Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson hailed Jos Buttler after his match-winning knock against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Tuesday. RR registered a thrilling two-wicket win after Buttler scored an unbeaten 107 off just 60 balls, equaling their own record of the highest chase in the IPL.
RR had their backs against the wall in the run-chase of 224 but Buttler got back his timing in the last few overs. Between overs 7-14, Buttler failed to find the middle of the bat, managing only 22 runs off 21 balls as the required run rate kept shooting through the roof.
Furthermore, RR found themselves in a hole at 121-6. However, Buttler almost single-handedly got RR over the line as he smashed nine fours and six maximums. The visitors scored 96 runs in the last six overs as Buttler did the lion share of the scoring.
This was the seventh IPL century for Buttler as he batted at the top of his game and played a key role in team’s win.
Sanju Samson said in the post-match presentation, “Jos did what he does for us from last 6-7 years, very happy for him. It (Buttler’s knock) should go right on top. Being an opener, if Jos gets in, we all know at the dug-out that he’ll be there till the 20th over. If he’s batting till the 20th over, no runs are unchaseable. He does something special.”
After losing six wickets, Rovman Powell got back some momentum for RR, smashing a couple of sixes against Andre Russell. At that moment, Samson believed they were still in the game.
Samson added, “Very happy with the win. We were wondering like the wickets we lost … six down and then Rovman came in and hit those couple of sixes and that’s when we felt like we were still in the game. It’s a beautiful way to come back, some luck also, it’s a very funny game. They also played really well. Expected something similar, an exciting game tonight, very happy for it.”
Rajasthan Royals will next take on Mumbai Indians at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur on Monday.
