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Cricket fans were royally entertained again, all thanks to an epic clash between these two teams. Rajasthan looked wounded after seeing Narine's onslaught but Buttler's reply stunned the home fans. He fought like a warrior and despite not getting much support at the other end towards the climax, he took matters into his own hands to help his team get a thrilling win.
We will be back with more cricketing action tomorrow as Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitals lock horns, but for now, it's time to end the coverage here. Until next time, this is Pragadeesh on behalf of my fellow commentators Shashwat and Soorya saying goodbye and goodnight!
Jos Buttler (Player of the Match) - I kept believing and that was the real key today. My rhythm was off but whenever the negative thoughts came, I kept thinking the opposite. I kept the belief and at times, you feel frustrated and keep questioning but I stayed calm throughout. Plenty of timeS throughout the IPL, funny things happen. You see Dhoni and Kohli - They try to take the game deep and that's what I am telling myself. Crazy things can happen and it's all about believing in yourselves. Kumar Sangakkara has taught me one thing - There is a breaking point to everything. The worst thing you can do when you are not feeling your best is to fight it and tries to force the issue. He tells me that you could lose your wicket but one shot would get you going and that's been my big part of my play over the last few years and always wanted to stay on course. It's very satisfying to stay till the end and see the team go through
Sanju Samson (Rajasthan Royals captain): Very happy with the win. We were wondering about the wickets we lost but 6 down and Rovman came in and hit a couple of sixes to keep us in the hunt. That was the moment we thought we were in the game. Even the quality of spinners they have, just wondering where we can hit the spots and that's where Rovman came in to find a way. Then Jos did what he does all the time and he's been doing for a long period of time. Being an opener when Jos gets in and bats till the 20th over, we know he can get us to the finish line.He does almost special everytime he turns up for us
Rovman Powell (Rajasthan Royals): The emotions are all over the place. Fantastic game of cricket. Every time you chase down 200 or 220 it's a great game of cricket. When I came into the game I didn't plan to take on Sunil because I knew he is their best bowler. When he comes on and you need 80 off 30 you need to take your chances. I just backed my strength and it paid off today. (On Narine for the T20 World Cup?) For the last 12 months I've been whispering in Sunil's ears but he's blocked everyone out. I've asked Pollard, Bravo and Nicholas Pooran to have a word with him. The morale in the team is really good. What I appreciate is the communication - even when I wasn't playing the communication was very fine. When you come in, you take your chance and try your best to make it count. The guys are in a great space, hope they make it count. (Does he want to bat higher up?) I've been telling them 'hey listen, I bat number 4 or 5 for West Indies. If you think West Indies are a good T20 team you can slide me up you know' (laughs).
Shreyas Iyer (Kolkata Knight Riders captain): I would second that, a bitter pill to swallow. Emotions were a roller coaster. Certainly didn't think that this would be the situation we would get into. It's a funny game at the end of the day, he (Buttler) was striking so well and was batting on 60 at that point of time. Hard to explain what happened at that moment. Just have to take it on the chin and move on. At this point of time you see to it that you bowl your best deliveries and you have to nail all of them. A little miss here or there and you are sent out of the ground. It'll be a learning for them and I'm glad it happened today itself and not in the latter half of the tournament. Hope we learn and come back stronger. (On Sunil Narine) As I mentioned earlier he's a great asset to the team. He's been showing it every game he's coming out to bat. He just gives us momentum and capitalizes on every moment. I'm just glad he's part of our team. Since he (Buttler) was striking it so clean I thought let's take pace off and give it (last over) to Varun Chakravarthy. It's high pressure when you have five fielders outside the circle. We've just got to let it go, let it sink in and then rejuvenate. We've had a tough game as well, it was very humid. It's important we learn from our mistakes and bounce back strong. We are extremely proud of how we delivered today. It was just a matter of two or three overs and they basically stood up to the moment.
Rajasthan Royals beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 2 wickets
Did anyone give RR a chance after Sunil Narine played one of the finest knocks in IPL? Did you give them a chance when Narine and Chakravarthy were dictating terms in the middle. Did you give them a chance when Chakravarthy got two wickets in successive deliveries? Well, if you still had put a bet in favour of RR, then it's because of one man and he didn't let you down.
