NEW DELHI: When Kolkata Knight Riders
mentor Gautam Gambhir
bought Australian left-arm speedster
Mitchell Starc
for a record-shattering sum of Rs 24.75 crore in the December auction last year, fans and even pundits were absolutely stunned.
And after a jittery start to the season, where Starc was taken to the cleaners in almost every league game, trolling and memes followed Gambhir and KKR alongside Starc.
But as the tournament progressed the 34-year-old regained his lost rhythm and in the playoffs produced a couple of sensational performances, shutting down every critique.
After flooring Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 1, Starc once again roared with a mind-boggling performance against the same opposition in the IPL Final on Sunday.
And with pacer having a memorable night in the final, mentor Gambhir too was hailed by everyone for his belief in Starc.
What started as a tease and fun turned into appreciation and respect as Gambhir was lauded for his choice during the IPL auction.
In the final on Sunday, left-arm quick Starc returned figures of 2 for 14 while fellow quicks Andre Russell and Harshit Rana shared five wickets between them to dismiss the Sunrisers for a lowly 113 in 18.3 overs at Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium.
It was the lowest total in an IPL final after Chennai Super Kings' previous low of 125-9 in their loss to Mumbai Indians in 2013.
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