Mitchell Starc achieved a significant milestone by taking the important wicket of Dimuth Karunaratne during the second innings of the first Test. This marked the 700th wicket of his international career across all formats.

Rex Clementine in Galle Sri Lanka were in dire straits, having lost the cream of their batting lineup for peanuts and limped to 44 for three at stumps on day two, in reply to Australia’s mammoth first-innings total of 654 for six declared.

Starc set a significant international record by taking the wicket of Dimuth Karunaratne on Day 2 of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle.

Mitchell Starc completed an elite feat on Thursday, January 30. Starc overtook Dale Steyn and reached the 700-wicket club in international cricket.

Starc is Australia's fourth-highest Test wicket-taker with 377 scalps in 95 matches at an average of 27.74, with best figures of 6/48. He has taken 15 five-wicket hauls and two ten-wicket hauls in Tests. Above him are: spinner Nathan Lyon (540 wickets in 135 Tests), McGrath (563 wickets in 124 Tests) and Warne (708 scalps in 145 Tests).

Australian pacer Mitchell Starc became the fourth Aussie bowler to achieve 700 international wickets during the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle. This milestone cements his place among Australia's leading wicket-takers across all formats,

Starc, who turned 35 on Thursday, now has 377 wickets in the longest format, 244 in the ODIs and 79 scalps in T20Is.

Mitchell Starc became just the fourth Australian to take 700 wickets in international cricket on Thursday, joining Aussie legends Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee. And it came amid a crazy stat around wife Alyssa Healy, who was captaining the women's Test team on the other side of the world.

Sri Lanka is staring down the barrel at 44-3 after Australia achieved its largest ever total in Asia — 654-6 declared — on day two of the first test in Galle.

Australian left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc achieved a significant milestone on his 35th birthday. He has now become the fourth Australian to take 700 international wickets across formats. The milestone was achieved during the 2nd innings of the first Test against Sri Lanka at the Galle International Stadium.

Australia had Sri Lanka three down after opener Usman Khawaja's first double century and a ton on debut by Josh Inglis helped the tourists to 654-6 declared in the first match on Thursday.

GALLE, Sri Lanka, Jan 30, (AP): Sri Lanka was staring down the barrel at 44-3 after Australia achieved its largest-ever total in Asia - 654-6 declared - on day two of the first test on Thursday. Fatigued after spending five and a half sessions fielding under the scorching sun, Sri Lanka’s batting resistance was minimal.