IPL 2024: Mitchell Starc’s rich spell floors Sunrisers Hyderabad, land KKR direct final berth

At the end of the powerplay overs, the formidable batting line-up lay in tatters, reduced to 45/4 against Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL’s Qualifier 1 on Tuesday. Their captain Pat Cummins’ decision to bat first had backfired. And the bowler to upset the plans of Cummins was none other than his Australia new ball partner Mitchell Starc.

Kolkata Knight Riders' Mitchell Starc and teammates celebrate a wicket during the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Qualifier 1 match of the Indian Premier League 2024, at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. (ANI)

Throughout the league stage, the management had a tough time fielding questions on the money splurged to get the Australian speedster for ₹24.75 crore. Except for the game against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium, where he picked a four-wicket haul, Starc hadn’t done much to justify the price tag.

Venkatesh Iyer once again stood tall in the crucial match for Kolkata Knight Riders and helped them reach the IPL final for the fourth time. His side outclassed Sunrisers Hyderabad by 8 wickets. Venkatesh played a scintillating knock of unbeaten 51 runs off 28 balls as KKR chased down the moderate 160-run target with 38 balls to spare, completely stamping their authority over the 2016 champions.