There are n number of stats to prove Jos Buttler‘s century against the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2024 was special. It was his third in an IPL run chase – the most by any batter. It was his 8th T20 century in a successful chase overall – joint second with Babar Azam. 40 of RR’s remaining 46 runs in the last three overs of the match came from Buttler’s bat. The other six were wides. It was the joint highest chase in the history of IPL. He did all that while battling a leg injury.
But one didn’t need numbers to laud Buttler on Tuesday. The respect and admiration he got at Eden Gardens – the home of the opposition was the biggest giveaway of the greatness of Buttler’s knock.
The RR camp celebrated all right. They hugged and pounced on the England white-ball skipper as soon as he hit the winning runs off the last ball but the real victory for Buttler was the way the KKR camp showed respect.
The ultimate gesture was shown by Bollywood actor and KKR co-owner, Shah Rukh Khan. The iconic star was graceful in defeat. He was seen clapping for Buttler after he hit the winning runs to complete a memorable victory for RR. And after the match ended, he made his way into the field and hugged not only the KKR players but also the RR players.
When Shah Rukh saw Buttler sitting on the ground, he walked towards him. The Player of the Match stood up to greet him but Shah Rukh in true gentlemanly style asked him to remain seated before embracing him.
Buttler, who missed RR’s last game against Punjab Kings due to an injury, single-handedly pulled off IPL’s biggest chase while overwhelming Kolkata Knight Riders’ 223 for 6 in the last ball of the match, remaining unbeaten on 107 off 60 balls.
Asked to bat first, Sunil Narine‘s 109 off 56 balls powered hosts KKR to a formidable 223/6 in front of a packed Eden Gardens.
But Buttler had other ideas as he dragged the Royals, dead and buried at 121/6 in the 13th over, past the target of 224 in the last ball of the game after the visitors needed 46 runs in the last three overs, and 28 in 12 balls.
Buttler was struggling to even walk towards the end but didn’t give up.
“Keep believing, that was the real key today. I was struggling a bit for rhythm. At times you feel frustrated or you are questioning yourself. I tell myself it’s 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.
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