The Sanju Samson led Rajasthan Royals (RR) They faced Shreyas Iyer-led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 31st match of the Indian Premier League 2024 (IPL 2024) on Tuesday, April 16 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
RR won the toss and elected to pitch first in the game. The bowlers did a decent job initially and dismissed explosive batsman Phil Salt in the fourth over. However, they were unable to neutralize the threat of West Indies legend Sunil Narine, who went on a rampage against the RR bowling unit.
Sanju Samson used all the weapons in his arsenal but couldn’t dismiss Narine until the 18th over. The KKR star scored 109 runs before he was finally dismissed by Trent Boult. In the end, KKR scored 223/6 on the board.
Chasing the target, Jos Buttler stood at one end like a wall and played a remarkable innings. Despite not receiving much support from the other side, Jos Buttler played blind and led his team over the finish line. Jos Buttler smashed 107 runs off 60 balls to help Rajasthan Royals register a 2-wicket win in the thrilling clash.
At the post-match presentation ceremony, Sanju Samson looked extremely delighted and revealed that the Rajasthan Royals camp felt they were in the game after Rovman Powell played a wonderful 26-run cameo. Sanju Samson said:
“Very happy with the win. We were wondering about the wickets we lost. Rovman hit a couple of sixes and that’s when we felt we were in the game.”
Sanju Samson also acknowledged KKR’s performance and said that their spinners bowled very well in the match to put pressure on RR. Sanju Samson said:
“A bit of luck too, they played very well. The quality of their spin made them bowl very well. This terrain suited them.”
In the end, Sanju Samson praised match hero Jos Buttler and termed his knock as the best century in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
“Jos did what he did for us in the last 6 or 7 years, I am very happy for him. (Jos’s hitting) should go up. Being an opener, if he gets in, there will be no runs impossible to chase. He does something special. “.
Rajasthan Royals current position in IPL 2024 standings and their previous match result
Before the match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Rajasthan Royals (RCB) were on the first position in IPL 2024 points with 5 wins and 10 points under their belt from 6 games. After the conclusion of the match, Rajasthan Royals (RR) retained their number one spot with 12 points to their name.
Talking about Rajasthan Royals (RR)’s previous match, they played an away match against Punjab Kings (PBKS) at Mullanpur on April 13. After restricting the Punjab-based franchise to 147/8, they chased down the target in 19.5 overs. to take a 3-wicket win with 1 ball remaining.
Shimron Hetmyer was awarded the Player of the Match award for his unbeaten cameo of 27 runs off 10 deliveries. Apart from the West Indies star, Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 39 runs off 28 balls, Tanush Kotian scored 24 runs off 31 balls and Riyan Parag scored 23 runs off 18 balls.
Talking about the Rajasthan Royals (RR) bowling unit, Keshav Maharaj and Avesh Khan were the two leading wicket-takers as they bagged two wickets each. Trent Boult, Kuldeep Sen and Yuzvendra Chahal also chipped in with a wicket each to restrict PBKS to a low total.