tests: Match-Wise Results, Batting & Bowling Stats 10. Tom Latham (New Zealand) - First Test, 2019-20, Perth Stadium Another Perth Stadium wicket and this time with the pink ball. The Kiwis were made to play in difficult conditions, with this series opener out west proving one-sided - the Aussies hammering home the advantage. Starc set the tone with the caught and bowled of Tom Latham, with the NZ opener trying to work the ball and instead edging back to the bowler. 11. Prithvi Shaw (India) - First Test, 2020-21, Adelaide "If he does have a chink in his armour it's the ball which does come back into him..."Quite often leaves a big gap between bat and pad and that's where the Aussies will target." @RickyPonting at his peerless best for the Prithvi Shaw wicket #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/4nh67zBcpU — 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 17, 2020 What a way to start a series. With the second ball of that year's Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Starc got the pink ball to hoop back in through the gate of Prithvi Shaw, splaying the stumps. In the second innings of this match, India were rolled for 36. 12. Mayank Agarwal (India) - Second Test, 2020-21, Melbourne Another peach from Starc. A full, inswinger to the right-handed Mayank Agarwal, and he couldn't get any bat on it. Opener decided to review it, but ball tracking says it was clipping the stumps. 13. Rory Burns (England) - First Test, 2021-22, Brisbane An incredible start to the 2021/22 Ashes series as Mitchell Starc bowled out Rory Burns with the very first ball 💥 pic.twitter.com/DRH4T1lN5L — Cricket on TNT Sports (@cricketontnt) November 18, 2025 Probably the most iconic of them all. The opening ball of the 2021-22 Ashes series couldn't have gone any better for Starc and Australia. Rory Burns walked across his stumps as he saw a ball hurtling down the leg-side from Starc. But he couldn't have predicted the massive swing that hooped around his legs and into the pegs. Also Read | Australia Create History as Two Indigenous Players Feature in Same Test for First Time 14. Abdullah Shafique (Pakistan) - First Test, 2022-23, Perth Stadium The right-hander piled on the runs when Australia toured Pakistan earlier that year but Starc had his number during the reverse fixture Down Under. This one made Abdullah play, it kissed the edge and carried through to Carey behind the stumps. 15 & 16. Abdullah Shafique (Pakistan) - Third Test, 2022-23, Sydney It was a pair in Sydney for Abdullah and it was purely at the hands of Starc. The edge which flew to Smith at second slip, off the second ball of the match, was courtesy of Starc. PEACH! 🍑Mitch Starc does it again! pic.twitter.com/9OQ1bTeO1G — cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 5, 2024 In the second innings it was a bit more dragged out, six balls after a quality opening over, and the ball that got Abdullah swung back through the gate and crashed into the woods. 17. Yashasvi Jaiswal (India) - Second Test, 2024-25, Adelaide FIRST BALL OF THE TEST! Mitchell Starc sends Adelaide into delirium.#AUSvIND | #PlayOfTheDay | @nrmainsurance pic.twitter.com/pIPwqlX3dJ — cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 6, 2024 Young gun Yashasvi Jaiswal hit a sparkling hundred in the series opener in Perth and mocked Starc mid-innings for "bowling too slow". Those words came back to haunt the opener when he fell lbw on the first ball of the pink-ball Test in Adelaide to a pumped-up Starc. 18. Yashasvi Jaiswal (India) - Third Test, 2024-25, Brisbane Starc gets Jaiswal second ball of the innings!#AUSvIND | #PlayOfTheDay | @nrmainsurance pic.twitter.com/DSEQaY12zz — cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 16, 2024 In the next Test, Starc gave double the dose. This one was a trifle less convincing, but after Jaiswal drove the first ball of the innings with a flashy drive to boundary, he flicked the next straight to Mitch Marsh at square leg. Big Stage Pressure for the young lad. Also Read | Starc's 6-Wicket Haul Destroys WI for 27 in Pink-Ball Test 19. Aiden Markram (South Africa) - World Test Championship Final 2025, Lord's View this post on Instagram A post shared by ICC (@icc) Another big in-swinger and another Starc special. The star of South African batting, Aiden Markram, was never ready for such pronounced movement in the WTC Final and edged onto his pegs. However, he made up for it with a defining century in the second innings. West Indies Line-Up Destroying 20. Kraigg Brathwaite (West Indies) - First Test, 2025, Bridgetown Not the prettiest of wickets but a plan executed to perfection. Brathwaite flicked the final ball of the over off his pads and it found Sam Konstas who was positioned in a very deliberate spot backward of square. 21, 22 & 23. John Campbell, Kevlon Anderson and Brandon King (West Indies) - Third Test, 2025, Kingston 🔥𝐖 𝟎 𝟎 𝟎 𝐖 𝐖🔥First ball – wicket.Next two – absolute jaffas.Three wickets. Six balls. Zero runs. 😳Mitchell Starc turns up the heat in his 100th Test as WI crash to 0/3 chasing 204.#WIvAUS #Starc pic.twitter.com/FvdyNTOC1N — FanCode (@FanCode) July 14, 2025 The most ridiculous first over of them all. As Australia looked to wrap up a clean-sweep victory over West Indies, Starc took three wickets in the opening over of the fourth innings which included his 400th in Tests. The first ball was a beauty, which John Campbell tried just to defend and couldn't do much but snick the ball through to the substitute wicketkeeper Josh Inglis. Debutant Kevlon Anderson lasted three nervy balls before he offered no shot to a hooping inswinger. It was a straightforward decision for the umpire as the pink ball would have crashed into middle stump. Third to go was Brandon King, inside edging his first ball on the stumps. With 3-0 after the first over, it set the tone as WI were skittled for an embarrassing 27. Also Read | Did Starc Just Bowl the Fastest Ball in History? 176.5 kmph Delivery Stuns Fans 24 & 25. Zak Crawley (England) - First Test, 2025-26, Perth Stadium Bro hyped Zak Crawley like he was about to rewrite Bazball…Starc rewrote the script by making him dance and exit the stage in the very first over 😂🔥pic.twitter.com/iOjPGpBxtd https://t.co/WSHEbYr7Qn — Honey (@stevensmithclub) November 21, 2025 A pair for the England opener on the dramatic first day of the 2025-26 Ashes series. First one came as Zak Crawley attempted a booming drive off a length ball, pouched by Usman Khawaja at first slip. WHAT A RIDICULOUS TAKE! Mitchell Starc sends Zak Crawley off for a pair! #Ashes | #PlayoftheDay | @nrmainsurance pic.twitter.com/1cg8PtLzx4 — cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) November 22, 2025 When Crawley came back in the second innings, he was undone not only by great bowling, but great fielding as well. As the ball popped up off a leading edge, Starc had to change direction mid-follow through and cling on with an out-stretched left hand. Exceptional athleticism by the big quick that few others would have been able to pull off. 26. Ben Duckett (England) - Second Test, 2025-26, Perth Stadium Blink and it’s all over 😮‍💨One moment of magic, one mistimed push and #MitchellStarc has his man! #AUSvENG | THE ASHES | 2nd Test, Day 1 | LIVE NOW 👉🏻 https://t.co/w23M3vjJal pic.twitter.com/6DFD8HLS3E — Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) December 4, 2025 And that became an incredible four in as many first-over strikes when Starc, playing the pink-ball Ashes Test, got not Zak Crawley but his opening partner Ben Duckett. Crawley turned the strike over with the fifth ball of the over so that Duckett faced only one ball. It was quite full and crucially swung away from Duckett just enough, catching the edge and flying through to first slip Marnus Labuschagne.