Figures of 2 for 25 loos a lot better than 0 for 53 or 0 for 47, and while Starc didn’t quite admit to feeling a bit out of place in the previous matches, he did say that those returns weren’t what he had hoped for.
“It can be brutal at times, particularly on the bowlers [in T20 cricket]. I think we’ve seen on some of the grounds, some of the scores… so yeah, you take a little bit of luck here and there. Yeah, we’re three-nil at the start of the season, and tonight we were pretty clinical with bat and ball. Personal stuff aside, the team’s start has been fantastic.”
That’s the bigger picture. The fact that almost every Knight Rider has put in at least one performance of note in taking KKR to three wins on the trot and the top position on the table after all the teams have played at least three games.
As for the smaller picture, getting Marsh and Warner must have felt good? “It’s nice to have those ones in the pocket,” Starc said with a laugh.
“On a good wicket like that, trying to keep it as tight as possible, to try and win with a bigger margin so it can help our run rate later on in the tournament”
Sunil Narine
“That’s all him, he was fantastic tonight, and I thought he used the short ball really well,” Starc said when asked if he had a role to play in Arora’s success. “For me, it’s probably more conversations around training, around bowling meetings, when we’re taking on Dave and Mitch, who some of these guys haven’t played before. So just talking a bit around that sort of thing. Just see how they go about their business in the nets, and if they ask questions, just little conversations around that. Certainly not me telling them how to bowl and tonight I thought our whole bowling attack was fantastic.”
As for Raghuvanshi, playing his first IPL innings and looking like he has always belonged, Iyer said, “He was fearless from ball one. When you see him, his work ethic is phenomenal. He is top notch in analysing situations and he is a smart batsman when it comes to reading the situation. The way he played today, the shots were literally pleasing to the eye.”
Starc and Raghuvanshi and Arora played their part, but the man of the moment, and the Player of the Match, not just for all those quick runs but also the 1 for 29, was Narine.
‘Cricket is all about batting, so if you can contribute with the bat, as an individual it’s more pleasing. But I still enjoy my bowling,” he said when asked which of the two disciplines are more his thing.
“On a good wicket like that, trying to keep it as tight as possible, to try and win with a bigger margin so it can help our run rate later on in the tournament,” Narine said on the matter.
