Jos Buttler lets his bat do the talking as Rajasthan overcome Kolkata in miraculous run chase

It’s no surprise that miracles happen in a tournament like the Indian Premier League (IPL). It has happened many times now. But on Tuesday, Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) Jos Buttler added a new definition to the term “miracle”. Against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Tuesday, RR, chasing 224, were left reeling at 121/6. And there was little hope because a majority of the top-order and middle-order batters had been dismissed.

Till then, only Riyan Parag (34 runs off 12 deliveries) had produced something worthy of recognition.

In Photos | Jos Buttler's century outshines Sunil Narine's ton as RR get the better of KKR in IPL 2024

Enter Jos Buttler. By the end he was done, the England batter had accumulated an unbeaten 107 runs which was by no means ordinary. An hour or so before, Sunil Narine ended his wait for a T20 century. And just when we thought we had seen everything, there was a twist to the tale in the second half of the game as RR completed the highest successful run chase in the IPL.

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Impactful Jos Buttler

There’s a reason why Buttler’s century was not ordinary. It wasn’t a textbook knock from the England wicketkeeper-batter because he had defied the odds to break KKR’s hearts.

Had it not been for Buttler, RR may not even have thought of chasing this down. Having said that, Buttler, who missed the Punjab Kings game for not being “100 per cent”, had been named as an Impact Player substitute for this game. After KKR amassed 223/6, Kuldeep Sen, another impactful player who took two wickets despite conceding 46 runs, made way for Jos Buttler ahead of the RR run chase. And the rest, as they say, is history.

We are still reeling under last night's Jos Buttler special 🌟

And we believe, so are his teammates 😉

Presenting RAW emotions captured on cam 🎥 post a fairytale finish!#TATAIPL | #KKRvRR | @rajasthanroyals | @josbuttler pic.twitter.com/9RO7XBKIaE

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 17, 2024

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Yashasvi Jaiswal still has not got up to the level he was in the 2023 season and continued to struggle after being dismissed for 19 in the second over by Vaibhav Arora. In 2023, Buttler and Jaiswal were synonymous for building match-winning partnerships but the same cannot be said in the ongoing season.

However, Riyan Parag has been a revelation this season and one of the major occasions where Buttler possibly got confidence should have been from his half-century run stand with Parag. Of course, the target was still a distance away when Parag was batting in the middle but he somewhat played second fiddle to Buttler, who never really accelerated at first, and only got going in the second half of the chase.

In fact, the 15th over of the chase to be precise. Buttler did collect a few boundaries in the powerplay but those in itself were a rarity. In the sixth over, a full toss from Vaibhav Arora proved costly as Buttler launched over long-on boundary. That was a free-hit after Vaibhav had overstepped in the previous ball and Buttler made full use of it.

In the 11th over, Buttler survived an LBW scare. Well, not a major scare in any way but it was still a reprieve for RR during those desperate times. Buttler went for the reverse sweep against Varun Chakaravarthy and seemed to be struck LBW, but the umpire wasn’t interested. KKR still went for the review, only for ball-tracking to confirm that impact was outside the line. Buttler was batting on 32 from 24 deliveries, and his dismissal there would have left several RR fans shattered.

Another Last Over Thriller 🤩

A Jos Buttler special guides @rajasthanroyals over the line and further extends their lead at the 🔝 🙌 🙌

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/13s3GZLlAZ #TATAIPL | #KKRvRR pic.twitter.com/d3FECR81X1

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 16, 2024

And RR were already four down by this stage. By the 15th over, RR found themselves six down, 128/6 to be exact. It was at this moment that Buttler changed gears. He just had to because he know that for his team to cross the finishing line, it was paramount that Buttler stay in the middle.

Buttler punished Varun for four boundaries in the 15th over. He was not done just yet. In the fifth ball of the 16th, Buttler had some time to read Andre Russell’s short ball and pummel it over long-on for another maximum. Even at the end of the 17th over, RR still had 46 to win from 18 balls so they were not out of the woods yet.

Buttler had an able partner in Rovman Powell. A kind of batter like Rovman Powell who can take on bowlers with full force was exactly the kind of batter RR needed with Buttler at the other end.

While some would term Powell’s knock as a “cameo”, looking at the larger picture, it’s more than that because without his support, the 33-year-old would have found the going tough since RR were already seven down.

After an entertaining knock of 26 that had three sixes and a four8, Powell was dismissed at the end of the 17th. And Buttler decided to take it in his own hands. Quite literally. He let the bat do all the talking from each ball since the start of the 18th till the very final ball of the match. All Avesh Khan, the new batter at the other end, had to do was stand and watch Buttler.

Final over victories 🤝 Avesh Khan at the crease #KKRvRR #TATAIPL #IPLonJioCinema pic.twitter.com/Oj8Dhr7bf7

— JioHotstar Reality (@HotstarReality) April 16, 2024

Harsht Rana, who was struggling to bowl varying lines and lengths, was punished for two sixes and a four in the 19th over. At the end of which, the equation was simple — Nine runs from six balls. Buttler, known for his calm demeanour, relieved tension off RR players, support staff and fans alike, with a thumping six over long-on that not only reduced the deficit to three from five balls but also brought up his century, his second ton of IPL 2024.

And after collecting a brace off the penultimate ball, it was one run needed from one ball. KKR looked clueless by now and Varun delivered a short of length ball to Buttler, which the latter heaved towards the legside easily to complete the winning run.

An Impactful Innings 😍

🔝 class effort from a 🔝 player ft. Jos Buttler

Watch the match LIVE on @StarSportsIndia and @JioCinema 💻📱#TATAIPL | #KKRvRR | @rajasthanroyals pic.twitter.com/5vz2qLIC7Z

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 16, 2024

“At times you feel frustrated or you are questioning yourself. I was trying to tell myself it’d be 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. Guys like Dhoni and Kohli, the way they stay till the end and keep believing, you’ve seen it so many times in the IPL and I was trying to do the same,” Buttler said after collecting the Player of the Match award.

“That’s something Kumar Sangakkara has told me a lot - there’s always a little breaking point. The worst thing you can do when you are not feeling your best is to fight it and try to force the issue and give your wicket away. He just tells me to stay there and at some point, the momentum will change or you’ll find your rhythm or one shot will get you going,” he added.

For someone who looks upto established stars like MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli, Buttler’s knock may not be a mere coincidence. It was that willingness to not let go of the opportunity that helped Buttler and revive RR from a position where many would have counted RR out. And that does not come the easy way by any means.

Buttler’s century was impactful so much so that people would almost have forgotten the fact that Narine scored his maiden IPL century in the same match. But, in the end, little did anyone think that the West Indian’s knock would end up being on the losing side. Afterall, cricket is a funny game with unpredictability a major factor, especially in the shortest format.