Buttler pulls of a historic chase for Rajasthan with majestic ton to edge Kolkata in thriller

Rajasthan Royals continued their dominance in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as they defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by two wickets at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday. 

Match Summary

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals, Match 31

Kolkata Knight Riders 223/6 (20 ov)

Rajasthan Royals 224/8 (20 ov)

Rajasthan Royals won by 2 wickets

Match Analysis

Asked to bat, Kolkata posted a gigantic total of 223 for six, in response, Rajasthan kept losing wickets at regular intervals but managed to pull off an incredible chase. 

Kolkata lost in-form batter Phil Salt early but after that, Sunil Narine (109:56b, 13x4, 6x6) and Angkrish Raghuvanshi (30:18b, 5x4) brought their team back into the game.

The Narine-Raghuvanshi duo added 85 runs for the second wicket. Narine slammed his maiden IPL century and later Rinku Singh (20 not out: 9b, 1x4, 2x6) ended the innings on a high. Kolkata ended with a total of 223 for six. 

Yashasvi Jaiswal (19:9b, 3x4, 1x6) set the platform for his team with the bat in the chase but after his fall, Rajasthan kept losing wickets at regular intervals.

Riyan Parag (34:14b, 4x4, 2x6) supported Jos Buttler well as the duo put on 50 runs for the third wicket. Kolkata pulled things back and put one foot past the finishing line. But there was a twist in the tale in the end as Rovman Powell (26:13b, 1x4, 3x6) and Buttler took the attack to Kolkata bowlers and stitched 57 runs.

Buttler (107not out:60b, 9x4, 6x6) after that hit a blistering ton and took his team home from the jaws of defeat and helped his team win the game by two wickets. 

Match Stats

Kolkata Knight Riders Fall of wickets: 1-21 (Philip Salt - 3.3 ov), 2-106 (Angkrish Raghuvanshi - 10.4 ov), 3-133 (Shreyas Iyer - 12.6 ov), 4-184 (Andre Russell - 16.1 ov), 5-195 (Sunil Narine - 17.3 ov), 6-215 (Venkatesh Iyer - 19.2 ov)

Rajasthan Royals Fall of wickets: 1-22 (Yashasvi Jaiswal - 1.5 ov), 2-47 (Sanju Samson - 4.2 ov), 3-97 (Riyan Parag - 7.5 ov), 4-100 (Dhruv Jurel - 8.4 ov), 5-121 (Ravichandran Ashwin - 12.1 ov), 6-121 (Shimron Hetmyer - 12.2 ov), 7-178 (Rovman Powell - 16.5 ov), 8-186 (Trent Boult - 17.3 ov)

Match Details

Date - 2024-04-16 14:00:00

Venue - Eden Gardens, Kolkata

Toss - Rajasthan Royals elected to bowl

Umpires - Michael Gough(England), Ulhas Gandhe(India), KN Ananthapadmanabhan(India TV)