Mitchell Starc, who was hardly impressive in the league matches, came to KKR’s rescue in Qualifier One against Sunrisers Hyderabad, taking his team to the IPL final.
He came under a lot of scrutiny for being unpredictable, unreliable, and a drain on the team’s resources during the league phase. Even though he was brought in for the record price of Rs. 16 crore in the IPL auctions, he failed to perform well with the new ball. But lower-ranked players always perform better when there is pressure, and here was Starc performing in front of a capacity crowd of 75,000 at Ahmedabad.
The best part was that he displayed that he is an extraordinary player in the one-day format as well.
Relentless Aggression
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During the powerplay, Mitchell Starc exposed SRH with the bat as he bagged three important wickets. The second delivery was a gem, cutting Travis Head, the most aggressive of all the batters throughout the tournament, for a duck. The big-hitting Head, who was such a dynamic performer in the IPL 2024 powerplay, received a special lesson from Mitchell Starc.
This throw reminded everyone of Mitchell Starc, who sent Brendon McCullum back to the pavilion during the World Cup Final in 2015 with an inswinging delivery.
Mitchell Starc went on attacking next; he came within the shadows of getting rid of Rahul Tripathi, who had a big LBW shout against him due to a very deadly inswinging yorker. His next casualty was Nitish Kumar Reddy, who scored a pull shot where the ball went up in the air and was caught without much difficulty by Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
Mitchell Starc continued the fiery spell and clean-bowled Shahbaz Ahmed; the man was planted on the ground after being hit by yet another great delivery. The young SRH team, who are normally aggressive, especially while batting in the powerplay, were struggling at 39 for the loss of four wickets till the fifth over, which is their worst possible start in the IPL this season.
This powerplay has probably been one of the best performances in cricket history by Mitchell Starc. Only two other bowlers in IPL playoff history have taken three or more wickets in the powerplay: Two examples are Shane Watson in 2008 and Dhawal Kulkarni in 2016. Still, after managing nine powerplay wickets this season, he is behind only Jasprit Bumrah, who has picked 10.
Mitchell Starc’s Big-Match Temperament
Mitchell Starc’s form is a significant factor in his success. Mitchell Starc has a knack for rising to the occasion in important games. Still, on wickets, he was the second-best bowler in the 2015 World Cup and just the best in the 2019 World Cup. In both tournaments, he played a part in the semi-finals and finals of the games, which shows that he has the ability to deliver more when the pressure is on.
Further strengthening the idea that Crawley is a big-match player, he shined during the 2021 T20 World Cup semi-final and during the 2023 World Cup in India, where he scored consistently.
Mitchell Starc has been extremely quick and precise as far as the longest format is concerned for white-ball cricket. This match bowler has claimed 236 wickets in 121 ODIs at a strike rate of 26. Some match Suryakumar Yadav in this format of cricket. In T20 internationals, he has bagged 74 wickets in 60 T20 international matches for Australia, and in domestic T20, he has 112 wickets, the skills of a bowler who takes wickets on a regular basis.
In the field of white-ball cricket, Mitchell Starc’s performances have already ensured that this Australian spearhead will remain in the memory of fans regardless of the outcome of the final. Larkin’s previous experience in Indian conditions and Hazlewood’s ability to challenge batsmen in any condition make the stage perfectly set for Starc to come into the IPL and win the trophy.
Fans will expect him to perform, especially since Sunday night is usually one of the biggest games of the week.
Also read: Jofra Archer’s Anticipated Strong Return: England Skipper Jos Buttler’s Measured Confidence
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