With RR cruising at 160 for 2, powered by aggressive knocks from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel and Riyan Parag, Starc produced a devastating burst in the death overs that derailed the innings completely.<\/p>\n
The Australian pacer reduced Royals to 166 for 5 in the space of an over and later dismissed Dasun Shanaka to finish with four wickets, a spell that ultimately proved decisive in DC\u2019s five-wicket win.<\/p>\n
Starc\u2019s game-changing performance earned glowing praise from Capitals head coach Hemang Badani, calling the 36-year-old \u201cone of the best role models in the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis work ethic, his preparation with his own plans and his training is above par. I don\u2019t even see that with a lot of the younger boys. That\u2019s the reason why he is sustained for so long. He is always talking to the younger lads and trying to pass on the knowledge. There is immense conversation that Starkey brings to the table.\u201d<\/p>\n
Badani also lamented Starc\u2019s absence for a significant portion of the season, while expressing hope that a long-term solution could eventually be worked out between franchises and national boards.<\/p>\n
\u201cIdeally, I want my players available from day one. Starc is probably one of the biggest players in my squad. We\u2019ve invested in him and we know that he\u2019s a match-winner. But there are certain things which are above my pay grade and are decided by associations and governing bodies. If Cricket Australia does not release him, which was also the case with (Josh) Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, there\u2019s little a coach or a franchise can do about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Badani also steered clear of dwelling on the \u201cwhat ifs\u201d surrounding DC\u2019s rotating opening combinations through the season, insisting that decisions always appear simpler in hindsight.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you go back to 2025, our issues were up top. Our openers were Faf du Plessis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Abhishek Porel and K.L. Rahul. We just couldn\u2019t figure out the right partnership. Hence we were keen to have a proper opener with KL and that\u2019s why we went to Pathum Nissanka and Ben Duckett. We were quite keen to get that partnership at the top going,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cPathum did give us 40s, 50s and 60s. I could be greedy and say that he could\u2019ve given me a game of 80 or 100, but he\u2019s not done badly. It\u2019s now more the case of\u2026 with Abhishek Porel giving us 100 partnerships, which has happened later through the season, it might just feel that maybe we could have gone to him earlier, but it is a very easy conversation to have right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
As has often been the case this campaign, Badani doubled down on his opposition to the lack of home advantage on pitches at the team\u2019s base at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. DC could only secure two victories in seven games at home this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe primarily struggled at home. Add in last year and we have four wins here from 12 games, and one of them being a Super Over. That pretty much tells you how the surface hasn\u2019t been conducive to our style of play. We\u2019ve at many times not been able to figure out what the surface is like,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Published on May 18, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n