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Even though Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) clinched a nervy 4-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Saturday, their pace spearhead, Mitchell Starc, who comes with a princely price tag of Rs 24.75 crore, failed to live up to his billing.
The Kolkata fans flocked to the stands at the Eden Gardens with plenty of expectation riding on the marquee Australia pacer. However, the 34-year-old was largely ineffective as he was carted around by the rival batters. In his four-over spell, Starc leaked 53 runs at an economy rate of 13.20. The Aussie cricketer also delivered six wide balls in the second inning. While defending the 209-run target, Starc came forward to start the KKR bowling attack in second inning. In his first over, Starc gave 12 runs. However, he maintained his pace above 140kmph. In his second, the Aussie bowler gave 10 runs as he conceded two fours against Abhishek Sharma. In the 16th over, Starc was brilliant and gave only 5 runs. However, in the 19th over, Starc gifted 26 runs which helped the Hyderabad-based franchise comeback in the game. Time will tell if the Kolkata fans could see the Starc back in his fiery form and justify his price tag. Earlier during the IPL 2024 auction, Starc became the most expensive player in the history of the T20 tournament after KKR roped him for Rs 24.75 crore. Recapping the match, put to bat first by SRH, KKR was reduced to 51/4 in 7.3 overs. However, a half-century by Phil Salt (54 in 40 balls, with three fours and three sixes) and an explosive knock by Ramandeep Singh (35 in 17 balls, with a four and four sixes) kept team's run rate just fine, but still they were struggling at 119/6 in 13.5 overs. An explosive 67-run partnership followed between Andre Rusell (64* in 25 balls, with three fours and seven sixes) and Rinku Singh (23 in 15 balls, with three fours), powering KKR to 208/7 in 20 overs. In the chase of 209 runs, SRH started off well with a 60-run opening stand between Mayank Agarwal (32 in 21 balls with four boundaries and a six) and Abhishek Sharma (32 in 19 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes). The team lost their way and was soon 145/5 in 16.5 overs. However, Heinrich Klaasen (63 in 29 balls with eight sixes) and Shahbaz Ahmed (16 in five balls, with a four and two sixes) unreleased a barrage of sixes towards the end. 13 runs were needed in final over, but Harshit Rana (3/33) held his nerves, taking two wickets and defending the remaining runs. (ANI)
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