Mitchell Starc finally lived up to the massive expectations as he got the job done for Kolkata Knight Riders at a very crucial stage in the Indian Premier League. Starc, who was bought by KKR for a record-breaking INR 24.75 crore in the IPL 2024 Auction, was under the scanners in the league stage for his below-par show in the first half of the season. However, he stood tall when it mattered the most - Qualifier 1 against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

The left-arm paceman didn't waste much time taking his first wicket, bamboozling Travis Head on the second ball of the mega clash. It was an absolute jaffa from the senior Aussie pacer to breach the gap between the bat and pads of his countrymen, as Head departed for a two-ball duck.

Starc, then, justified his massive price tag with back-to-back wickets of Nitish Reddy and Shahbaz Ahmed in his second over of the night. The left-arm pacer forced an edge from Reddy's bat as Rahmanullah Gurbaz made no mistake grabbing the catch. While he produced a typical 'Starc delivery' to outfox Shahbaz Ahmed for a golden duck.

The fans on social media were highly impressed with Starc's impressive show in the crucial clash as Head's dismissal also triggered a WC memefest on X.

Live KKR vs SRH IPL 2024 Qualifier 1 Updates

He provided the perfect start with the ball to two-time champions KKR in the playoffs as they banked on the momentum and kept taking wickets at regular intervals. He finished the spell with splendid bowling figures of 3/34 in four overs.

“I have been fortunate enough to play on some big occasions, nice to get our team off to a good start, we know how SRH matched us in terms of attacking with the bat in the powerplay,” Starc told broadcasters after the SRH innings.

Meanwhile, Varun Chakaravarthy also claimed a couple of wickets for KKR.

Rahul Tripathi scored a fighting half-century for SRH to help them recover in the middle overs, but it was Pat Cummins' late cameo of a 30-run knock that helped them post a challenging 159 in 19.3 overs.

Tripathi and Heinrich Klaasen shared a 62-run stand for the fifth wicket - which was the only phase in the game where SRH had a bit of the upper hand over the Knight Riders. The Indian batter scored 55 runs off 35 balls which was laced with 7 fours and a six, while Klaasen smashed three fours and a six during his 32-run knock.

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