Cricket

Mitchell Starc, the experienced Australian pacer, played a pivotal role in Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Qualifier 1 of the IPL 2024. Starc's three-wicket haul in the powerplay set the tone for KKR's triumph, restricting SRH to a modest total of 159.Starc's first victim was his Australia teammate Travis Head, who was castled by a sharp inswinger. He then dismissed Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shahbaz Ahmed in consecutive deliveries, leaving SRH reeling at 3/25. Starc's performance was particularly impressive considering his inconsistent form throughout the tournament."I have played a fair bit of cricket and have been fortunate enough to play in some big games and big occasions," Starc said after the match. "It was nice to get the team off to a good start that we needed today."Starc's wickets were crucial as they removed SRH's dangerous openers and disrupted their momentum. The pacer's ability to swing the ball and generate seam movement proved too much for the SRH batters."The way Sunrisers take on the powerplay, they've sort of matched us throughout the season in terms of getting off to good starts," Starc said. "It was great to get powerplay wickets and I think our bowling group was fantastic throughout."Starc's performance was praised by KKR coach Tom Moody, who said, "Class from Starc. We know that he has had a difficult three-quarters of the tournament, but that's why you pay big money to big-game players."Despite the dew factor, which made the wicket skiddier, Starc remained confident that the surface would improve for batting in the second innings. "The wicket is going to get a little bit better just with the dew and the bit of skid but in turn, it is also going to swing a little bit," he said.