In the fantastic century of Buttler, Rajasthan Royals won by making a record in a sensational chase. The team needed 28 runs in the last two overs to win, Buttler scored 21 for the chase. He achieved both targets with superb batting skills. With his expertise, he led the Rajasthan Royals to victory over Kolkata Knight Riders.
At Eden Gardens on Tuesday (April 16), Rajasthan won by 2 wickets. They chased down the target of 224 runs with the last ball. It’s the highest run chase ever in the IPL. The previous record was also held by Rajasthan. In 2020 at Sharjah, Kings XI Punjab chased down 224 runs against them with 4 wickets in hand.
Buttler was out for 4 runs in that match four years ago. Now, he’s the hero of victory. With 9 fours and 6 sixes, he played an unbeaten innings of 107 runs, leading the team to victory. This is his second century in the ongoing season. He led the team to victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore with an unbeaten innings of 100 runs off 58 balls.
It was his 100th match in the IPL. Buttler’s century is the eighth in the IPL, with seven of them scored in the IPL. He has more centuries in this franchise tournament in India than anyone else except Virat Kohli, who has 8.
However, this time, Kolkata’s Sunil Narine’s fiery century went in vain. In his first century in T20 career, he played an innings of 109 runs off 56 balls.
When Rajasthan needed runs, Buttler stood out. He kept one end intact while wickets fell regularly on the other. He scored 40 runs off the first 30 balls. He added another 36 off the next 50 balls.
With 4 wickets in hand, Rajasthan needed 96 runs in the last six overs. In the 15th over, Buttler hit spinner Varun Chakravarthy for four fours. He scored 17 runs in that over, and the same in the next. In the 17th over, he hit two sixes and one four off Narine. He got out in that over, scoring 26 runs off 13 balls.
In the 18th over, he hit Mitchell Starc for one four and one six. He scored 18 runs in that over. In the last two overs, needing 28 runs, Buttler took Harshal Patel for two sixes and one four, scoring 19 runs in the 19th over.
In the last over, needing 9 runs, he hit the first ball for a six, completing his century in 55 balls. He didn’t score any runs in the next three balls. With two runs off the fifth ball, he leveled the score. And with a single off the last ball, he led the team to victory with one run. All of the team’s last 29 runs came from Buttler’s bat!
