Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) paceman Mitchell Starc justified his hefty price tag with a fiery opening spell in the high-pressure Qualifier 1 against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Tuesday.
The 34-year-old Australian, acquired for a record ₹24.75 crore at the IPL auction, had struggled throughout the league stage with only 12 wickets in 12 matches. However, he came alive in the biggest game of the season, claiming three crucial wickets within the powerplay.
Starc's early brilliance began with the dismissal of in-form SRH opener Travis Head for a golden duck off just the second ball of the innings. He then extended his opening spell, taking two wickets in the final two deliveries of his third over to leave SRH reeling at 39/4. Nitish Reddy and Shahbaz Ahmed were the unfortunate victims of Starc's late swing.
The left-arm pacer finished his first spell with impressive figures of 3/34 in four overs, putting KKR firmly in control of the crucial encounter. Fans lauded Starc's performance on social media.
However, SRH refused to surrender. Rahul Tripathi (55 off 35) offered some resistance for SRH, but a 62-run partnership with Heinrich Klaasen (32 off 21) was the only significant contribution. Klaasen was dismissed by Varun Chakravarthy in the 11th over.
SRH captain Pat Cummins (30 off 24) and Vijayakanth Viyaskanth (18) added a late 33-run stand to push SRH past 150, but it was far from enough. KKR openers Venkatesh Iyer and Shreyas Iyer chased down the target of 160 runs with ease, scoring fluent fifties to secure victory in just 13.4 overs.
KKR, who finished seventh in the points table last year, have enjoyed a remarkable turnaround under the mentorship of Gautam Gambhir. They topped the table this season with 20 points from 14 matches, thanks to contributions from Sunil Narine, Phil Salt (before his injury) and uncapped Indian pacers.
SRH will get a second chance to reach the final when they face the winner of the Eliminator between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore in Qualifier 2 on Friday.
