KKR vs RR | Explosive Buttler outdoes Narine's ton to earn Rajasthan sensational last-ball triumph
Rajasthan Royals achieved the highest ever chase in IPL history at the Eden Gardens on Monday to stay top of the table with a sixth win in the season. Sunil Narine's 49-ball ton drove KKR to a mammoth 223/6 but Jos Buttler's late carnage saw him end up unbeaten on 107 to secure a win for the ages.
Rajasthan Royals got off to the perfect start with the ball as Avesh Khan ended Phil Salt's 13-ball struggle with aĀ sensational grabĀ in the fourth over after the Englishman had been dropped on the second ball of the innings.Ā Nevertheless, a flurry of boundaries from Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Sunil Narine ensured the Knight Riders ended the powerplay on top at 56/1. Sanju Samson brought on Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal thereafter in search of wickets but the move backfired with the duo scoring 44 runs off the next four overs, as Narine brought up a 29-ball half-century. An intermittent over from Kuldeep Sen eventually led to Raghuvanshi's dismissal butĀ there was no respite for the spinners with Narine slaughtering two maximums and as many boundaries off Chahals' final over to register a 49-ball ton. Boult eventually ended the Caribbean powerhouse's stay with a pinpoint yorker but Rinku Singh ensured the hosts got to a daunting total of 223 with an enthralling nine-ball cameo for 20.
In response, Yashasvi Jaiswal seemed to have finally found form as he raced to 19 off nine deliveries before a beautifulĀ Vaibhav AroraĀ outswinger had him caught at slip. Skipper Sanju Samson fell cheaply in the powerplay as well although some quick boundaries from Jos Buttler and Riyan ParagĀ tookĀ the side to a dominant 76/2 at the end of the fielding restrictions.Ā KKRĀ further took the game by the jugularĀ on the back ofĀ Harshit Rana ending Parag's rapid knock of 34 off 14, Narine scalping Dhruv Jurel five balls later, and Varun Chakravarthy sending Ashwin and Shimron Hetmyer packing on consecutiveĀ deliveries. However, just when the equation read a seemingly impossible 96 off the final six overs, ButtlerĀ and Rovman Powell combined for five boundaries and four maximums across the next 15 deliveriesĀ to keep the chase alive. Even after Narine came up clutch by dismissing his compatriot with his penultimate ball, Buttler's 60-ball century saw him hunt down 27 off the last two overs in a historic win.
Boss Buttler
Jos The Boss š²Ā #IPL2024Ā #KKRvsRRĀ pic.twitter.com/PzNyJmTR0C
ā Dhruv (@SuriyaDhoni247)Ā April 16, 2024
Caughting big fishes
After going for 16 runs in first 3 balls, Sunil Narine strikes and gets the big fish Rovman Powell!!Ā #KKRvRRĀ #KKRvsRRĀ https://t.co/hLMJQkdnKo
ā See the Good Shri (@shrispy24)Ā April 16, 2024
Good captaincy
Again saying
ā Nikhil Rajput (@RajputNikh82839)Ā April 16, 2024
What a great Captaincy Shreyas Iyer is doing no captain would have taken a short mid wicket against Hetmyer
But Iyer took and the ball goes straight towards it
Best captain Shreyas Iyer šš#ShreyasIyer#KKRvsRR
Lol
RR thought Ashwin is Sunil Narine!!#RRvsKKRĀ #KKRvsRRĀ #IPL2024
ā Imperfect_girl (@shrish_xoxo)Ā April 16, 2024
Struggle is real
What happened to Buttler's hitting ability man,he is struggling now a days lot š®āšØ#KKRvsRRĀ #IPL2024
ā MaayoN į¶Ė¢įµ š«š“ļøš (@itz_satheesh3)Ā April 16, 2024
Typical
TRADEMARK HARSHIT RANA š
ā KKR Vibe (@KnightsVibe)Ā April 16, 2024
š„š„šš#AmiKKRĀ |Ā #IPLonJioCinemaĀ |Ā #KKRvsRRĀ pic.twitter.com/iq9TBPG4E1
Two gems
The Two New Gems ofĀ #KKRĀ š
ā Cheemrag (@itxcheemrag)Ā April 16, 2024
Harshit & Vaibhav š#KKRvsRRĀ pic.twitter.com/r1oxCVhcTf
Maiden century
Sunil Narine scoring 100s as an opener in T20 cricket...
ā Chetan Narula (@chetannarula)Ā April 16, 2024
In 2024.
Cricket is mad!Ā #KKRvsRRĀ #IPL2024
Only three
Rohit, Watson & Narine only players to have Hundred & Hat-trick in IPL history š¤ÆĀ pic.twitter.com/luQGpd3rUq
ā Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns)Ā April 16, 2024
Casually
Riyan Parag took a catch in a very casual fashion in the last game. Always a risk of dropping one when so casual, and it doesn't look good. Lucky for him Phil Salt didn't go on to make a big score.#KKRvsRR
ā CricBlog ā (@cric_blog)Ā April 16, 2024