Narine’s ton goes in vain as Buttler serves victory to Royals against Knight Riders
KOLKATA: A flamboyant Jos Butler struck a swashbuckling unbeaten century to steer Rajasthan Royals to a two-wicket victory against Kolkata Knight Riders in their IPL match on Tuesday.
Chasing a huge total of 223, Rajasthan got over the line for the loss of eight wicket off the last ball of the over. Butler took the charge in hand as he smashed an unbeaten 107 off 60 balls with the help of nine fours and six sixes.
Earlier, West Indies all-rounder Sunil Narine put up an exhilarating display of power-hiting, hammering his maiden century in T20 cricket as he helped Kolkata Knight Riders post in Match 31 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday.
Asked to bat first by Rajasthan Royals, Narine blasted his highest score in the shortest format of the game as he raced to his century off 49 balls, becoming only the third KKR bater to score a century in IPL and the first home bater to score a hundred at the Eden Gardens in IPL.
Narine has been restored to opening the innings ater a long time this season and delivered on Tuesday with a sensational innings. Narine used his trademark stand-and-hit style of bating as he muscled the bowlers to the boundary to eventually score 109 off 56 balls, studded with 13 boundaries and six maximums.
KKR got off to a good start despite losing Phil Salt early as they raced to 56/1 in the Powerplay thanks mainly to West Indies dasher Sunil Narine and young Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who was promoted in the order.
Salt failed to make the most of the life he got in the opening over when Riyan Parag put down a siter at point off Trent Boult. Salt was yet to open his account but could manage only 10 runs off 13 balls, including a boundary off Boult before Avesh Khan plucked a one-handed stunner low to his let in his follow-through.
Sunil Narine saved KKR the blushes as he hammered a half-century to give the team a good start. The West Indies let-hander found a good partner in Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who was promoted to the No.3 position and made it count with an 18-ball 30.
Narine was his usual self, going ater the bowling, hiting the square of the wicket and not afraid to give it air and clear the rope. Ater two fine fours off Avesh Khan, the let-hander planted Kuldeep Sen into the stands with a pull that went high into the sky and followed it up with a stylish boundary in the sixth over.
Ravichandran Ashwin was hit for back-toback boundaries through cover and point region in the eighth over while Yuzvendra Chahal was smoked over long-off for a big six. In the ninth over, Narine ramped Ashwin over longoff to complete his fity off 29 balls, hiting five boundaries and three maximums. KKR reached 101/1 at the halfway stage.
But they lost a couple of wickets in quick succession, Raghuvanshi returning to the dugout ater adding 85 runs for the second-wicket partnership with Narine.
Raghuvanshi, who hammered Boult for three well-timed and well-executed boundaries in the fith over also benefited when Riyan Parag misfielded in the long-on region. The 18-year-old Delhi-born bater, who plays for Mumbai at the domestic level, was pure timing and technique and not just power as he scored 30 off 18.
From 106/2, KKR slumped to 133/3 as skipper Shreyas Iyer was trapped LBW by Chahal. But the setbacks did not mater much for Sunil Narine as the West Indies allrounder continued with his power-hiting, hammering shots around the ground as he raced to his century.
Narine blasted Ashwin for a four and six off back-to-back deliveries in the 12th over despite the off-spinner trying to bowl wide.
Chahal, RR’S other spinner, Chahal was hammered for 23 runs in the 16th over, hiting him for two sixes and two fours off successive deliveries as he danced down the track to blast a leg-break over long-off and followed it up with a boundary straight over the bowler’s head.
A wide ball later, a poor delivery by Chahal was hit flat for a six and followed up by a four again, pulled to the midwicket boundary, as Narine raced to his maiden century off 49 balls.