Estelle Vasudevan
Mitchell Starc dismissing the opposition’s most dangerous batter in the first over of a knockout game, now where have we seen that before?
When Starc knocked over Travis Head in Qualifier 1 of IPL 2024, it was an eerie throwback to the 2015 ODI World Cup final, where he burst into Brendon McCullum’s stumps. The parallels go beyond just a wicket in the first over. McCullum had set the 2015 World Cup ablaze with some ultra aggressive batting. He wasn’t the highest run-getter of the tournament or even in the top five, but his 328 runs came at a stunning strike rate of 180+. He’d also taken apart the Australian bowling with a whirlwind 50 off 24 in a Pool A game earlier in the tournament. The Aussies knew that the way to force themselves into the game was to get rid of him. And Starc did just that.
IPL 2024 Batting True Values (as of 15/05)
Fast forward to 2024 and Travis Head has had arguably an even better IPL than McCullum’s World Cup. Head has 500+ runs at a strike rate of 200. Only Ruturaj Gaikwad and Virat Kohli have scored more runs than him (at far lower strike rates), and amongst the top 15 run-getters of the season, only his opening partner Abhishek Sharma has scored quicker. His true values are even more mind-boggling. Suffice to say, going into Qualifier 1, Head’s was probably the most prized wicket for Kolkata Knight Riders – it took two deliveries for Starc to knock him over.
Now, not everything is the same as it was in 2015. Starc was at the height of his powers in the 2015-2016 time period, especially in white ball cricket. He dominated that ODI World Cup and was easily in the top tier of fast bowlers at the time. And 2015 was also the last time Starc played in the IPL – he had quite a good season in the red and gold of RCB.
In the last couple of years, he has certainly not reached those lofty heights. Which is why it raised more than a few eyebrows when a bidding war between KKR and Gujarat Titans saw him become the most expensive buy at an IPL auction in December – ultimately bagged by KKR for a whopping sum of INR 24.75 crore (approx USD 3 million).
Auction dynamics are not always black and white. Left-arm quicks are rare even in the modern game and there was certainly no one of Starc’s calibre who went under the hammer. Then too, given that it was a small auction (as opposed to a mega auction where every franchise is looking to build a team) meant that several teams had hefty purses chasing a select few stars. Which explains why teams were so keen to have Starc in their side.
But that figure of 24.75 crore began looking more overpriced by the minute as Starc made an expensive return to the IPL. He went for 100 runs in his first two games, without picking up a wicket. When he did start taking those wickets, he still leaked runs. Now, there is an argument to say that everyone (except Jasprit Bumrah, because well, he’s Jasprit Bumrah) has taken some tap this season – the fastest scoring IPL to date. But there is no denying that Starc hasn’t been at his best. His numbers in the powerplay and at the death (where he’s bowled the most overs) are less than ideal, though picking up a three-fer against Lucknow Super Giants and then four wickets against the Mumbai Indians have pushed him above par on the wicket-taking front.
Starc’s True values by phase (League stage)
Before Qualifier 1, he had 12 wickets in as many games and an economy of 11.37. A month ago fans were asking the management to just take the L and drop him from the playing XI. But on the night of May 21, we saw a different Starc – the knockouts Starc. The same guy who had taken six wickets at less than five an over in the semi-final and final of the World Cup just last November.
When he struck off back-to-back deliveries in the fifth over to remove Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shahbaz Ahmed, he took the wind out of Sunrisers Hyderabad’s sails. But the killer blow had come in that very first over, when he got one to shape away slightly and knock over Head’s stumps. It wasn’t the end of the game, but it set the tone for what was to come, and SRH never really recovered. It could perhaps have all ended a lot earlier if KKR had decided to review an lbw with Rahul Tripathi on 14 – he went on to make 55.
Was Starc worth the price?
For KKR, all that came before Qualifier 1 will not matter. Starc’s opening spell in that game has given them their first shot at the title since 2021. If they end up going all the way, they might even call 24.75 crore a bargain.
True Stats by Varun Alvakonda (as of May 19, 2024)
