Jos Buttler, who was brought in as an Impact Substitute due to an injury, scored an incredible century through counterattacking to surpass Sunil Narine’s equally captivating maiden T20 hundred. Rajasthan Royals defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by two wickets in the Indian Premier League’s Match 31 at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday.
After Narine blasted to a 49-ball hundred, his highest score in T20 cricket, that his maiden century, a 56-ball 109 that had helped KKR reach a massive 223/6, Buttler, who had missed the previous match due to a niggle, hammered an unbeaten 107 off 60 balls – his second century on IPL 2024, blasting nine boundaries and six maximums as Rajasthan Royals raced to 224/8 in 20 overs. In addition to his captivating century, Narine’s outstanding all-around performance included two wickets taken and a catch, but Buttler’s outstanding century stole the show.
At 121/6 in the thirteenth over, the Rajasthan Royals appeared to be out of the game, but Buttler found support in Rovman Powell, who struck a 13-ball 26 to spark a counterattack and an ambitious chase. Powell went out, but despite appearing exhausted and hobbling to make runs, Buttler carried on with his outstanding batting.
After reaching 100 not out against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on April 6, Buttler hit his second century of the year. He reached the mark in 55 balls while nursing the tail to lead Rajasthan Royals to an outstanding victory and keeping them atop the standings with 12 points from seven games. KKR still had eight points after six games. With Virat Kohli standing in his way, Buttler surpasses Chris Gayle to record his seventh century in the IPL.
The Rajasthan Royals strengthened their batting by adding Buttler as an Impact Substitute in order to chase a large goal. They were quickly in danger, though, as Yashasvi Jaiswal, another opener, was dismissed for 19 runs off of nine balls in the second over, leaving the team’s score at 22/1.
In his short innings, Jaiswal hit three fours and one six, signalling that RR was going to chase the score. After Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson brought the score to 47, the captain returned to the dug-out, unable to take advantage of his disadvantage after managing just 12 off eight balls.
Young Riyan Parag proved to be a willing partner for the 33-year-old Buttler as they amassed fifty runs in twenty-one balls, raising the total to 97. As they kept Rajasthan in the hunt, Parag blasted to 34 off 14 balls, smashing four boundaries and two maximums. He hit Vaibhav Arora for a six and a four, then in the ninth over, he gave Harshit Rana the same treatment. However, Rana exacted his wrath by holeing out to Andre Russell at deep midwicket, and RR was out at the worst possible moment.
The Rajasthan Royals collapsed in the middle overs, losing three wickets in quick succession thanks to wickets taken by Varun Chakravarthy off consecutive balls. The wickets fell to Dhruv Jurel (2), Ravichandran Ashwin (8), and Shimron Hetmyer (0).
However, Jos Buttler, who was fighting alone, found a willing companion in Rovman Powell, and they quickly established a 57-run partnership as they began to pursue the game seriously, just as it appeared that KKR were taking the lead. Powell hit a career-high 26 off just 13 balls prior to being caught by Sunil Narine.
Buttler shielded the tailenders even as he hobbled and appeared exhausted, continuing his masterful counterattack as he not only went on to complete his century but also led Rajasthan Royals to an unforgettable triumph. In the penultimate over, the Englishman scored 19 runs after hitting Harshit Rana for two sixes and a four, respectively. He also claimed a double and a single off the final two balls.
Varun Chakravarthy was given the ball by KKR captain Shreyas Iyer to bowl the last over, and with nine needed off of six balls, Buttler hammered home a massive six to complete his century. Before Buttler hit the ball in wide long-off for two runs to knot the score, Chakravarthy bowled three dot balls. Buttler scrambled for a single off the game’s last delivery to give the Rajasthan Royals the victory.
When Rajasthan Royals asked Narine to bat first, he blasted his greatest score in the game’s shortest format, racing to his century off 49 balls. Narine is now only the third KKR batsman to make a century in the IPL and the first home batter to score a century at Eden Gardens. Using his signature stand-and-hit batting approach, Narine bullied the bowlers to the boundary and finished with 109 off 56 balls, including 13 boundaries and six maximums.
Despite losing Phil Salt early, KKR made a quick getaway, racing to 56/1 in the Power-play primarily because of youngster Angkrish Raghuvanshi (30 off 18 balls), who was promoted in the order, and West Indies dasher Sunil Narine. As usual, Narine attacked the ball, striking the square of the wicket and showing no fear to let it go and clear the rope. The left-hander sent Kuldeep Sen into the stands with a pull that soared into the sky after Avesh Khan produced two excellent fours. In the sixth over, he followed that up with a chic boundary.
In the eighth over, Ravichandran Ashwin was smashed for consecutive boundaries through the cover and point regions, and Yuzvendra Chahal was hit for a massive six over far off. Narine reached his fifty off 29 balls in the ninth over by hitting five boundaries and three maximums, as he rampaged Ashwin over long-off. At the midpoint, KKR was at 101/1.
However, they lost a few wickets quickly, with Raghuvanshi going back to the dugout after he and Narine had combined for 85 runs at the second wicket. In the fifth over, Raghuvanshi hit three well timed and executed boundaries against Boult. He also benefited from a misfield by Riyan Parag in the long-on area. The domestic Mumbai team’s 18-year-old hitter, who was born in Delhi, scored 30 runs off of 18 with perfect timing and technique rather than just brute force.
KKR fell from 106/2 to 133/3 when captain Shreyas Iyer was caught for LBW by Chahal. Sunil Narine, a West Indies all-rounder, was unfazed by the setbacks as he quickly reached his century with his powerful, smashing smashes around the pitch.
In the 12th over, Narine took Ashwin for a four and a six off consecutive deliveries, even though the off-spinner attempted to bowl wide. The other spinner for RR, Chahal, was blasted for 23 runs in the 16th over. He glided down the track to smash a leg-break over long-off and then followed it up with a boundary straight over the bowler’s head. Chahal struck him for two sixes and two fours off consecutive deliveries.
After a wide ball, Narine raced to his first century off 49 balls. Chahal’s bad delivery was hammered flat for a six and then again for a four, dragged to the midwicket boundary. This is the first century scored at Eden Gardens by a home batsman in 84 matches and just the third century scored by a KKR batter overall.
As KKR flourished in the middle overs, he and his countryman Andre Russell contributed 51 runs for the fourth wicket off 18 balls. Russell was out for thirteen after being caught by Dhruv Jurel with the first ball of the attack by Avesh Khan.
Narine’s masterpiece came to an end when Boult struck 109 off 56 balls, rifling with 13 boundaries and six maximums. With a nice yorker, Boult dismissed him, but by then, Narine had already caused havoc, enabling KKR to reach 195/5 in the 19th over.
After hitting two explosive blows, Rinku Singh (20 off 9 balls) helped KKR reach 223/6 in 20 overs, a respectable score for the two-time champions.
Trent Boult bowled miserably in his four overs, scoring just 1-31, while Avesh Khan was Rajasthan’s best bowler with 2-35. With Narin slogging Yuzvendra Chahal for 23 runs in an over, the majority of the damage was done to him as he was blasted for 1-54 off his four overs.
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