Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], May 22 (ANI): Former Australia cricketer Shane Watson said the delivery by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) pacer Mitchell Starc which dismissed Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) opener Travis Head in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 Qualifier 1 match was ‘beautiful’.
Speaking on JioCinema, Watson said Travis Head’s dismissal reminded him of Starc bowling to Brendon McCullum in the World Cup 2015. The former cricketer added Head’s dismissal was a ‘big moment’ in the game.
“It reminded me of Mitchell Starc bowling to Brendon McCullum in the 2015 World Cup at the MCG, just pegs everywhere, getting the key man out. That’s just what he does. He stands up when he needs to and that was a big moment in the game, knowing how devastating Travis Head has been in this IPL… That was a beautiful delivery.”
Recapping 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)
