Kolkata Knight Riders mentor Gautam Gambhir was in awe of Sunrisers Hyderabad’s middle-order batter Heinrich Klaasen when he was thrashing Mitchell Starc all over the park. One of the sixes that Klaasen had hit in the final over of Starc’s spell, intrigued a “ouuu” kind of a reaction from Gambhir as he watched the Australian’s debut in sheer disbelief.
That reaction from Gautam Gambhir was not necessarily in disbelief but it was a reaction that said a lot about the way Heinrich Klaasen was hitting the ball last night at the Eden Gardens. His presence in the crease was proving to be a headache for KKR and the South African was the home team’s only obstacle and roadblock towards the win.
While Klaasen was lighting up the iconic stadium in Hyderabad’s unsuccessful chase of 209, the debut of Mitchell Starc made news but for all the wrong reasons. In a match where Starc should have led from the front, it was a homegrown bowler who cost just 20 Lakhs that made the headlines, whereas the Australian took the backseat and conceded over 10 an over.
Watch the beautiful Over Six by Klaasen that forced a reaction from Gautam Gambhir
— Sitaraman (@Sitaraman112971) March 23, 2024
After conceding 12 runs in his first over then 10 and 5 in his second and third over, Mitchell Starc was hammered a whopping 25 runs in the final over of his spell. Heinrich Klaasen, who was leading the charge behind SRH’s run-chase, smacked 3 huge sixes himself before taking a single and watching Shahbaz Ahmed score the 4th six off the left-arm pacer.
In the 4th ball of the 19th over from Starc, Klaasen struck an eye-pleasing, (one of the favorite shots of a set batsman) 70+ meter six with a lofted shot towards extra-cover and that was what drew the reaction from Gautam Gambhir. The former KKR skipper might have been happy at the end of the match but he won’t be happy enough with Starc’s contribution.
After all, it was Gautam Gambhir who played a key role behind KKR splashing 24.75 crores for Mitchell Starc’s signature in the mini-auction held in Dubai last December. The most questionable part was the line length of the 2-time Cricket World Cup winner who played his first-ever IPL match since the 2015 season.
Starc was the second most expensive bowler last night with a 13.75 economy rate, behind KKR’s mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy who leaked 13.25 per over. Although it was just the first match and the bowling unit still has a lot of time to make improvements and they better do, otherwise, Gautam Gambhir and KKR won’t be able to escape the bandwagon of trolls.
Gambhir to face off Virat Kohli in KKR’s next league match
After the thrilling 4-run victory at home against Hyderabad, the Knight Riders will travel down South to take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru. It won’t just be RCB vs KRR and du Plessis vs Iyer, it will also be Virat Kohli vs Gautam Gambhir. The former India teammates could be another chapter in the long rivalry and if there is going to be anything like that, it will be clear on March 29.
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