Rajasthan Royals batters Jos Buttler and Avesh Khan celebrate after Rajasthan won the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 cricket match against Kolkata Knight Riders, at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Tuesday, April 16, 2024.
Credit: PTI Photo
Kolkata: Jos Buttler has seen 'crazy things' happen in the IPL and he drew inspiration from the likes of Virat Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni to single-handedly pull off the highest run chase in the tournament's history here.
Buttler smashed an unbeaten 107 off 60 balls as Rajasthan Royals came back from the dead to beat Kolkata Knight Riders by two wickets on Tuesday night. Fittingly, Buttler hit the winning runs.
The Englishman was struggling to even walk towards the end but didn't give up. Chasing a record 224, Royals were 121 for six in the 13th over.
"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," asserted Buttler.
"There's been plenty of times throughout the IPL, you've seen crazy things happen. Guys like Dhoni and Kohli, the way they stay till the end and keep believing and I tried to do the same," Buttler said at the post-match presentation.
Both Dhoni and Kohli have played some exhilarating knocks in the ongoing tournament even though the latter has not found enough support from his team and has mostly ended up on the wrong side of the results so far.
Buttler also credited head coach Kumar Sangakkara for building his self-belief.
"That's something Sanagakkara has told me a lot - there's always a breaking point. The worse thing you can do is to not fight and give your wicket away. He (Sangakkara) just tells me to stay there and at some point, the momentum will change. That's been a big part of my play over the last few years."
He termed Tuesday's knock as his best IPL innings, and said, "I would think so (best IPL innings). Very satisfying." RR skipper Sanju Samson said Buttler is a special player and when he is on song, no target is safe.
Samson said, "Very happy with the win. We were wondering like the wickets we lost. Rovman (Powell) hit a couple of sixes and that's when we felt like we were in the game. Some luck also, they also played really well. The quality of spin they had, they bowled really well. This ground suited them."
"Jos (Buttler) did what he does for us in the last 6-7 years, so happy for him. It (Buttler's knock) should go right on top. Being an opener, if he gets in, no runs are unchaseable. He does something special," Samson added.
KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer said it was a bitter pill to swallow for his team.
Iyer said, "I would second that actually (bitter pill to swallow), emotions were a roller coaster, certainly didn't think we will get into this situation. It's a funny game at the end of the day, he (Jos Buttler) was striking the ball cleanly and timing them so well, have to take it on the chin and move on."