Buttler's fitness was a big question mark at the start as he didn't take the field but the impact player rule made the big difference again and worked in favour of RR. He was looking comfortable against the KKR pacers at the start and scored boundaries at regular intervals to keep the scorecard ticking. After Jaiswal and Samson failed to convert their starts, Parag ran riot in the middle and some of his shots were a sight to behold. Buttler took the backseat and watched the young man go after the KKR attack before Rana bowled a brilliant slow delivery to get the better of Parag
Soon after, the spinners took control and the boundaries were hard to come by. Buttler slowed down and to make matters worse for RR, Chakravarthy removed Ashwin and Hetmyer in successive deliveries to put his team in the driver's seat.
Then, Powell decided to charge Narine with a boundary and a couple of maximums but things didn't work out well when he went defensive against him. Narine had the last laugh and after Powell's dismissal, the entire RR hopes were pinned on Buttler and he didn't disappoint them. He went after Starc and Rana's expensive 19th over tilted the game in RR's favour. Still a lot of work to be done against Chakravarthy but the first ball six relieved the tensions in the RR dugout. He almost ran out of gas but decided to face the entire last over to help his team get a nail-biting victory
JOS THE BOSS, WINS IT FOR THE ROYALS. What a match. It kept everyone at the edge-of-the seats until the final delivery but the champion, Jos Buttler, kept his composure and knocked KKR in front of a huge home crowd
20
overs
224/8score
6
0
0
0
2
1
runs
Jos Buttler*
107(60)
Avesh Khan
0(0)
Varun Chakravarthy
2/36
19.6 Varun Chakravarthy to Jos Buttler, BUTTLER DOES IT! OH MY DAYS! WHAT A CHASE, WHAT AN INNINGS, WHAT A CLIMAX, AND WHAT A PLAYER! Darted in on a length on leg stump. Buttler clears his front leg and manages to muscle it past mid wicket. Garners the energy to leap into the air to celebrate, before getting mobbed by his teammates, who have run onto the field like kids run into candy shops on Christmas. This has been an innings of the highest order, and Buttler has just reiterated why he is one of the best T20 batters on the planet!
Looks like Buttler runs out of gas. He's struggling but the task isn't difficult. The field comes up
19.5 Varun Chakravarthy to Jos Buttler, SCORES LEVEL, AND WAS IT A NO BALL TOO? Very high full toss outside off. Buttler just does not have any power to put behind it and slugs it towards long off. Somehow makes it back, and he is really struggling. No ball not called, could have very easily been the case
19.4 Varun Chakravarthy to Jos Buttler, ANOTHER DOT! Back of a length outside off. Buttler goes for the reverse now but cannot beat the fielder at short third man....
A mighty hit followed by two dot deliveries. Can feel the tensions all around Eden Gardens
19.3 Varun Chakravarthy to Jos Buttler, short and wide outside off. Buttler reaches out for it and cuts it straight to the sweeper at deep cover point. Single denied again
19.2 Varun Chakravarthy to Jos Buttler, length just outside off. Buttler stays back and jabs it towards long off. Contemplated the single initially before deciding against it
Jos Buttler, the magician, continues to deliver for RR. Another swashbuckling knock under immense pressure. Firstly, he didn't take the field in the first innings and his fitness was largely questioned but he kept all those aside and registered yet another IPL ton
19.1 Varun Chakravarthy to Jos Buttler, SIX FIRST BALL, OH MY! A HUNDRED TO SAVOUR! Drops it short outside off and Buttler is ready for it. Climbs into it and whacks it a mile over the long on fence! No real celebration because Buttler knows the job is yet to be finished!
This could either way. Buttler never looked comfortable against spin throughout his innings and Chakravarthy is tasked to defend 9 runs in the final over
Buttler has silenced this huge crowd with a sublime knock and we are heading towards the thrilling final over. Who will Shreyas Iyer turn to? Varun Chakravarthy is having a chat and looks like, he's going to bowl the final over
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S Narine
Y Jaiswal
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Jos Buttler
*
Varun Chakravarthy
Eden Gardens, Kolkata
