[Watch] Mitchell Starc jokingly challenges Travis Head to take strike after Abhishek Sharma faces 1st ball in IPL 2024 final
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) pacer Mitchell Starc jokingly challenged SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) batter Travis Head to be on strike after the first ball of the IPL 2024 final in Chennai. Head was cleaned up by Starc in the Qualifier 1 clash between the teams a few days back and had struggled against the left-arm pacer in the past.
Thus, Abhishek took the strike for the first ball against Starc in the grand finale. Yet, the plan did not succeed as Starc breached Abhishek's defense with a peach for a five-ball two to send SRH on the backfoot.
After beating Abhishek's booming drive off the first ball, Starc gestured towards Head to face his bowling on the way back to his run-up.
Here is a video of the hilarious moment:
Even worse, Travis Head was dismissed by Vaibhav Arora off the first ball of the second over for a golden duck.
It summed up SRH's evening as they were bowled out for a paltry 113 in the 19th over. KKR completed the run-chase in a mere 10.3 overs with eight wickets in hand to clinch their third IPL title.
"I am older and an experienced player now, that's helped with managing all the expectations" - Mitchell Starc
Mitchell Starc admitted being older and more experienced helped him overcome expectations during the IPL 2024 season.
The 34-year-old was the most expensive buy in IPL history during the 2024 auction at ₹24.75 crore but struggled with his bowling throughout the league stage. However, the veteran pacer stepped up big in the playoffs, winning the Player of the Match honors in the Qualifier 1 and final.
After KKR's triumph, Starc said at the post-match presentation:
"There's been jokes about the money. It's been a long time since I have played the IPL. I am older and an experienced player now, that's helped with managing all the expectations. I am certainly glad I am a bit more experienced and older to deal with all of that. We've got a fantastic squad of players and staff. It's been a lot of fun."
Starc produced figures of 3/34 and 2/13 in Qualifier 1 and the summit clash, with his opening spells propelling KKR to convincing victories.
Despite struggling for most of the tournament, he finished with 17 wickets at an average of 26.11 in 14 outings.