Mitchell Starc's much-awaited game against the Kolkata Knight Riders got off to a rocky start, but, he made a brilliant comeback in the last over. The Aussie pacer restricted KKR to a mere 9 runs and, in the dying moments, sent back 3 KKR batsmen to spoil their late surge.
Even after a notable IPL 2024 playoffs run, Starc had a point to prove in front of his ex-team. However, in the early gilded hour of play on a flat Arun Jaitley Stadium pitch on Tuesday, it was not easy going for the left-arm pacer. KKR openers Sunil Narine and Rahmanullah Gurbaz unleashed an assault during the powerplay, with Gurbaz hammering a couple of boundaries off Starc's opening over.
Starc’s second over was blasted by Gurbaz as he added on two more fours and a six, keeping the KKR scoreboard moving. Starc, however, had the last laugh when he sent Gurbaz on his way by making him edge a ball that moved away from the left-handed opener.
However, Axar Patel managed to revive Starc for a third over in the powerplay. After that, Ajinkya Rahane sashayed into the action and duly obliged by smashing a six and then some lusty striking, making hay of the left-armer's waywardness. Starc's first spell finished with pretty disappointing figures: 3-0-35-1.
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Starc, towards the end, really proved his worth. In fact, in the last over, he bowled sensibly and gave away just 9 runs. Andre Russell pulled him for six at the very first ball; however, Starc came back very well and took the wicket of Rovman Powell by LBW with a fuller ball. In the next ball, he dismissed Anukul Roy with a catch taken by Dushmantha Chameera. Russell, dying to face some more balls, was run out and KKR lost three wickets in just three deliveries. Starc ended with 3/43 as KKR managed to score a total of 204/9.
