‘Chuna laga diya’: Twitter reacts as Mitchell Starc records his worst-ever IPL figures on KKR debut
Australian pacer Mitchell Starc had a forgetful debut for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as he returned to the Indian Premier League (IPL) after a gap of nine years.
Starc became the most expensive buy in the history of IPL during the player auction last year when KKR shelled out a whopping Rs 24.75 crore to secure his services. However, the fast bowler failed to live up to the expectations in KKR’s IPL 2024 opener against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Saturday, March 23.
Starc endured a dismal outing with the ball in a high-scoring game between KKR and SRH as he ended up recording his worst-ever bowling figures in the IPL. The left-arm pacer conceded 53 runs off his 4 overs while going wicket-less as he was taken to the cleaners by SRH batter Heinrich Klaasen. Starc conceded at an economy of 13.20, leaving KKR fans perplexed and frustrated.
Starc was hit for as many as four sixes by Klaasen in the 19th over and ended up conceding 26 runs from it. The Aussie pacer was brutally trolled on social media after his poor show with the ball as memes and reactions floated on Twitter after his forgetful KKR debut.
Here’s how Twitter reacted to Mitchell Starc conceding 53 runs against SRH:
Harshit Rana holds nerves to clinch last-ball thriller for KKR
On a day when IPL’s most expensive player and one of the best fast bowlers in the world, Starc was bashed all around the park by the SRH batter, it was young uncapped Indian fast bowler Harshit Rana who turned out to be a hero for KKR. With 13 runs to defend in the last over, Rana conceded only 8 runs off it to help his team win a last-ball thriller.
In pursuit of a hefty target of 209 runs, SRH came close to victory thanks to a blistering knock of 29-ball 63 from Klaasen, who smashed 8 sixes during his enthralling innings. However, they ended up falling short by a whisker in the end due to Rana’s heroics. The young pacer was hit for a six by Klaasen on the first ball of the last over but ended up defending 7 runs off the last 5 balls to seal a 4-run win for KKR.
He dismissed Klaasen and his batting partner Shahbaz Ahmed in a matter of three deliveries in the last over to turn the game in KKR’s favour and hand them their first win of the season.
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