NEW DELHI: Jos Buttler smashed an unbeaten 107 to trump Sunil Narine’s first T20 century as Rajasthan Royals pulled off a joint record IPL chase against Kolkata Knight Riders off the final ball on Tuesday. Chasing 224 for victory, Rajasthan looked in trouble at 121-6 in the 13th over but Buttler moved through the gears in his 60-ball blitz to achieve the target with two wickets to spare at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens. Rajasthan equalled their own record from 2020 when they chased down 224 against Kings XI Punjab in Sharjah.

Buttler, who came in as an impact substitute, reached his second ton of the season in 55 balls with a six off Varun Chakravarthy at the start of the last over. Buttler, struggling with cramp, then played out three dot balls before a two and a single on the final delivery ensured Rajasthan held on to top spot in the table with six wins in seven matches. “Keep believing, that was the real key today,” Buttler said.

“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’.” He said, “There’s been plenty of times throughout the IPL, you’ve seen crazy things happen. Guys like (M.S.) Dhoni and (Virat) Kohli, the way they stay till the end and keep believing and I tried to do the same.” England’s Buttler, who hit nine fours and six sixes, moved ahead of Chris Gayle with seven IPL tons and is only behind Kohli’s eight in the T20 tournament.

Narine heroics

Buttler built key partnerships including 50 runs with Riyan Parag (34), 57 with Rovman Powell (26) and then an unbeaten 38-run stand with Avesh Khan (0 not out). Spinners Narine, Chakravarthy and fast bowler Harshit Rana took two wickets each for KKR.

“Emotions were a roller-coaster, certainly didn’t think we will get into this situation,” said Kolkata captain Shreyas Iyer. “It’s a funny game at the end of the day, he was striking the ball cleanly and timing them so well, have to take it on the chin and move on.” Narine hammered 109 off 56 balls to guide Kolkata, who stay second in the 10-team standings, to 223-6. Narine put on 85 runs for the second wicket with Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who hit 30, and got together for a 51-run stand with Andre Russell.

Narine, playing his 504th T20 match, reached his ton from 49 balls with a six and a four off Yuzvendra Chahal for Kolkata’s third hundred in the IPL as he jumped for joy.

He was finally bowled by a Trent Boult yorker before he returned to a standing ovation. Narine moved into the top three in the batting charts led by Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Kohli (361) with 276 runs. Rinku Singh finished off the innings on a high with his unbeaten nine-ball 20 including a four and two sixes.

Meanwhile, West Indies skipper Rovman Powell is trying to convince fellow IPL star Sunil Narine to come out of international retirement for their home T20 World Cup. All-rounder Narine smashed his first T20 century on Tuesday and took two wickets for Kolkata Knight Riders as they went down to Rajasthan Royals. The 35-year-old announced his international retirement in 2023, four years after he last played a T20 for the West Indies.

But with the World Cup in June hosted by the West Indies, together with the United States, Powell hopes his countryman will have a change of heart.

“For the last 12 months I’ve been whispering in his ears, he’s blocked out everyone,” Powell, who plays for Rajasthan, said. Powell hopes that Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Nicholas Pooran, fellow West Indians in the IPL, “can crack his code”.

Pollard and Bravo are coaches while Pooran plays for Lucknow and is a key member of the West Indies team. Narine, usually a middle or lower-order left-handed batsman, was promoted to open the Kolkata innings this season.

He has responded with 276 runs including 109 off 56 deliveries at Eden Gardens stadium on Tuesday. Narine has also claimed seven wickets at an economy rate of 6.87 in a season where big scores have come in abundance. Narine said earlier this season that he would watch the World Cup “from home”. But he gave a cryptic response when asked about his return to the West Indies team after his ton. “It is what it is—we’ll have to see what the future holds,” said Narine, who has played 51 T20 internationals stretching back to 2012. – AFP