IPL 2022 | KKR vs RR | Buttler, Chahal help Rajasthan take down Kolkata in a thriller

The Kolkata Knight Riders were up against the in-form Rajasthan Royals in the 30th match of the IPL 2022. Batting first, Buttler's sumptuous hundred took Royals to an ominous score of 217.

Chasing an enormous target of 218, the Kolkata Knight Riders employed their age-old ploy of opening with Sunil Narine. It didn't come off, though, as Narine got run out for a diamond duck on the first ball of the innings as Hetmyer's direct hit at the striker's end ended Narine's brief stay as he went for a suicidal single.

KKR's captain, Shreyas Iyer, came out all guns blazing. Iyer and Finch looked at ease at the highest scoring ground of the IPL 2022 so far, the Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai.

KKR scored 57 runs in the powerplay, just three less than their counterpart. But, more importantly, they didn't lose the tempo even after the powerplay ended. The Iyer-Finch duo immediately targeted the top class pair of Indian spinners, R Ashwin and Yuzuvendra Chahal, taking 14 and 17 runs off their first overs.

Indian speedster Prasidh Krishna finally managed to break the partnership in the 9th over, as Finch got out after scoring 58 off just 28 balls. However, Rana and Iyer kept the momentum going before Chahal managed to get the better of Rana in the 13th over.

After Chahal's guile, it was time for Ashwin's magic as he bamboozled Andre Russell off his first ball with a carrom ball that knocked over Russell's stumps. It was Russell's 3rd duck in the IPL, all of which have been golden ducks.

With 40 runs required in the last four overs, it was time for some Chahal extravaganza. The maestro managed to outwit the KKR batters again, taking Venkatesh Iyer's wickets, Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Mavi, and Pat Cummins in the same over. His last three wickets came in the last three balls of his spell, making it only the 21st instance of a hat-trick in the IPL.

This topsy turvy game was far from over, though. Umesh Yadav showed his prowess with the bat, taking on Trent Boult in the 18th over, scoring 20 runs off it. Saurashtra Wicket-keeper Sheldon Jackson accompanied Yadav well as they took the game to the last over with 11 runs required.

Bowling, the last over on his IPL debut, was the West Indian pacer Obed McCoy. Showing nerves of steel, McCoy delivered some excellent back of the hand slower deliveries, taking the last two wickets and carrying his side to a memorable victory.

Earlier, the Kolkata skipper Shreyas Iyer won the toss and sent Royals in to bat. This was the 30th game of this Tata IPL, and in all the 30 games, the toss winning captain has opted to bowl first.

After being watchful for Umesh's first over, it did not take too much time for Buttler to tee off. The opening pair dominated the powerplay, scoring 60 runs off the first six overs. Buttler has now hit 12 sixes inside the powerplay in IPL 2022, most by any batter. His nearest challenger, Rohit Sharma, is at six sixes.

Buttler continued his onslaught, taking on every bowler except Sunil Narine, who played his 150th game for the KKR. Buttler scored five runs off the nine balls he faced off Narine while scoring 98 off 52 against the rest.

Padikkal fell in the 9th over to Narine, but there was no sign of respite for the KKR as Sanju Samson joined the party. Samson scored 38 runs off just 19 balls before falling to Russell, getting caught at deep midwicket.

Buttler also fell in the next over to Cummins, but not before scoring a splendid 103 off just 61 balls. This was his 3rd century in his last 7 IPL games.

The West Indian middle-order batsman, Shimron Heymyer, once again gave the finishing touch to the RR's innings scoring 26 off just 13 balls, which carried them to a hefty total of 217.

Brief Scores:

Rajasthan Royals: 217/5 (20)

Jos Buttler 103(61), Sanju Samson 38(19);

Sunil Narine 2/21 (4), Shivam Mavi 1/34 (4)

Kolkata Knight Riders: 210/10 (19.4)

Shreyas Iyer 85(51), Aaron Finch 58(28);

Yuzuvendra Chahal 5/40 (4), Obed McCoy 2/41 (3.4)

Rajasthan Royals win by seven runs