KKR vs. RR IPL Highlights: Jos Buttler century leads Rajasthan Royals to a victory over Kolkata Knight Riders.

Buttler Brilliance: RR Outshines KKR in IPL Showdown

Written by: Supriya Kadu

Edited by: Omkar Devadkar

Last Updated: April 17, 2024

Summary: The Rajasthan Royals defeated the Kolkata Knight Riders by two wickets on Tuesday, achieving the IPL's biggest run chase.

With an unbeaten 107 off 60 balls, Jos Buttler almost single-handedly led the Rajasthan Royals to a record-equalling 224-run chase against the Kolkata Knight Riders. Buttler overcame cramps in the final over to score the winning runs, and RR matched the IPL record for the most successful run chase, which they established last year.

The England captain started the last over with a six off the first ball, but he later had to put down runs off the next four balls, lowering the equation to RR needing three runs to secure the victory in the last two deliveries. Buttler then scored two runs off the match's second-last ball and a single on the final ball, effectively taking RR.

The Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain, Sanju Samson, won the toss and chose to field, leaving the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to bat first. RR's outstanding bowling attack held down KKR's dangerous opening combination of Phil Salt and Sunil Narine, with Salt falling in the fourth over after an amazing catch by Avesh Khan off his bowling.

Narine then made up for it in the final two overs, leading KKR to a score of 56/1 during the powerplay. Narine and Angkrish Raghuvanshi took down Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal, and RR eventually jumped past 100 in the first ten overs.

For the Rajasthan Royals, Yashasvi Jaiswal lit an initial spark before he left. Sanju Samson, the captain, was dismissed shortly after, but Jos Buttler and Riyan Parag immediately staged a comeback, scoring 76 runs in the powerplay.

But in the latter part, things started to slow down since Dhruv Jurel and Shimron Hetmyer were dismissed one after another, with only Riyan Parag left. Buttler's strategic brilliance was on display in the crucial last overs as he remarkably held onto the bat and finished with a match-winning century despite battling injury, leading his team to victory.