How often have you heard, “Oh Starc, he has done it again with the new ball”! Countless times already in his career, right? On Tuesday, Starc made us all say it once more, just as he did on November 19 at the same venue against India in the World Cup final. In that game, he returned with a three-wicket haul. And against Sunrisers Hyderabad, despite not being in the best form, the left-arm quick bagged a three-fer, dismantling the SRH batting line-up. There’s something about Starc and big matches.
Player No. 28 was sold for a record-breaking sum of Rs 24.75 crore — the highest price ever paid in the IPL history. This honour went to Starc in December last year when KKR secured him at the player auction. The Knight Riders were determined to bring in the veteran Aussie speedster due to his reputation as a proven wicket-taker with the white ball. But things didn’t go as planned for the Aussie paceman in the early part of the league stage.
For Starc, who hasn’t had a great IPL so far, the game against SRH in Ahmedabad was an opportunity to alter perceptions.
Ahead of the Qualifier 1, in an exclusive interview with RevSportz, KKR CEO Venky Mysore expressed confidence in Starc’s ability, calling him as a champion player and backing him to shine in the crunch games.
“He is a champion player, he is a champion bowler. In crunch games which are coming up, you need experience, you need people who have been there, who have done that, and that’s kind of what he brings to the table,” Mysore told RevSportz.
It appears that Starc took note of the interview, as he responded to the team CEO’s call with a fiery spell against SRH.
Before the playoffs, Starc had been having an underwhelming IPL season. Given his record-breaking price tag, his performance could be deemed disappointing. He had taken 12 wickets in 11 matches at an economy rate of 11.4. Seven of those 12 wickets had come in just two games alone.
Despite this, KKR retained their faith in their star pacer, and as the saying goes, cometh the hour, cometh the man. Starc delivered when it mattered most.
With the experience of bowling with the new ball, swinging a match with a single spell, winning crucial knockouts, and triumphing in World Cup finals, Starc brought all his experience in the game against SRH. He showcased his best performance when it mattered most. He charged in and delivered a match-defining spell. His lengths were impeccable, and he made the ball swing both ways. He varied his deliveries expertly, bowling full in the first over to exploit the swing and using shorter balls with noticeable zip.
The first ball was an outswinger that Travis Head pushed to extra cover. The second delivery, initially angling in, swung and seamed away late to breach Head’s defence. Starc nearly dismissed Rahul Tripathi in his second over with a pinpoint yorker, but KKR opted not to review. Replay showed it would have hit the leg stump.
Starc effectively utilised the surface moisture. Given the third over, he didn’t disappoint, claiming the wickets of Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shahbaz Ahmed in successive deliveries, reducing SRH to 39/4. He adjusted his angle, coming around the wicket to Reddy. He kept it tight against Shahbaz, forcing him to chop-on with his extra pace and bounce. His Powerplay figures were 3/22 in three overs, marking the first time he had taken three wickets in the Powerplay in the IPL. It could have been 4/21 if KKR had reviewed the lbw decision against Tripathi. SRH never recovered from those early blows, collapsing to 159 in 19.3 overs. Starc finished with figures of 3/34 in his four overs, proving why he is so highly regarded.
After the match, Starc revealed his plans, saying he didn’t want to give Head and Abhishek the width they like.
“We needed to pick early wickets and get into their middle-order,” Starc said at the post-match presentation, after collecting the Player of the Match award. “The way Head and Abhishek have been playing throughout the tournament, they like width and free their arms. We just tried to swing the ball and not provide them width. Bowl stump to stump and tried the hard length.”
One big match done, one more left for Starc and KKR.