‘Saw it all today’: Jos Buttler century, Yuzvendra Chahal hattrick help Rajasthan beat Kolkata in a nailbiter

Rajasthan faced Kolkata in the 30th match of the Indian T20 League 2022 at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. Brabourne has already been the host to some high-scoring matches in the tournament and this match was no exception. A total of 400+ runs were scored in the match.

Kolkata won the toss and Shreyas Iyer decided that his team will field first. Rajasthan had a blazing start to their innings. Openers Jos Buttler and Devdutt Padikkal gave them an electric start and the momentum for a high-scoring match was set early in the day. Padikkal looked to settle down himself and tried to rotate the strike while Jos Buttler took on the bowlers and kept the scoring rate high.

Devdutt Padikkal was the first man to be dismissed when the score of the team was 97 in the 10th over. Buttler did not look in a mood to switch off the beast mode and was taking on all the Kolkata bowlers. The other batters were giving Buttler enough support with aggressive cameos. Sanju Samson (38 off 19) and Shimron Hetmyer (26 off 13) batted with a strike rate of 200 and ensured that the Rajasthan innings never lost their momentum.

Buttler was dismissed in the 17th over of the innings after he scored a brilliant 103 runs off 61 deliveries, hitting five sixes and nine fours during his stay. The men in pink reached a mammoth total of 217 runs in their 20 overs.

Kolkata needed a strong start in the epic chase and it is exactly what they did not get. Sunil Narine was sent in as an opener to give them an aggressive start. But he was run out by Hetmyer without even facing a ball. Shreyas Iyer walked out to bat and played a captain’s knock, bringing them back on track. Aaron Finch was also going strong at the other end. The counter-attacking batting from the duo ensured that they reached 100 runs within nine overs. It was in the last ball of the over that Prasidh Krishna dismissed Finch for 58 off 28 deliveries. He hit nine fours and two sixes in his knock and Kolkata was well on their way to chasing down the target.

As the 15th over of the innings ended, Kolkata was 167 for four down. Although they lost their powerhouse in Andre Russell by the stage, skipper Shreyas Iyer was going strong at 77 from 47.

The equation of 51 runs from 30 deliveries looked easy for the team with six wickets in hand. Just when it was looking like Kolkata is coasting to an easy victory, Yuzvendra Chahal bowled magic over. In the 17th over, Chahal just conceded 2 runs and picked up four wickets. He picked a hat-trick, the first of the tournament. His hat-trick comprised the wickets of Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Mavi and Pat Cummins. This over shifted the balance of the match completely in Rajasthan’s favor. Shreyas Iyer’s brilliant knock of 85 runs off 51 balls with seven fours and four sixes was seemingly undone by the brilliance of the Indian leggie.

Umesh Yadav, however, decided to fight till the last and made it clear in the 18th over that the match was still not over. He scored 20 runs from Boult’s over and the match was once again in the balance with 18 runs required off the last two overs. However, Obed McCoy bowled a brilliant last over under pressure, picking up the remaining two wickets. Kolkata was dismissed for 210 runs and they lost the match by 8 runs. Rajasthan won their fourth match in the tournament out of the six they have played.

This is how Twitter reacted

Best game of an already ridiculously entertaining @IPL tonight. Great win for the @rajasthanroyals heartbreak for @KKRiders MoM has to be Yuzi for his bowling on such a good batting track but @josbuttler was immense. I’m out of breath!

— Graeme Swann (@Swannyg66) April 18, 2022

What a game!
Had it all. Fitting as a 14th anniversary celebration of IPL.#RRvsKKR #TataIPL

— Mpumelelo Mbangwa (@mmbangwa) April 18, 2022

Win or loss you just admire tricks played by yuzi Chahal. #championbowler

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) April 18, 2022

#yuzichahal saw it all today! A very expensive first over and then a crazy last over! hatrick and five-wicket haul too. #KKRvsRR

— R P Singh रुद्र प्रताप सिंह (@rpsingh) April 18, 2022

Well played @y_umesh. Having a good season with the ball and now with the bat. What a knock! Almost took @KKRiders home. #IPL

— Yusuf Pathan (@iamyusufpathan) April 18, 2022

Obed McCoy should have been there in the RR playing XI right from the beginning of the season. He was always the missing piece in their bowling attack. Better late than never! #RRvKKR

— Prasenjit Dey (@CricPrasen) April 18, 2022

High drama throughout the game. #ObedMcCoy holds his nerves to deliver the finest over. #RRvKKR #IPL2022

— Vinay Kumar R (@Vinay_Kumar_R) April 18, 2022

https://twitter.com/PunjabKingsIPL/status/1516117468615688192?s=20&t=553OjjK5vmAvPk-d2sM6_w

The best match of the TATA @IPL #TATAIPL so far? Heart ❤️ stopping drama! @rajasthanroyals hold their nerve v @KKRiders in a thriller! @yuzi_chahal worth his weight in gold! @josbuttler irrepressible again! #TATAIPL

— Alan Wilkins (@alanwilkins22) April 18, 2022

Chahal. Simply Outstanding . Ball hi nahi Rajasthan ki kismat bhi spin kar di. #RRvKKR pic.twitter.com/ZrChdoMKaS

— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) April 18, 2022