Matthew Hayden, the former Australian cricketer, hailed Mitchell Starc's phenomenal away-swinger to Abhishek Sharma in the IPL final as the "standout delivery of the tournament," while he also lauded Sunil Narine as the "key player" for Kolkata Knight Riders, who clinched victory in the final match against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
“The moment that ball bowled to Abhishek Sharma came out of Mitchell Starc’s hands, it was game over. It was destined to be the best ball of the IPL — an absolute peach at a time when it was so important,” remarked Hayden during an interview on Star Sports Cricket Live.
Kevin Pietersen, the former England batsman, emphasized Starc's improvement in the latter part of the IPL, noting his ability to generate extra pace and swing the ball, alongside praising Narine's all-round contribution to KKR.
“Mitchell Starc was averaging around 136-137 kmph during the majority of the season. But in the last two weeks he has gone above 140 kmph and that is his average. He is bowling fast."
“We never saw him swing the ball for the first seven, (or) maybe even eight weeks of this tournament. (But) in the last few weeks, he has got his wrist in a good place and started to swing the ball back,” Pietersen remarked.
Pietersen also showered praise on Narine, highlighting his transformed performance and consistency in batting and bowling.
“I was one of the most vocal critics at the start of the tournament saying I didn’t like Sunil Narine at the top of the order, due to his inconsistency. He would typically hit a six and then get out, disrupting the momentum,” Pietersen acknowledged.
“However, this season he has been consistent. He has thought like a batter, batted like a batter and got the runs of a batter. He has averaged more than many batters and his strike rate has been phenomenal. He has played both sides of the wicket exceptionally well.” “We don’t need to say much about his bowling — he is an out-and-out superstar. His ability to change his action and still come up with such outstanding numbers is quite something. He is the heartbeat of this outfit," Pietersen said.
Meanwhile, the former Indian cricketer Ambati Rayudu praised KKR captain Shreyas Iyer, the coaching staff, and the team's domestic players for their team effort in securing the title.
“Shreyas Iyer has been tremendous in terms of leading KKR, and we should give him a lot of credit. He was not in the best of forms with the bat, but still, the way he has led the team, the way he has used his resources, is commendable,” stated Rayudu.
He further stressed the essence of team contribution over individual performances in winning tournaments like the IPL.
"That is exactly how teams win the IPL. We have seen this over the years; it is not the orange cap that wins you the IPL, but it is the contributions from 4-5 batters with 300-400 runs each — that is what gets you to the finals," Rayudu concluded.
