Starc warning as Aussie quick eyes more opening act brilliance

"Bowled him! Got him third ball!" 

Mitch Starc wheels away in celebration.

It was the perfect start to the 2015 World Cup final for Australia.

A moment that instantly became part of cricket folklore: Starc clean bowling New Zealand's captain, talisman and barometer Brendon McCullum and sending the 93,000-strong Melbourne crowd into raptures.  

Australian captain Pat Cummins will be hoping for similar opening over exploits from his long-time friend and new-ball bowler when he throws Starc the ball for the first over of India's innings on Sunday.  

Plenty has transpired since that iconic dismissal in the 2015 decider, but one thing has remained a constant: Starc's ability to strike early.

From that final onwards, Starc has bowled the first over of the opposition's ODI innings 72 times, taking an astonishing 23 wickets in those overs.

That's clearly the best record in men's one-dayers, with Pakistan's Shaheen Shah Afridi the next best on eight wickets and the now-retired Sri Lanka legend Lasith Malinga next on seven.  

His strike rate of 19.4 means Starc's taking a wicket in that opening over once every three matches.

And while his 2023 World Cup hasn't reached the lofty heights he achieved at World Cups past, Starc has still managed to take three first-over wickets: Ishan Kishan (India), Jonny Bairstow (England) and Temba Bavuma (South Africa).

"I certainly haven't been at the level I would've liked … not to the level of the last two World Cups anyway," Starc told reporters in the lead-in to the semi-final against South Africa.

"But now (I've got) a chance at the pointy end to impact again."

His figures against the Proteas in Thursday's semi were 3-35 and included the aforementioned wicket of Bavuma plus Aiden Markram and Keshav Maharaj, marking his best return of the tournament.

Starc was "rested" for the inconsequential final group match against Bangladesh in Pune despite wanting to play, claiming he "lost an argument" with the selectors.

But the brief break worked wonders, much to the delight of his skipper.

"The way he bowled a couple of nights ago up in Kolkata was fantastic," Cummins told reporters in Ahmedabad on Saturday.

"He bowled seven (overs) straight, took a couple of key wickets (and) could have easily had a couple of more.

Australia took the third-fewest wickets in the Powerplay during the group stage of the tournament but Starc and new ball partner Josh Hazlewood responded with a suffocating 2-18 from their first 10 against South Africa.  

And Pat Cummins believes the experience of those two, who both lifted the trophy eight years ago, will give them an intangible edge over their Indian counterparts.  

"The opening partnership between him (Starc) and Josh Hazlewood's going to be a big one for us," Cummins said. 

"We saw what impact they can have in a game when they bowl like they did the other night.

"They're both big game players, (they've) played in a few ICC finals now, so they know what it takes."

Across the history of the men's World Cup, Starc's 62 wickets across three editions leaves him in third spot overall, with only Glenn McGrath (71) and Muthiah Muralidaran (68) ahead of him.  

He also holds the quirky record of taking at least one wicket in 23 consecutive World Cup matches, a streak that ended with his wicketless display against New Zealand.

Nobody gets close to Starc's consistency and longevity in this statistic – Australian great Glenn McGrath the next best with 12 matches.

Starc will already go down as an all-time World Cup great and already has tasted success at the ODI and T20 World Cups, plus the World Test Championship final.

But another first-over wicket in Sunday's final will ensure his name is forever synonymous with the game's biggest stage.

2023 ODI World Cup Finals

First semi-final: India beat New Zealand by 70 runs

Second semi-final: Australia beat South Africa by three wickets

November 19: Final, India v Australia, Ahmedabad (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT