Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif applauded the most expensive player in IPL history Mitchell Starc for his performance in Qualifier 1 last night.
Mitchell Starc was perhaps at his very best against the Sunrisers Hyderabad yesterday at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad. In a match where the KKR management wanted to get every player in the team together, Starc made sure to throw his hat. The Australian pacer’s effort was the main reason why Kolkata was able to see off Hyderabad dominantly.
When the KKR had purchased Mitchell Starc for a price of 24.75 Crores, everyone had expected him to give equal returns. But while the returns weren’t as lucrative as his IPL deal, the left-arm seamer upped his performance just at the right time. His spell proved to be a major point of difference in the game which sealed Kolkata’s qualification in the finals for the first time since 2021.
What did Mohammad Kaif say about Mitchell Starc?
Mohammad Kaif, who covered the entire match on Star Sports’ commentary box, had nothing but high praise for Mitchell Starc’s performance. The former right-hand batter explained Starc’s quality with the new ball and how he takes wickets in the match.
KKR played just 2 games in the last 15 days but still didn’t lose their rhythm. Starc gave flying start, others followed. #KKRvsSRH #IPLonStar pic.twitter.com/yaTdLnsjnZ
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) May 22, 2024
Kaif stated that Mitchell Starc has the tendency to take 1 or 2 wickets with the new ball and often takes 2-3 wickets at the backend of the innings. However, last night, Starc was breathing fire with the new ball as he clean bowled Travis Head in the 2nd ball of the 1st innings and also took the important wickets of Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shahbaz Ahmed.
“Starc takes a few wickets with the new ball and takes 2-3 wickets afterward, so that makes a 3-4 wicket spell for him where people say he has bowled well. But in this match, with the new ball, he got the wickets of 3 proper batsmen and that was the turning point. In the first 6 overs, you get 4 wickets, Starc gets 3 of Nitish Reddy, Shahbaz and Travis Head.” – Kaif said via his latest video on X.
Kaif claims Starc bowled like a proper fast bowler last night
Mohammad Kaif went on to further add that Mitchell Starc bowled like a genuine fast bowler against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. The former Rajasthan Royals batter was loving every bit of Starc’s swinging and shaping deliveries which was the root cause of why Travis Head lost his wicket.
With figures of 3/34 last night, Kaif feels that Mitchell Starc has let everyone know that he is a big-match player. Not only a big match player but he can also be trusted in the finals.
“Usually what he does is – get a few wickes with the new ball and gets a few wickets at the backend. But here he bowled like a genuine fast bowler, made the ball swing, and let everyone know that ‘I’m a big match bowler and you can trust me during big matches’. This is what he showed.” – Mohammad Kaif concluded.
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