Buttler’s mantra: Keep believing and staying until the end ‘like Dhoni and Kohli’

For the third time in a row, the Rajasthan Royals had to stretch till the final stages of the game to stay in the contest. This time, it was Jos Buttler who stood up to face the last of the 120 balls he was in the middle of, with the outcome of the match hanging in the balance for his team. He was standing on the same foot that had him called out of the last game and almost had him ruled out against the Kolkata Knight Riders on Tuesday as well.

Buttler then scampered through to a single with an inside-edged flick past midwicket, propelling RR to a surprising victory in the final over.

Several records were broken during Buttler’s unbeaten 60-ball 107: he scored his seventh IPL century and third in a successful run-chase (the most by any batter), the Rajasthan Royals chased down the joint-highest score in the IPL, registered the most runs in the final six overs of a successful chase, and many more. The words of admiration continued to pour in as he executed one of the most brilliant run chases in IPL history, despite physical hardship and difficult playing conditions.

Sanju Samson, like Buttler, referred to it as one of his best IPL centuries. Rovman Powell went a step further and called it one of the top five T20 innings he had ever seen.

However, this was not always the case. Much before he unleashed his finest batting, he struggled in the middle. By the end of the 14th over, he was still on 42 from 33 balls, with the last 21 deliveries earning him only 22 runs. Sunil Narine, who had previously dominated the limelight, had especially tied him down.

It didn’t help that wickets were falling on the other end. Except for Riyan Parag, who hit a brisk 14-ball 34, there was no support as the Royals slumped to 128 for 6. With over a hundred runs needed in the final eight overs and only one batting pedigree to back him up, Buttler had few options.

Buttler’s onslaught began in the 15th over, with 96 runs required in six overs, when he dismissed Varun Chakaravarthy, hitting four boundaries: a flick and a slog over mid wicket, a swat through backward square leg, and a draw through backward point.