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Matthew Hayden on Mitchell Starc: Former Australia batsman Matthew Hayden termed Mitchell Starc's away-swinging delivery to Abhishek Sharma in the IPL final as the 'best ball of IPL' while calling Sunil Narine the 'best player' for champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Shreyas Iyer-led KKR won the IPL title for the third time by defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight wickets on Sunday.
Starc's ball finished the job
Hayden told 'Star Sports Cricket Live', “As soon as the ball bowled to Abhishek Sharma left Mitchell Starc's hand, the job was over. It was destined to be the best ball of the IPL – a very brilliant ball which was very important at that time.” Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen said that at the end of the IPL, Starc's ability to get extra speed while keeping the wrist position right and Narine's all-round ability strengthened KKR.
Amazing as soon as the wrist position is corrected
Pietersen said, 'Mitchell Starc was bowling at an average speed of 136-137 kmph most of the season, but in the last two weeks he bowled at a speed of more than 140 kmph. He is bowling at a fast pace.' He said, 'We never saw him swing the ball in the first seven (or) maybe eight weeks of this tournament, but in the last few weeks he corrected his wrist position and started swinging the ball.' Pietersen also praised Narine and said that this KKR veteran player gave the right answer to his critics.
'I was one of Naren's critics'
He said, 'At the beginning of the tournament, I was one of his most vocal critics and was saying that I did not like Sunil Narine in the top order due to lack of consistency in performance.' Pietersen said, 'However, this season he performed consistently well. He thought like a batsman, batted like a batsman and scored runs like a batsman.' Former India batsman Ambati Rayudu, meanwhile, gave credit to KKR captain Shreyas Iyer, the coaching staff and the team's domestic talent.