JUST JOSTLE!
Buttler century as Royals pull off record run chase
Kolkata, April 16: Rajasthan Royals pulled off the Indian Premier League’s biggest run chase to beat Kolkata Knight Riders by two wickets here on Tuesday. Asked to bat first, KKR rode on Sunil Narine’s 56-ball 109 to post 223/6 in the allotted 20 overs.
In reply, Rajasthan were in all sorts of trouble at one stage but Jos Buttler blasted his way to an unbeaten 60-ball 107, as the visitors completed the chase in the last ball of the match.
After his team was asked to bat first on a fresh pitch, Narine blazed away to a 49-ball 100 to lead KKR’s charge in this top-of-the-table clash at Eden Gardens.
However, Buttler had other ideas as he did the job for Royals from an extremely difficult position.
Earlier,It was a oneman show from KKR as Narine (109 off 56) batted till the 18th over, first stitching 85 runs with Angkrish Raghuvanshi (30) and then adding 51 runs with Andre Russell (13).
Trent Bolt eventually got the better of Narine, but not before the opener amassed 109 off 56 balls with the help of 13 fours and six sixes, displaying supreme confidence and skill against one of the best attacks of the IPL.
Not only did he pierce the field with ease, he also unleashed a relentless attack on R Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal, keeping the fielders busy by playing shots in the V.
Having reached fifty in 29 balls, the Trinidadian took just 20 deliveries to get to his maiden T20 century, pulling Chahal to the midwicket boundary.
Clad in a crisp white Tshirt, team owner Shah Rukh Khan sent a flying kiss from the stands.
On the field, his West Indies teammate Russell jumped in joy, giving him a bear hug as Narine waved his bat in a muted celebration.