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Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan took an indirect dig at the most expensive player in Indian Premier League (IPL) history, Mitchell Starc, as his lean form continued against the Rajasthan Royals in the ongoing season.
The experienced Australian pacer, who is renowned for his searing yorker, was acquired by KKR for a record-breaking price tag of Rs 24.75 crore. During KKR's narrow defeat, Starc gave away 50 runs at an economy of 12.50 in his four-over spell. Irfan took to X to voice his concern over Starc's form and stated, "Most expensive player in your team can't be your weak link." https://x.com/IrfanPathan/status/1780297979704025601 Starc showed signs of returning to his prime during Kolkata's 8-wicket win over the Lucknow Super Giants. With a consistent line and length, the left-arm pacer picked up three wickets in his foul-over spell while spilling away 28 runs. Starc opened the attack for KKR and conceded 11 runs in the opening over, which set the tone for the high-scoring chase. In the powerplay, Starc bowled two overs, went wicketless, and spilt 24 runs out of 76. As he struggled to provide the hosts with an ideal start, Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana claimed a wicket each to put pressure back on RR. Starc was called back to bowl the 10th over, in which he conceded 8 runs. As the chase intensified, Shreyas Iyer's decision to rely on his most experienced and the most expensive player backfired. Starc conceded 18 runs in the 18th over, which brought the equation down from 46 runs in 18 to 28 in 12. Harshit Rana and Varun Chakaravarthy failed to defend 28 runs in the final 2 overs as RR clinched the victory on the final ball of the game. Jos Buttler was the guiding light for RR in the joint-highest chase in the history of the competition. KKR, currently second in the points table, will face the Mumbai Indians on Monday at the Sawai Mansingh Indoor Stadium, Jaipur. (ANI)
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