Legendary West Indies cricket team player Brian Lara believes that fast bowler Mitchell Starc had a poor outing in his first match for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2024 but pointed out that he is experienced enough to to bounce back. Starc had a terrible time as he was taken to the cleaners by Heinrich Klaasen and the experienced Australian pacer ended up conceding 53 runs in his four overs. It was a disappointing show from the cricketer who became the most expensive purchase in IPL history when KKR bought him for Rs 24.75 crore in this year’s auction. Lara said Starc’s strength lies in his bowling in the first overs with the new ball and it is too early for the fans and the franchise to judge him based on his calibre.
“I think the strength of Mitchell Starc, who we all know around the world, is the ability to use that new ball to get wickets. He didn’t get wickets with the new ball. And if you play him at the back “That’s not his strong point, his strong point is that he’s at the front. But it’s only the first game, so it’s good,” Lara told Star Sports.
After his side’s victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Shreyas Iyer said he backed pacer Harshit Rana to defend the 13 runs in the final , even though the bowler was nervous and it was “butterflies in the stomach” for him from the 17th over.
Despite an all-round show from Andre Russell, KKR were almost crushed by a one-man show from Heinrich Klaasen before Harshit defended 13 runs in the final over to help the hosts secure a win at Eden Gardens on Saturday.
After the match, Iyer said in the post-match presentation: “From the 17th over, I had butterflies in my stomach. I felt anything could happen in the last over. They needed 13 runs and we didn’t have the most experienced bowler. But I believed in him (Harshit), and I told him to take care of himself and it doesn’t matter what happens. He was a little nervous when he came in, and I just looked him in the eyes and told him : ‘This is your moment’, friend.’ Told him to take care of himself and that it doesn’t matter what happens in the game.
Later, speaking about the performances of Russell and Sunil Narine, with the latter showing no boundaries in his spell, Narine said: “They have so much experience. Great to see Andre perform with bat and ball, and even Sunny (Narine) was great with the ball. Great to have them there.”
“It always gives you motivation when you start with a win. This game also teaches us a lot, there is a lot we can learn from this ground. I think fielding is an area we need to improve on,” Iyer concluded.
(With ANI inputs)
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