Mitchell Starc Suffers His Worst Ever Night In The History Of IPL

Mitchell Starc. Image Credits: AP

Australian pacer Mitchell Starc has been on the unfortunate side at the iconic Dharamsala Stadium on May 11 during the DC vs PBKS clash in IPL 2026.

Mitchell Starc stooped to one of the most horrible performances in his IPL career. Starc, who has played in the IPL for over a decade, representing teams like RCB, KKR, and now the Delhi Capitals, had a horrible outing against the Punjab Kings, with most of the destruction belonging to PBKS opener Priyansh Arya.

Starc's woeful run leak in the IPL match has etched two shameful records since the veteran's prime action in the Ashes 2025-26 series.

Mitchell Starc Stoops To New Low After DC vs PBKS Match

Coming in to bowl first, Starc leaked 57 runs from his four-over spell against the Punjab Kings as the side put up a total of 210 on the board.

Starc had one of the worst economy rates he has had over his IPL stints, standing at 14.25. Although he managed to take the two wickets of Marcus Stoinis and Shashank Singh, he conceded 57 runs. It is the most Starc has ever conceded in an IPL innings.

Alongside this record, Starc has also breached his record for run leaking since this was the second-highest he has ever conceded in a T20 game, with the first one remaining the 60-run leak against New Zealand in Dubai back in the 2021 World Cup final.

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Starc also conceded 22 runs in the first over against Punjab Kings, which was also the most expensive first over in his T20 career.

The tarnish on Starc's IPL record was something to ponder upon since his run leaks were at a much greater scale than the other pace bowlers of DC, namely Auqib Nabi, Lungi Ngidi, or Mukesh Kumar.

How Mitchell Starc Was Punished By the PBKS Side?

Starc's demolition was scripted by Priyansh Arya, who hit Starc for two sixes and one boundary in the very first over of the powerplay.

However, adding to that pain, Mitchell Starc also gave away five wides plus four runs that went over Arya's head with a steep bouncer. Starc was not given a chance in the powerplay after that, and he came to bowl in the tenth over where he gave away 10 runs to settled batters at the crease.

The 15th over was a bit better with only nine runs that Starc was belted for. However, the penultimate over of the Punjab Kings innings saw Starc give away another 16 runs.

Although he picked up two wickets in the first two consecutive balls, he was punished with sixes and boundaries as Punjab breached the 203-run mark.

Why Mitchell Starc Has Been Ineffective In IPL 2026?

Starc's rough patch couldn't be attributed totally to his bowling. Using the swinging conditions early at Dharamsala, Starc showed off his fearsome pace and swinging balls that had Priyansh and Shreyas fumbling for quite some time. However, the pace of the deliveries and the strokeplay of Arya's success had the ball flying over the boundary.

As conditions worsened, the aggressive pacer found it challenging since the Indian flat pitches, which was also a characteristic of Dharamsala on the night of May 11, allowed the batters to get the better of him, with Starc getting brutally punished.

So far, Mitchell Starc has played four matches for Delhi and has been able to pick only five wickets. His economy rate this season has been 10.53 at a strike rate of 18.0. This speaks of worry for the DC franchise, who are looking for a turnaround in the playoff qualification race in IPL 2026.

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