• Source:JND
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Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has slammed Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) star pacer Mitchell Starc for his flop show in the ongoing IPL 2024 season. Australian pacer is the most expensive player in the history of the tournament with a price tag of Rs 24.75 crore.

The speedster is struggling to take wickets in the season as he only bagged five wickets in six matches. In the match against Rajasthan Royals at Eden Gardens on Tuesday, Starc leaked 50 runs in his four overs spell without a wicket.

In the highest-ever run chase of IPL, Rajasthan Royals beat KKR by two wickets on the last ball.

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Taking a dig at Starc's performance in the tournament, Pathan took to X and wrote, "Most expensive player in your team can't be your weak link."

Starc showed signs of returning to his prime during Kolkata's 8-wicket win over the Lucknow Super Giants.

With a consistent line and length, the left-arm pacer picked up three wickets in his foul-over spell while spilling away 28 runs.

Starc opened the attack for KKR and conceded 11 runs in the opening over, which set the tone for the high-scoring chase.

In the powerplay, Starc bowled two overs, went wicketless, and spilt 24 runs out of 76. As he struggled to provide the hosts with an ideal start, Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana claimed a wicket each to put pressure back on RR.

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Starc was called back to bowl the 10th over, in which he conceded 8 runs. As the chase intensified, Shreyas Iyer's decision to rely on his most experienced and the most expensive player backfired.

Starc conceded 18 runs in the 18th over, which brought the equation down from 46 runs in 18 to 28 in 12.

Harshit Rana and Varun Chakaravarthy failed to defend 28 runs in the final 2 overs as RR clinched the victory on the final ball of the game.

Jos Buttler was the guiding light for RR in the joint-highest chase in the history of the competition.

KKR, currently second in the points table, will face the Mumbai Indians on Monday at the Sawai Mansingh Indoor Stadium, Jaipur.

(With ANI inputs)