IPL 2022 | Buttler ton, Chahal hattrick in Rajasthan Royals' 7-run victory over KKR

Mumbai

Jos Buttler's magnificent second IPL hundred was beautifully complemented by a 'five-star' Yuzvendra Chahal, who spun his web with a hat-trick as Rajasthan Royals won a high-scoring thriller against Kolkata Knight Riders by 7 runs here on Monday.

Buttler's 61-ball 103 had nine fours and five sixes as Royals scored an imposing 217 for five but KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer (85 of 51 balls) made a match of it in company of Aaron Finch (58 off 28 balls).

However, it was the 17th over when Chahal (5/40 in 4 overs) removed Venkatesh Iyer off his first delivery and then Shreyas, Shivam Mavi and Pat Cummins off the fourth, fifth and sixth balls to completely turn the match on its head.

From 180 for 4, it became 180 for eight but Umesh Yadav had other ideas. He hit two sixes and a four off Trent Boult's 18th over to bring the equation down to 18 from last two overs.

With 11 required off last six balls, West Indies left-arm pacer Obed McCoy kept his cool to get Sheldon Jackson and Umesh to bring cheers to the Royals camp.

It was perhaps the best IPL match of the current season, on the occasion of 14th anniversary of the most watched T20 league in world cricket.

And it couldn't have been a more fitting day for Buttler to score a scintillating hundred on a day when rival coach Brendon MCCullum had scored 158 off 73 balls to kick-start the league in 2008.