Rajasthan and Kolkata locked horns in the 30th game of the Indian T20 League 2022 at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. The latter won the toss and decided to field first. However, this decision proved costly for the Men In Purple as their bowlers were sent for a journey. In the powerplay, Jos Buttler hit 46 runs off 27 balls and helped the team reach 60/0.
Notably, his opening partner, Devdutt Padikkal was playing the second fiddle with eight of 10 balls. In the next over, Buttler got to his half-century with a four against Pat Cummins. Buttler and Padikkal (24) laid a great launching pad for the other batters with the partnership of 97 runs. The latter was dismissed by Sunil Narine in the 10th over of the innings.
In came skipper Sanju Samson, who complimented the Englishman with a wide variety of stroke play. Samson and Buttler added another 67 runs for the team. During that partnership, the skipper scored 38 off 19 balls before he was caught by Shivam Mavi off Andre Russell. In the next over, Buttler completed his century with a six against Cummins before he was caught by Varun Chakravarthy.
The team went on to put up a giant score of 217/5, with Shimron Hetmyer (26* off 13) providing the finishing touches. In reply, the two-time winners had a poor start as Narine (0) was run-out on the first ball of the innings by Hetmyer. The team recovered from the early jolt and the likes of Aaron Finch (58 off 28) and skipper Shreyas Iyer stitched a partnership of 108 runs. The former was accounted for by pacer Prasidh Krishna.
Nitish Rana (18 off 11), who came in after the second wicket, added another 40 runs with his skipper before the former was caught by Buttler off Yuzvendra Chahal. This proved to be the turning point for the team as they went from 148/2 to 180/8. In that stage, Chahal completed his five-wicket haul for 40 runs in four overs, including the hat-trick. He took the wickets of Iyer (85), Mavi (0), and Cummins (0) in the 17th over of the innings to complete his hat-trick.
Umesh Yadav (21 off 9) kept the game alive but the team lost the game by seven runs as his side was all-out for 210.
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 रà¥à¤¦à¥à¤° पà¥à¤°à¤¤à¤¾à¤ª 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
ðŠðŠ-ð‘ð‘, what a game! 💥🙌
Couldn’t have asked for a better game on #IPL’s birthday ♥ï¸#RRvKKR #IPL2022 @rajasthanroyals @KKRiders
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) April 18, 2022
The best match of the TATA @IPL #TATAIPL so far? Heart â¤ï¸ 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
