Mitchell Starc’s opening spell for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) was unforgettable. Therein, KKR went on to win their third Indian Premier League (IPL) title in a one-sided final against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai with eight wickets remaining.
Starc drew his attention as Australia’s left-arm quick shone brightly claiming 2-14 and finishing off with his reputation as one of the tournament richest Twenty20 bowlers intact. As a result, no other player could compete with him after he bought by KKR for record INR 24.75 crores during December auction that ended IPL season.
On two most outstanding performances throughout this IPL, Mitchell Starc finished off with three wickets while giving just thirty-four runs to defeat SRH again in the first playoffs on May 22nd. In addition, he got 9 wickets to finish IPL on high note.
The fiery spell from Starc earned him Man of the Match honors.
“Great night for KKR. What a game, what a season. This is probably the best final between the two most thrilling teams,” declared Mitchell Starc after KKR won their third IPL crown on Sunday evening at Chennai’s M.A.Chidambaram Stadium.
“The way Shreyas used the bowlers and fields was fantastic. Credit goes to him.”
“It has been long since I have played IPL – there are jokes about money. Such experienced players who have dealt with such situations before happen to be happy. Great that I am more experienced and older.I’ve enjoyed it very much. Credit to all the players and staff,” said Starc.
Their victory yesterday marked their second triumph at this venue having previously won their maiden trophy here in 2012.
In this match, the Sunrisers batting line-up collapsed after being dismissed for an abysmal score of just 113 runs; however, it was Mitchell Starc who completely overshadowed everybody else by getting the prized wicket of in-form Indian batsman Abhishek Sharma for only two runs when his delivery pitched on middle and clipped off.
Sunrisers’ top order collapsed with Travis Head departing for a first ball duck, caught behind off Vaibhav Arora’s bowling.
Starc bowled again to leave the opposition gasping at 47-4 after seven overs.
Mitchell Starc will be part of the Australia squad at the T20 World Cup scheduled to take place in USA and West Indies.
On June 5, at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown (Barbados), Australia will begin their World Cup campaign against Oman.
