Mitchell Starc’s away-swinger ‘ball of the IPL 2024’: Matthew Hayden

Former Australian Matthew Hayden picked Mitchell Starc’s away-swinger in the IPL 2024 final against Sunrisers Hyderabad as the ball of the tournament. Starc got the new ball to swing and hit Abhishek Sharma’s top of off-stump to dismiss the in-form left-hander for two runs.

Ergo, the KKR gun fast bowler gave a perfect start to his team in the all-important final at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Sunday. Starc also accounted for Rahul Tripathi and returned with impressive figures of 2-14 in the three overs he bowled in the final.

Starc was awarded the Player of the Match for his fine performance as he played a key role in skittling out SRH at 113. Furthermore, Starc had returned with fine figures of 3-34 in the first qualifier against the Orange Army.

Reflecting on Starc’s pivotal delivery, Hayden told Star Sports Cricket Live, “The moment that ball left Mitchell Starc’s hands, it was game over. It was destined to be the best ball of the IPL — an absolute peach at a critical time.”

Former England swashbuckling batter Kevin Pietersen also showered praise on Mitchell Starc for lifting his game in the playoffs after a sedate run in the league stage.

“Mitchell Starc was averaging around 136-137 kmph for much of the season. But in the last two weeks, he has surpassed 140 kmph, which is his usual pace. He is bowling fast,” Pietersen remarked.

“We didn’t see him swing the ball for the first seven or eight weeks of the tournament. But recently, he managed to get his wrist in the right place and began swinging the ball back,” he added.

On the other hand, Pietersen also hailed KKR’s all-rounder Sunil Narine, who was awarded the MVP of the season. The southpaw scored 488 runs in 14 matches of IPL 2024 at an average of 34.86 and a blistering strike rate of 180.74. Furthermore, Narine scalped 17 wickets in 14 matches at an average of 21.65 and a parsimonious economy rate of 6.69.

“At the tournament’s start, I was critical of Sunil Narine as an opener due to his inconsistency. However, this season, he has batted with exceptional consistency and a phenomenal strike rate,” Pietersen said.

“His bowling remains top-notch. His ability to adapt his action while maintaining stellar performance is impressive. He is the heart and soul of KKR,” Pietersen concluded.