Kolkata, April 16: Rajasthan Royals pulled off the Indian Premier League’s biggest run chase to beat Kolkata Knight Riders by two wickets here on Tuesday.
A sensational century from Jos Buttler and fiery cameos from Riyan Parag and Rovman Powell helped RR secure a pulsating last ball win over KKR.
Asked to bat first, KKR rode on Sunil Narine’s 56-ball 109 to post 223/6 in the allotted 20 overs.
With his ton, Narine became the first cricketer to slam a century and take 100 wickets in the IPL. The Caribbean’s blitzkrieg knock helped KKR give a massive 224-run target to Rajasthan.
In reply, RR were in all sorts of trouble at one stage but Buttler blasted his way to an unbeaten 60-ball 107, as the visitors completed the chase in the last ball of the match.
After his team was asked to bat first on a fresh pitch, Narine blazed away to a 49-ball 100 to lead KKR’s charge in this top-of-the-table clash at Eden Gardens.
It was a one-man show from KKR as Narine (109 off 56) batted till the 18th over, first stitching 85 runs with Angkrish Raghuvanshi (30) and then adding 51 runs with Andre Russell (13).
However, Buttler had other ideas as he did the job for RR from an extremely difficult position.
KKR kept on picking wickets at regular interval, but Buttler continued to shepherd the chase.
The equation came down to nine runs in the final over. Buttler reached his second century of IPL 2024 and seventh in the league’s history in just 55 balls, with nine fours and six sixes.
RR topped the table with this win, having won six, lost one and obtained 12 points. KKR is in the second spot, with four wins and two losses, giving them eight points. (Agencies)
