Legendary West Indies cricket team batter Brian Lara believes that fast bowler Mitchell Starc had a bad outing in his first game for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2024 but pointed out that he is experienced enough to bounce back. Starc had a horrid time as he was taken to the cleaners by Heinrich Klaasen and the experienced Australia pacer ended up conceding 53 runs in his four overs. It was a disappointing show from the cricketer who became the costliest buy in IPL history when KKR bought him for Rs 24.75 crore in this year's auction. Lara said that Starc's strength is his bowling in the initial overs with the new ball and it is too early for the fans and the franchise to judge him considering his calibre.
"I think the strength of Mitchell Starc, we all know around the world, is that ability to use that new ball to get wickets. He didn't get any wickets with the new ball. And when you play him at the back end, that's not his forte, his forte is up front. But it's only the first game, so it's alright," Lara told Star Sports.
Following his side's four run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Shreyas Iyer said that he backed pacer Harshit Rana to defend the 13 runs in the final over even though the bowler was nervous and it was "butterflies in the stomach" for him right from the 17th over.
Despite an all-round show from Andre Russell, KKR was almost crushed by a one-man-show by Heinrich Klaasen, before Harshit defended 13 runs in the final over to help the hosts secure a win at Eden Gardens on Saturday.
Following the match, Iyer said in the post match presentation, "Right from the 17th over, had butterflies in my stomach. Felt anything could happen in the last over. They needed 13 runs and we didn't have the most experienced bowler. But I had the belief in him (Harshit), and I told him to back himself and it doesn't matter what happens. He was a bit nervous coming in, and I just looked him in the eye and told him 'this is your moment, buddy.' Told him to back himself and doesn't matter what happens in the game.
Later, talking about performances of Russell and Sunil Narine, with the latter not giving a boundary in his spell, Narine said "They have such experience. Great to see Andre perform with bat and ball, and even Sunny (Narine) was splendid with the ball. Fantastic to have them around."
"Always gives you motivation when you start with a win. This game also gives us a lot of learnings, there is a lot we will take from this ground. I think fielding is an area we need to improve on," concluded Iyer.
(With ANI inputs)