IPL 2024 Qualifier 1 - Mitchell Starc gets his Aussie teammate, Travis Head departs for a DUCK

What a start to the Qualifier 1 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024! In the clash between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), the second-placed team got off to a very good start as pacer Mitchell Starc got the better of his teammate Travis Head on his second delivery. 

ALSO READ | IPL Playoffs 2024 - Rain plays spoilsport; KKR vs SRH to play Qualifier 1, RR vs RCB for the Eliminator

The Australian pacer dismissed his compatriot Head for a duck. Starc knocked him over with an absolute beauty. This was like a repeat of Head getting bowled out early in the previous game against Punjab Kings (PBKS).

Travis Head in the last two matches:

0(1) vs PBKS (bowled Arshdeep Singh)

0(2) vs KKR (bowled Mitchell Starc)*

📸🎯

Follow the Match ▶️ https://t.co/U9jiBAl187#TATAIPL | #KKRvSRH | #Qualifier1 | #TheFinalCall pic.twitter.com/AOdyQr0CmJ

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 21, 2024

Fans took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to discuss the wicket and speak about how a big player stands up for the team when needed.

King Starc was saving himself for the playoffs🤙🏻😎
#KKRvsSRH pic.twitter.com/vdrT5n9lkD

— Cheemrag (@itxcheemrag) May 21, 2024

The delivery worth 24.75 crore by Mitchell Starc. #KKRvsSRH pic.twitter.com/v6ZpQBuNA3

— Himanshu Pareek (@Sports_Himanshu) May 21, 2024

What a delivery by Mitchell starch to dismiss Travis Head big player standing when matter the most 🔥#KKRvsSRH pic.twitter.com/kjVHcyrokp

— Berlin (@realwitcher_) May 21, 2024

Abhi start bhi ni kia Maine match dekhna or halat dekho inke! #KKRvsSRH

— Aura🏔️ (@rijinoh26) May 21, 2024

As of writing this article, another wicket has fallen as both openers have returned to the dressing room. After Head, Abhishek Sharma did not stay for long as Vaibhav Arora got the better of him. The length delivery stuck a little and did not come as quickly as Abhishek Sharma (3 off 4) expected.

ALSO READ | IPL 2024 - SRH bowlers struggle against depleted PBKS, fans express shock

This caused him to try to force the drive through the off-side. However, he ended up slicing it off the top half towards cover, where Andre Russell timed his jump to perfection, claiming a well-judged catch above his head.

The @KKRiders bowlers have come out all guns blazing here in Ahmedabad! ⚡️⚡️#SRH now lose both their openers ☝️

Follow the Match ▶️ https://t.co/U9jiBAl187#TATAIPL | #KKRvSRH | #Qualifier1 | #TheFinalCall pic.twitter.com/6Kt4k52Mni

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 21, 2024

Currently, SRH has scored 13 runs and lost 2 early wickets in 2 overs — the dismissals of their main scorers of this season. Sunrisers Hyderabad won the toss and opted to bat. Both teams have stuck with the same lineup, making minimal changes.

Teams:

Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer(c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy

Impact Subs: Anukul Roy, Manish Pandey, Nitish Rana, KS Bharat, Sherfaine Rutherford

Enjoy 35+ OTTs like ZEE5, LionsgatePlay, Ullu, SunNXT, SonyLIV, Fancode and 250+ Live TV channels at just ₹99

Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen(w), Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins(c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, T Natarajan

Impact Subs: Sanvir Singh, Umran Malik, Glenn Phillips, Washington Sundar, Jaydev Unadkat