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Following his side's eight-wicket win in the qualifier one clash, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) pacer Mitchell Starc, crowned 'Player of the Match' for his match-winning spell, opened up on how the pacers prevented Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma by not offering them any width while bowling.
The Big Match Starc showed up once again, destroying SRH's top-order with a three-wicket haul and half-centuries from Venkatesh Iyer and skipper Shreyas Iyer made a mockery out of a 160-run chase, helping KKR secure the spot in the finals with an eight-wicket win at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. Following the game in the post-match presentation, Starc said, "We know how important the powerplay is. These were the two sides who dominated in the powerplay with the bat (KKR and SRH). We needed to pick early wickets and get into their middle order. The way Head and Abhishek have been playing throughout the tournament, they like width and free their arms. We just tried to swing the ball and not provide them width. Bowl stump to stump and tried the hard length. The spinners were effective and the whole bowling department was great. I got lucky I guess (on taking Head's wicket), it was nice to see his back early, not always the case. We have been playing against each other in recent times." He also praised young Indian pacers Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora, who have taken 17 and 10 wickets respectively in the tournament. "They (Arora and Harshit) are exciting to watch and are talented, they are skilful. It is good to see how hard they train. Harshit has been phenomenal this year. Our bowling attack has been great, it's hard to single anyone out. As an older and overseas player, it is good to see. No doubt they will take many wickets in the IPL and for India as well," he added. Coming to the match, Sunrisers Hyderabad elected to bat first. After being reduced to 39/4 following an incredible powerplay spell by Mitchell Starc, a 62-run stand between Rahul Tripathi (55 in 35 balls, with seven fours and a six) and Heinrich Klaasen (32 in 21 balls, with three fours and a six) helped SRH cross the 100-run mark. But wickets kept falling for Sunrisers as bowlers were able to maintain pressure on KKR. A late cameo from skipper Mitchell Starc (30 in 24 balls, with two fours and two sixes) took SRH to a respectable 159 in 19.3 overs. Starc was the pick of the bowlers for KKR, with a spell of 3/34 in four overs, once again making an impact during the big stages. Varun Chakravarthy also picked up 2/26 in four overs. Vaibhav Arora, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell and Vaibhav Arora got a wicket each. In the run-chase of 160 runs, a 44-run partnership between openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz (23 in 14 balls, with two fours and two sixes) and Sunil Narine (21 in 16 balls, with four boundaries) provided a fine platform to KKR. Attacking half-centuries from skipper Shreyas Iyer (58* in 24 balls, with five fours and four sixes) and Venkatesh Iyer (51* in 28 balls, with five fours and four sixes) made a mockery of SRH's bowling and run-chase, winning the game by eight wickets with 38 balls to go. With this win, KKR has earned a direct spot in the final, while SRH has one more shot at the title clash and will play in Qualifier two against the winner of the eliminator match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) taking place on Wednesday. (ANI)
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