Mitchell Starc, the Australian cricketer, made a strong comeback by delivering an outstanding bowling performance, leading Kolkata Knight Riders to victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final match with an 8-wicket win to claim the title at the M.A Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Having lost the toss, KKR produced a clinical effort with the ball to dismiss SRH for 113, the lowest ever total in an IPL title clash.
KKR chased down the target of 114 with as many as 57 balls to spare. Venkatesh Iyer remained not out on 52 off 26 balls.
Starc (2/14), who peaked at the right time after a disappointing league phase, fully used overcast conditions as league's break-out youngster Abhishek Sharma (2) got one that swung late, drawing him forward. The delivery eluded the outside edge of Abhishek's bat and clipped the off-bail. Soon after Abhishek Sharma's wicket, Starc dismissed the in-form Rahul Tripathi and SRH were reeling on 21/3 and could not recover from there.
For his outstanding performance, Starc was named player of the match. While speaking during the post-match press conference, Starc opened up on his price tag and also about the retentions for the IPL 2024.
"It's not up to me. It's up to the staff if they want to retain me. I'd love to. It's been a lot of fun. I also don't select my own price tag, so, it was a pleasant surprise. As we said before, it comes with its own, expectations or pressures of. What do you want to say? But, yeah, it's it's, said before, it's been a lot of fun. So, price tag or whatever it may be, all that aside, it's it's been, a very enjoyable nine weeks at the KKal family. I'd love to be back if they want me back. But I'm just, grateful for the opportunity. Been great to see the success of the club and certainly the success of a lot of the players. It's it's been a very consistent team. I think everyone's contributed throughout the season, players and staff and everyone around the group. So yeah, it's just been, it's been a very enjoyable nine weeks", Starc said while speaking during a post-match press conference