Mitchell Starc made the day for a young fan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Friday, December 29, 2023. He gifted his signed shoes to the boy, who flaunted them with a great selfie on social media after Australia beat Pakistan by 79 runs in the Boxing Day Test to seal the series with an unassailable 2-0 lead.
Why did Starc gift him the shoes?
According to Cricket Australia’s official handle, Starc, 34, was heading to the dressing room at Lunch on the Day of the second Test at the G, when he saw a young fan asking him for an autograph. It was then that Starc promised him that if Australia picked up the remaining nine wickets before the end of play and won the match, he would give him his shoes with a signature on them.
At Lunch, Pakistan were 25/1, chasing 317 to win their first-ever Test in Australia since 1995/96. Skipper Shan Masood was with Imam-Ul-Haq at the crease. Masood, who was batting on 12, went on to score 60 in just 71 balls, recording his second fifty of the game. He added 41 with Imam for the second wicket and 61 with Babar Azam for the third before becoming Pat Cummins’ second scalp.
However, at Tea, Pakistan were only three down as Babar added an unbeaten 19 with Saud Shakeel. Starc’s fan might not have hoped that he would get the shoe at the end of the day.
However, Australia struck seven times post-Tea in a span of only 27 overs to bowl Pakistan out for 237 and win the match by 79 runs.
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