Follow Us“Ten yorkers in a row. Slower ball bouncer, batter will never see it coming,” posted South Africa’s legendary paceman Dale Steyn on ‘X’ during the Super Over of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 clash between Delhi Capitals (DC) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) on April 16 (Wednesday). Even former New Zealand seamer Simon Doull, on commentary, wanted Mitchell Starc to surprise the batter with a bumper or a slower bouncer.
However, Australia’s premier paceman trusted his best ball under pressure instead of trying out new things, and gave DC their fifth win of the IPL 2025. After all, neither Steyn nor Doull is anywhere close to Starc when it comes to winning titles, be it at the international, domestic, or franchise levels. He knows his game inside out, trusts his instincts, and delivers ball after ball with ruthless precision. There’s a reason Starc is known as one of the most clutch players in cricket history.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) signed Starc for a record price of INR 24.75 crore in the IPL 2024 auction, and the left-arm fast bowler repaid them by almost single-handedly winning them the Qualifier and the Final, both against dangerous and in-form Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) unit. The Knight Riders let him go ahead of the IPL 2025 auction, and it was Delhi who acquired him for INR 11.75 crore.
The 35-year-old announced his arrival to the new franchise by claiming eight wickets in his first two matches; however, DC were yet to see the best of the left-arm assassin, who murders pressure situation with utmost ease. Starc has always been a great wicket-taker, but what makes him rare is his ability to perform at his very best under extreme pressure.
DC scored 188/5, becoming the first team in the IPL since 2024 to not cross the 200-run mark in the first innings at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. In reply, Rajasthan were 158/2 in 17 overs, needing 31 off 18 deliveries, which wasn’t too difficult given the two set batters at the crease.
After Mohit Sharma conceded 13 runs in the 17th over, DC captain Axar Patel brought Starc back into the attack. Despite being whacked for 19 runs in his second over in the powerplay and having figures of 0/20 in two overs, Starc delivered exceptional death bowling.
The Aussie started bowling yorkers after yorkers, with the exception of one slower delivery into the surface in the 18th over. Three singles off the first three balls brought Nitish Rana on strike. The left-handed batter, who was Starc's teammate at KKR, was batting like a dream on 51 off 27, but Starc pinned him right in front of the stumps with a superb inswinging yorker.
Starc would have had Shimron Hetmyer on the very next ball, but an inside edge saved the West Indian and gave RR a fortunate boundary. Just 8 runs came off the over, and it was now Mohit’s turn to bowl the penultimate over.
The experienced Indian seamer ended up leaking 14 runs, leaving Starc to defend 9 in the final over. Without thinking too much and despite all the noise around him, Starc kept hitting the block hole delivery after delivery, not allowing Dhruv Jurel and Hetmyer to find a boundary.
The equation got down to 2 off 1, with Jurel on strike. Starc bowled another yorker, and the young Indian batter worked it towards the mid-wicket region looking for two runs. Axar was quick and sent in a straight throw to wicketkeeper KL Rahul, who completed the formality by removing the bails.
There it was: a Super Over in the IPL after four years, 1453 days to be exact. The first mission was accomplished, but the job wasn’t done yet. Starc started the Super Over with another pinpoint yorker to Hetmyer.
A dot ball was followed by a length delivery, and the batter got under it and found a boundary. There was a back foot no-ball as well, which Riyan Parag sent for four. 10 runs came off the first three balls, and DC needed a strong finish from Starc.
The fast bowler once again went back to his strength, and the next two balls resulted in two run-outs. DC were given 12 to win, and Tristan Stubbs and Rahul got the required runs against Sandeep Sharma off the first four balls.
“Just backed my execution, running with a clear plan. Sometimes it comes off. A bit of luck goes a long way. It was a fantastic game, happy to get on the right side. I’ve played long enough for everyone to know what I’d do, but if I execute then I know I’ll get by,” said Starc after being named Player of the Match.
RR captain Sanju Samson added: “I thought that score was definitely chaseable but as we all saw it was a fantastic over from Starcy. I'd like to give it to Starcy, I think he won the game for them in the 20th over.” That’s right, Samson knows it, and everyone who watched the game knows it was Starc who put up a masterclass and won the game for DC.
When it mattered most, Mitchell Starc didn’t experiment — he executed. In a 'high-stakes' moment, he reminded the world why he’s one of the greatest under pressure.