KOLKATA: Records collapsed during the high-scoring run fest between the Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the iconic Eden Gardens.
It was a day when centuries were struck, wickets fell and fielders ran across the field to fetch the ball outside the boundary rope.
Sunil Narine stood out for KKR with his maiden century, while Jos Buttler counterattacked with his unbeaten 107* to topple records and take RR across the finish line.
His blitz with the bat marked Buttler’s seventh IPL century and he became the second-highest hundred scorer in the history of the competition. His tally is only bettered by Virat Kohli’s eight centuries.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Hall of Fame Chris Gayle is in the third spot, with six centuries to his name. KL Rahul, David Warner and Shane Watson have four centuries each to their names in the IPL.
Buttler has three hundreds while chasing in the IPL, which is the most for any batter. Kohli and Ben Stokes are the only other batters who have struck multiple hundreds while chasing in the competition.
Overall, this marked the 8th T20 century for Buttler, and he became the player with the most hundreds from England in this format. He surpassed Luke Wright’s tally of seven. All of his eight T20 hundreds have come in the past three years.
While Buttler soared high with his match-winning performance, Narine also etched his name in the record books.
He became the first player to score a hundred and take a five-wicket haul in the history of the IPL.
Along with his maiden T20 century, he has a lone five-wicket haul in T20s, which also came in the IPL. In 2012, he registered figures of 5/19 against the Punjab Kings.
Narine also became the third player to score a ton for KKR. Former New Zealand star Brendon McCullum’s 158* against RCB in 2008 and Venkatesh Iyer’s 104 against the Mumbai Indians in 2023 are the two century scorers for KKR before Narine.
Recapping the match, after being put to bat, Sunil Narine’s blitz powered KKR to a herculean total of 223/6.
In reply, Jos Buttler’s flawless 107* and cameos from Riyan Parag (34) and Powell (26) took RR across the finish line and sealed a 2-wicket win for the visitors. (ANI)
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