Mitchell Starc has trumped Pat Cummins in their Indian Premier League (IPL) final shootout as the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) thrashed Sunrisers Hyderabad to claim the biggest domestic crown in world cricket.

Overcoming a difficult start to the tournament, Mitch was magnificent in the finals series, winning the player of the match for the second time in 5 days, as Sunrisers were bowled out for just 113.

KKR lost just two wickets chasing down the target in little more than 10 overs.
Mitch claimed a wicket in the first over with an unplayable delivery to dismiss Abhishek Sharma in what has been described as the ball of the tournament.

He finished with 2-14 from three overs to continue his strong finish to the tournament before the start of the Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA next week. This followed up his 3-34 in the semi final.

Playing his first IPL in eight years after concentrating on keeping himself fit for Australia, Mitch had a difficult start to the campaign. However, he claimed 17 wickets for the tournament, one behind his Aussie team mate Cummins, to place 11th in the wicket taking tally.

After the match, a jubilant Starc said he knew the expectations were going to be high on him.

“I am older and experienced now, so that helped to deal with all of that and leading the attack. It was a lot of fun for me personally and we have got a very exciting attack,” said Mitch.

“Full credit to the coaches and support staff as well. They have been outstanding.”

Mitch said that he had loved being a part of the IPL and confirmed his availability for the next year and hoped that he would get to play for KKR in 2025.

“The last 9 years I have prioritised Australian cricket and IPL has been my rest period to give my body a break and spend some time with my wife. Moving forward, certainly I am closer to the end of my career than the start, so maybe one format may drop off. The next ODI World Cup is a long time away, so whether that format continues for me or not, it may open doors for more franchise cricket. I have thoroughly enjoyed this season, it leads into the World Cup, so that’s the other side of it, the benefit of being here. It is an amazing tournament with amazing players and the success has been fantastic,” said Mitch in the post-match press conference.

“I don’t know the schedule exactly for next year, but as I said, I enjoyed it and I look forward to being back next year and hopefully it is in purple and gold with KKR once again.”

Mitch will be flying out to the West Indies in the upcoming days and will join the Australian side just before their first group-stage match in the T20 ICC World Cup 2024.