NEW DELHI: In a breathtaking display of batting mastery, Jos Buttler spearheaded Rajasthan Royals (RR) to a historic victory, trumping Sunil Narine's blazing century as they pulled off a joint-record chase in the IPL against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Tuesday.
Facing a daunting target of 224 runs, RR found themselves in a precarious position at 121-6 in the 13th over. However, Buttler showcased remarkable resilience and determination, unleashing a sensational 60-ball 107-run innings to guide his team to victory with just one ball to spare at Kolkata's iconic Eden Gardens.
This remarkable chase equaled RR's own record set in 2020 when they successfully chased down 224 against Kings XI Punjab in Sharjah. Buttler's heroics didn't stop there as he notched his second century of the season in just 55 balls, including a crucial six off Varun Chakravarthy at the start of the final over.
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Despite battling cramps, Buttler held his nerve, ensuring RR's triumph with a composed finish in the nail-biting finale. His unbeaten innings, embellished with nine boundaries and six maximums, propelled him past Chris Gayle to claim the second spot in the list of players with the most IPL centuries, with a total of seven, trailing only behind Virat Kohli's eight in the T20 extravaganza.
Buttler, who was named player of the match, asserted that self-belief was crucial, and that was the key tonight.
"Keep believing, that was the real key today. I was struggling a bit for rhythm. At times you feel frustrated or you are questioning yourself. I tell myself it's okay, keep going, you'll get your rhythm back and try to stay calm. There's been plenty of times throughout the IPL, you've seen crazy things happen," Buttler said at the post-match presentation.
"Guys like Dhoni and Kohli, the way they stay till the end and keep believing and I tried to do the same. That's something Sangakkara has told me a lot - there's always a breaking point. The worst thing you can do is to not fight and give your wicket away. He just tells me to stay there and at some point, the momentum will change. That's been a big part of my play over the last few years. (Greatest IPL innings?) I would think so. Very satisfying," Buttler added.
