Buttler ton powers Rajasthan over Knight Riders

JOS BUTTLER smashed an unbeaten 107 to trump Sunil Narine’s first T20 century as Rajasthan Royals pulled off a joint record IPL chase against Kolkata Knight Riders off the final ball yesterday.

Chasing 224 for victory, Rajasthan looked in trouble at 121-6 in the 13th over but Buttler moved through the gears in his 60-ball blitz to achieve the target with two wickets to spare at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.

Rajasthan equalled their own record from 2020 when they chased down 224 against Kings XI Punjab in Sharjah.

Buttler, who came in as an impact substitute, reached his second ton of the season in 55 balls with a six off Varun Chakravarthy at the start of the last over.

Buttler, struggling with cramp, then played out three dot balls before a two and a single on the final delivery ensured Rajasthan held on to top spot in the table with six wins in seven matches.

“Keep believing, that was the real key today,” Buttler said. “I was struggling a bit for rhythm. At times you feel frustrated or you are questioning yourself.”

He said, “There’s been plenty of times throughout the IPL, you’ve seen crazy things happen. Guys like (MS) Dhoni and (Virat) Kohli, the way they stay till the end and keep believing and I tried to do the same.”

England’s Buttler, who hit nine fours and six sixes, moved ahead of Chris Gayle with seven IPL tons and is only behind Kohli’s eight in the T20 tournament.

Buttler built key partnerships including 50 runs with Riyan Parag (34), 57 with Rovman Powell (26) and then an unbeaten 38-run stand with Avesh Khan (0 not out).

Spinners Narine, Chakravarthy and fast bowler Harshit Rana took two wickets each for KKR.

“Emotions were a rollercoaster, certainly didn’t think we will get into this situation,” said Kolkata captain Shreyas Iyer.

“It’s a funny game at the end of the day, he was striking the ball cleanly and timing them so well, have to take it on the chin and move on.” – AFP