Following a thrilling contest between the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) at Eden Gardens, KKR all-rounder Sunil Narine and RR opener Jos Buttler reflected on their hard-hitting centuries.
A batting masterclass by Jos Buttler guided RR to a thrilling last ball win against the two-time champions as they successfully chased a mamoth target of 224 runs set by KKR at the Eden Gardens. Sunil Narine, the KKR opener, had also lit up the venue with his maiden T20 ton, guiding KKR to 223/6 in their 20 overs.
In a video posted by RR on their official X (formerly Twitter) handle, Narine said that he wanted to give his team a blazing start and see how long he could go on after the powerplay and he was able to attack the bowlers after the powerplay.
“So today it actually did and I mean, some days you enjoy it, some days are tough. Today, starting was a little tough but it ended up being brilliant,” Narine added.
when Jos and Sunil met after 40 overs of monster behaviour 🔥 pic.twitter.com/5UII9WHLUd
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) April 17, 2024
Narine said that his maiden T20 century was better than all of his 542 T20 wickets.
“It is better than all the wickets I have gotten because it is probably the hardest thing for me as a cricketer to do. So it is much pleasing to the eye,” said Narine.
Buttler remarked that the game was extremely close and no team has an idea as to what score is enough. Narine replied to him that even 240-250 runs could be chased at Eden Gardens.
“I think, especially here, I think you never know what is a good score is at the starting or even when you bat first. I think if you do not pick up early wickets in the power play, you are going to struggle defending any total. Even 240, 250 could be chased down at this ground because the wicket is good, the outfield is fast and the ground is small,” said Narine.
Narine congratulated Buttler on his century and asked him about his mindset. To this, Buttler replied that his team got off to a fine start and there were fine cameos delivered by Riyan Parag and Rovman Powell that really helped.
“I think you guys put a really good score on the board, but we got off to a good start. I think there’s some really good cameos from some of our boys. Riyan Parag, you know, he came and played really aggressively and picked up the momentum. And I know Rovman Powell took you on in that over, which was, I think, big in the context of the game. I know you got him out at the end, but I was struggling to get you off the square. So I needed someone to help me out there. And I guess I think in the IPL, it seems like you never know, as you said earlier, what is a good score is and how many is enough. And I think for chasing teams, that is what keeps you believing that you might be able to do it if you can go the whole way,” Buttler said to Narine.
Narine pointed out that Buttler was not able to start of his innings as quick as he wanted. He questioned Buttler that what was his mindset when the run rate was climbing high, especially during the death overs.
Buttler replied that he was not really calm from inside, but he kept believing that things could change. He also pointed out that he took inspiration from other players like Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni and Andre Russell, who have chased many totals for their teams in the IPL.
“It is just trying to believe that today could be my day,” he added.
when Jos and Sunil met after 40 overs of monster behaviour 🔥 pic.twitter.com/5UII9WHLUd
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) April 17, 2024
Buttler also said that personal milestones are much more nice in winning causes, but he was more focused on winning the game for his side in the final over.
“I would have been really gutted to get that close and then not finish it off. And, you know, I got a bit lucky on the last ball. I skewed off it, found the gap. And, you know, today was just our day, our lucky day,” he concluded.
Coming to the match, Rajasthan Royals won the toss and opted to field first. The maiden T20 century from Narine (109 in 56 balls, with 13 fours and six sixes) and cameos from Angkrish Raghuvanshi (30 in 18 balls, with five fours) and Rinku Singh (20* in nine balls, with a four and two sixes) took KKR to 223/6 in their 20 overs.
Avesh Khan (2/35) and Kuldip Sen (2/46) were the top bowlers for RR.
In the run-chase, RR kept losing wickets on regular intervals, but Buttler (107* in 60 balls, with nine fours and six sixes) kept the other end steady. Cameos from Riyan Parag (34 in 14 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) and Rovman Powell (26 in 13 balls, with a four and three sixes) helped Buttler steer his side to a two-wicket win on the last ball.
Narine (2/30) and Varun Chakravarthy (2/36) were the top bowlers for KKR.
RR are on top of table with this win. KKR are in the second spot, with four wins and two losses, giving them eight points. (ANI)
