Australian pacer wrecks home side\u2019s top order in just 15 balls, leaving hosts\u2019 run chase in tatters
\n KINGSTON
\nMitchell Starc made cricket history on Monday with a fiery spell that tore through the West Indies top order in just 15 balls \u2014 the fastest five-wicket haul ever seen in Test matches.
\nHis record-breaking performance helped Australia secure a crushing 176-run win in the third Test in Kingston, sealing a 3-0 series sweep.
\nStarc took 15 balls to wreck the West Indies top order in a brilliant display that left the home side\u2019s run chase in tatters, before returning to take his sixth wicket after Scott Boland\u2019s hat-trick.
\nWest Indies were bowled out for 27, the second-lowest total in Test history after New Zealand\u2019s 26 against England in 1955.
\nStarc shattered the previous record for a five-for by four balls, surpassing Ernie Toshack (1947), Stuart Broad (2015), and Boland (2021), who needed 19 deliveries to achieve the feat.
\nThe drama began on the first delivery of West Indies\u2019 second innings, when Starc enticed John Campbell to nick an outswinger to wicketkeeper Josh Inglis.
\nDebutant Kevlon Anderson shouldered arms to a ball that jagged back and struck his pad four balls later, before Brandon King edged on to his stumps as the hosts found themselves three wickets down with no runs on the board.
\nStarc then trapped Mikyle Louis lbw to become the fourth Australian to reach 400 Test wickets alongside Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, and Nathan Lyon.
\nTwo balls later, he trapped Shai Hope lbw and he finished with figures of 6-9.
\nAt tea, the West Indies stood at a precarious 22-6, needing 182 runs for victory and staring down the barrel of cricket\u2019s ultimate embarrassment, with five runs needed to avoid the lowest-ever total.
\nAnd the drama was far from over.
\nBoland dismissed Justin Greaves, Shamar Joseph, and Jomel Warrican to claim a hat-trick that left West Indies at 26-9, level with New Zealand\u2019s record.
\nIn the end, it was a narrow escape for the hosts as they added another run before Starc returned to bowl Jayden Seales.
\nEarlier, Australia were dismissed for 121, their lowest score against West Indies in 30 years, with Alzarri Joseph completing career-best figures of 5-27 and Shamar Joseph 4-34.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Australian pacer wrecks home side\u2019s top order in just 15 balls, leaving hosts\u2019 run chase in tatters KINGSTON Mitchell Starc made cricket history on Monday with a fiery spell that tore through the West Indies top order in just 15 balls \u2014 the fastest five-wicket haul ever seen in Test matches. His record-breaking performance helped […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":490558,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-490569","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n