Mitchell Starc doesn’t read anything, especially if it’s related to the pressure that comes with his Rs 24.75-crore price tag in the IPL. However, Starc finally bowled like the actual Starc on Sunday at Eden Gardens as his 3/28 was crucial in Kolkata Knight Riders’ clinical eight-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants.

Ahead of the much-awaited contest against table-toppers Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday, KKR needed the left-arm speedster to regain his rhythm.

“In this format, it’s more about getting used to the tactical side. I haven’t played a lot of T20 cricket over the last couple of years, so it’s taking probably a little bit longer than I would have liked to get back to the rhythm of things and make a bit of impact.

“So, today (Sunday) was nice in that regard,” Starc said at the news conference.

“That’s the way T20 cricket is. Whether you have a good day or a bad day, games come around so quickly that you can’t really think about where you had erred as you have to quickly focus on the next game.”

Using the short ball to good effect against Lucknow, Starc acknowledged the two-bouncer rule in the IPL as a good addition. “I probably under-bowled it (bouncer).

“Conditions probably dictate that sometimes, depending on the pace and bounce of the wicket... I’m sure it will develop through the rest of the tournament,” Starc said.

Pitch talk

KKR principal owner Shah Rukh Khan had “good words” to say about the Eden pitch as he spoke to curator Sujan Mukherjee after the game. “I also told Shah Rukh, ‘If the result isn’t in KKR’s favour, your players will only say stuff about the surface. He then said, ‘No, they just demand, but you’ve been doing as you wish to.’ It was all in light spirit though,” Mukherjee said.