KKR co-owner and Bollywood icon Shah Rukh Khan hugged Rajasthan Royals opener Jos Buttler following his outstanding century in the IPL 2024 match on April 16. RR won the high-scoring thriller at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, beating KKR by two wickets in match 31 of IPL 2024.
Batting first after losing the toss, Kolkata posted a formidable total of 223-6, with opener Sunil Narine smashing 109 runs off 56 balls. During their chase, Rajasthan found themselves in a dire situation at 121-6 in the 13th over.
However, Buttler unleashed an incredible display, smashing nine fours and six sixes on his way to an astonishing unbeaten 107 runs off 60 deliveries, guiding the Royals to victory off the final ball. With this win, they also made history by achieving the highest successful run chase in the IPL.
After Buttler sealed the victory for the Royals, Shah Rukh Khan was observed applauding his magnificent innings and later approached him for a hug, setting aside any personal disappointment. Images and videos capturing their warm embrace are circulating widely on social media.
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During their chase, the Rajasthan Royals appeared to be struggling at one point. However, the momentum shifted when Buttler found support from big-hitter Rovman Powell (26 off 13), and together, they swiftly added 57 runs for the seventh wicket.
Despite Powell’s dismissal to Narine in the 17th over, his quick-fire innings provided much-needed momentum to the RR innings. Buttler then took charge and guided the team to victory with some sensational hitting.
How Jos Buttler secured a memorable win for RR from behind
After Narine dismissed Powell, the responsibility fell on Buttler to guide Rajasthan Royals to victory. With 46 runs required off the last three overs and just three wickets remaining, Buttler initiated the 18th over by hitting a six off Mitchell Starc.
Although Trent Boult (0) got run out to keep Buttler on strike, KKR’s five wides further aided the opposition. With 28 runs required off 12 deliveries, Buttler struck two sixes and a four off KKR pacer Harshit Rana.
The penultimate over yielded 19 runs, reducing the required runs to nine off six balls for Rajasthan Royals. Buttler started the final over by hitting a six off the first ball from Varun Chakravarthy.
After three dot balls, Buttler managed to score two runs off the fifth delivery, bringing the scores level. Finally, he sealed the victory off the last ball by hitting a single through midwicket off the KKR spinner.
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