The Australia left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc has looked in different shape during the playoff games of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as he helped the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to clinch their third trophy in the tournament history. He grabbed the ‘Player of the Match’ award on the final.
Mitchell returned with figures of 2/14 in three overs at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, in Chennai against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). He was struggling at the start of the tournament, but as the competition moved towards the business end, he showed his calibre with another match-winning bowling figure of 3/34 in his four overs. Under the captaincy of Shreyas Iyer, they got their third title in the IPL, hammering the Hyderabad side with eight wickets in hand.
‘Mitchell Starc managed to get the wrist in the right place’ – Kevin Pietersen
It was the fifth ball of the opening over in the final of the IPL 2024, Mitchell Starc bowled an absolute peach of a delivery. The ball came angled in towards the Sunrisers’ opening batter Abhishek Sharma, who was drawn forward and then it nipped away wickedly to open up the batter and crashed onto the top of the off-stump.
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Former Australia opener Matthew Hayden feels Starc’s sensational delivery should be the ball of the tournament, as he spoke about the left-arm bowler’s clutch performance in the IPL 2024 playoffs stage.
“The moment that ball left Mitchell Starc’s hands, it was game over. It was destined to be the best ball of the IPL- an absolute peach at a critical time,” the former Aussie batter Matthew Hayden told on Star Sports Cricket Live.
The veteran pacer finished the season with 17 scalps in 13 innings at a bowling average of 26.11 and an economy rate of 10.61, with the best figures of 4/33 against the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai.
Former England captain Kevin Pietersen also lauded Michell Starc’s performance as he increased the pace towards the last week of the competition.
“Mitchell Starc was averaging around 136-137 kmph for much of the season. But in the last two weeks, he has surpassed 140 kmph, which is his usual pace. He is bowling fast,” Kevin Pietersen remarked on the same discussion.
‘We didn’t see him (Mitchell Starc) swing the ball for the first seven or eight weeks of the tournament,” the former right-hander batter expressed. “But recently, he managed to get his wrist in the right place and began swinging the ball back.”
At the start of the tournament, like most of the commentators, Pietersen also felt that Kolkata using Sunil Narine at the opening spot could cost them. But the aggressive opening batter showed his aggression with the bat to end the season with 488 runs in 14 innings at an average of 34.85 and a strike rate of 180.74, including three fifties and one hundred.
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“At the tournament’s start, I was critical of Sunil Narine as an opener due to his inconsistency. However, this season, he has batted with exceptional consistency and a phenomenal strike rate,” Kevin Pietersen concluded. “His bowling remains top-notch. His ability to adapt his action while maintaining stellar performance is impressive. He is the heart and soul of KKR.”
Sunil Narine ended the season with magical figures even with the ball in hand. The off-spinner picked up 17 wickets in 14 innings at an economy of 6.69, which has been quite magnificent given how the modern generation of the shortest format has changed.
For Australia, Mitchell Starc will look to continue with the same rhythm going into the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, in the West Indies, and the United States of America (USA).