IPL 2024: 3 landmarks that were reached in RR's thrilling win vs KKR in Match 31
The crowd at the Eden Gardens witnessed a breathtaking spectacle between the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Rajasthan Royals (RR). The visitors clinched a thrilling win, courtesy of a splendid innings by Jos Buttler in Match 31 of IPL 2024 on Tuesday, April 16.
It was an absolute run-fest, where KKR slammed 223/6 after being put to bat first. Sunil Narine was on song early on as he slammed his first ever T20 century. The next best batter for the hosts was Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who scored 30 off 18.
Rajasthan were in all sorts of trouble at the start of their chase. While Yashasvi Jaiswal continued his poor campaign, both in-form batters Sanju Samson (12) and Riyan Parag (34) failed to contribute enough. RR were reduced to 121/6 after 12.2 overs.
Buttler, who toiled hard throughout his innings, didn't bog down from the situation and kept hitting boundaries at regular intervals. In the last six overs, he cut loose and smashed the KKR bowlers with pristine timing and might. With the help of nine boundaries and six maximums, the Englishman hammered 107* off 60 balls and led RR to a historic win at the Gardens.
The high-octane encounter saw a few landmarks being reached; here are three of them:
#3 Overseas player with most IPL hundreds
Ever since he has joined Rajasthan Royals, Jos Buttler has taken his T20 game to a another level. The wicket-keeper batter has mustered 2,946 runs at an incredible average and strike rate of 43.32 and 148.7, respectively. This tally also includes seven superb hundreds, making him the overseas player with the most IPL centuries.
Buttler surpassed T20 legend Chris Gayle, who clubbed six hundreds during his IPL career.
Out of Buttler's seven centuries, three have now come in run-chases. Hence, he has gone past the likes of Virat Kohli (2) and Ben Stokes (2) in terms of most IPL hundreds scored in the second innings.
#2 Only player to score a hundred and take a five-wicket haul in IPL history
Prior to Jos Buttler's heroics, it was the Sunil Narine show on Tuesday night. Opening the innings, Narine sent the RR bowlers on the leather hunt right from the start.
The Caribbean maestro is perhaps KKR's most important player, and he truly showed his weight by putting on a sensational show. He reached his maiden IPL ton off only 49 balls.
With this, Narine became the first-ever player to score a hundred and also have a five-wicket haul in his IPL career. His only fifer in IPL came against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) when he claimed 5/19 in 2012.
Narine bagged two wickets and grabbed one catch on Tuesday against RR. This also made him the only player in IPL history to complete the trio of scoring a hundred, getting a wicket, and taking a catch in a match.
#1 Joint-highest successful run-chase in IPL history
Rajasthan's historic run-chase rode on Jos Buttler's insane innings, where he smoked 107* runs off only 60 balls. Despite losing the top-order and middle-order batters, the 33-year-old kept his calm and tormented KKR's formidable bowling attack.
His blistering hundred led to an immaculate run-chase for RR, which is now the joint-highest successful chase in the tournament history. By chasing 224 in Kolkata, RR equalled their own record. In IPL 2020, the inaugural champions also hunted down 224 runs against PBKS in Sharjah.