KKR vs RR Highlights, IPL 2024: Jos Buttler eclipses Sunil Narine’s hundred as Rajasthan chase down highest total in IPL history

Sanju Samson: Very happy with the win. We were wondering like the wickets we lost. Rovman hit a couple of sixes and that's when we felt like we were in the game. Some luck also, they also played really well. The quality of spin they had, they bowled really well. This ground suited them. Jos did what he does for us in the last 6-7 years, so happy for him. It (Jos's knock) should go right on top. Being an opener, if he gets in, no runs are unchaseable. He does something special.

Tushar Bhaduri: A few mishits turned the tide as Jos Buttler got a few away off Varun Chakravarthy with the asking rate touching 16 runs an over. The ball was sticking in the pitch and the spinners were hard to get away. Conventional shots were not reaping dividends, and it was a leading  edge to the boundary that started the turnaround. A reverse-pull and  a sweep were followed by another thick edge as 17 came off the 15th over. Still a lot needed to be done, and against the great Knight Riders Andre Russell and Sunil Narine. Rovman Powell took on his  fellow Caribbean superstars, in Buttler's company. The two bowlers went for 33 in the next two overs, and though Powell departed with virtually no batting ability left, Buttler took the team home. He hogged the strike for the last three overs – Trent Boult faced one ball and Avesh Khan none – as Mitchell Starc, Harshit Rana and Chakravarthy went for 18, 19 and 9 runs to seal the highest successful chase in IPL history.

Shreyas Iyer: (Was this game a bitter pill to swallow?) I would second that actually, emotions were a roller coaster, certainly didn’t think we will get into this situation. It’s a funny game at the end of the day, he was striking the ball cleanly and timing them so well, have to take it on the chin and move on. I mean at this point of time you see that you bowl your best deliveries, a little bit hit or miss and you are sent out of the ground, it’s good that it happened now rather than it happening in the later stages of the tournament, good learning for us. (On Sunil Narine) He is a great asset to the team and he is showing it every game, he is that kind of player who capitalizes on each and every moment. Since he was striking it so well, I thought let’s take pace off the ball and gave it to Chakaravarthy and it’s high pressure when you have 5 fielders inside the circle, you basically don’t have idea where to ball and that’s what basically what happened. It’s just about relaxing and rejuvenating, it was very humid as well today. It's important to learn from our mistakes and bounce back. We have a few days break. At the end of the day, it was a great game, a few overs here and there but I’m really proud of the boys.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, this may have been the game of the season. Two hundreds in both innings, but they couldn't have been more different. KKR looked all but at home after the 15-over mark. The required rate pressure kept surging up and it looked like only a matter of time before Jos Buttler gave up. He wouldn't. The 16 runs from Rovman Powell off three Sunil Narine deliveries surely helped but Buttler kept his nerves and saw this through right to the end. He had taken his time to get to that first fifty, the second came off just 24 deliveries. Remember, he was injured not that long ago. But off his 20 over stay, right to the very last ball, the RR superman kept his cool and wrapped it up for his side. Riyan Parag bowed down to him as he made his way to celebrate. What a player! What a match!

This could be quite the ending. KKR had the choice of Andre Russell but Shreyas Iyer has handed the ball to Varun Chakravarthy with Buttler on strike and nine needed. Two good hits that's all RR need. One mishit would do it for KKR. First ball, back of length, Buttler goes deep in the crease and GOES OUT OF THE GROUND FOR SIX! Over long on for six and it's a second hundred for the RR opener this season. Surely he has taken this one home for RR. Chakravarthy though has made a fine comeback. Three dot balls and now it's come down to three off the last two. A full toss, smeared down wide long off and Buttler has run two. One needed off the last ball. Is there a Super Over in store? Remember KKR have a fielder short outside the circle. And Buttler gets it in the gap down leg side. HIGHEST CHASE IN THE HISTORY OF IPL!

Harshit Rana to bowl the penultimate over. First ball, in the slog, and Buttler goes BIG over deep mid wicket for SIX! Jeez that was connected right out of the middle. He's turned this one on its head single-handedly. A dot ball follows. One mishit, that's all that KKR need now.

But Buttler ain't missing. A length ball flat-batted down the ground for four. Then, a pull that beats a jumping Mitch Starc in front of square on the on side for SIX! Next one is flicked to the left of Starc, and Buttler picks a couple. Goes to 97. Can he get his second hundred of the season? He'd got four of them in 2022. RR won't mind another here. We'll have to wait for the last over. A single off the last ball and Buttler will keep the strike. 

Starc to Buttler. First up, off cutter on the length, Buttler gets a hold of it and whacks it over the bowlers head for six. What a start to the over. Buttler has got the better of Starc all night, can he make this one big? Keeping the strike to himself, denying that single. It'll have to be him. Another one scrambled down the deep, Buttler wants two here but Trent Boult isn't able to get back to the non-striker's end on time. Buttler retains the strike but at some cost. RR are eight down now.

Starc angles the next one away from Buttler again, the latter goes for a reverse hit but is unable to connect. Surprisingly the next one is lined down the leg side and short, Buttler pulls it behind square on the on side for four. Next one is a wide down the off side and get this, Phil Salt fumbles and it runs down short third - off his glove - for four. FIVE WIDES! A single to keep the strike. 28 needed off the last 12 balls.

Narine returns for his last over of the night and take this, Powell advances down the track and smashes one down square leg for four. But that's not the interesting bit. This is the fist boundary hit off Sunil Narine at the Eden Gardens this season. But there's more to come. Back-to-back sixes from Powell. Narine though, makes a comeback. Plumbs Powell and snaps a second wicket of the night. Nevertheless, the first half of the over has given Rajasthan a bit of momentum. Can they see it through. Considering the totals team have got this season, 46 runs from three overs doesn't seem out of the blue. Especially with a Jos Buttler in the middle.

Andre Russell into the attack. A filler over perhaps instead of Sunil Narine, and Buttler takes the attack to the medium pacer. Greets him with a wristy flick off a length delivery down long leg for SIX! What a way to start the over. Russell takes the pace off but Buttler has enough trust in his strength, pummels it over cow corner for another maximum. 162/6 after 16.

It's now or never for Rajasthan and there's only one player who can take them home, if there is one. Jos Buttler has taken his time, held his end, with wickets falling at the other end. And now, he's shifting gears. Three boundaries off that Varun Chakravarthy over and he gets to his fifty. 145/6 after 15 overs.

Sunil Narine into his third over. KKR are going for the kill here. Smart move this with the final proper batting pair in the middle. Buttler hasn't picked off with wickets falling at one end. Powell, with shortage of game time this season, under pressure. They're only dealing in singles so far and that won't worry KKR even a tad. Just the three runs from Narine's third. He's got some cramps. Rightly so after the night he's had - with the bat and ball. 128/6 after 14 overs.

Tushar Bhaduri: For the first couple of balls of Riyan Parag's innings, he tried to move towards the leg-side and flay at the ball. Maybe, he was finding the pace generated by Harshit Rana a bit disconcerting. It was not in keeping with the version of him one has been accustomed to seeing in this IPL, when Parag has shown impeccable class, maturity and hitting power to be one of the mainstays of the Rajasthan Royals middle order. But it didn't take him long to revert to the methods that have brought him so much success in the competition. After the first two shots betrayed anxiety with the head and feet all over the place, the youngster soon got himself together and focused on staying still, watching the ball, and trusting his talent and technique to do the rest. His first boundary came via a leading edge past short third, but he was soon finding the middle of the bat. Vaibhav Arora's pace was used to deflect one to long leg for four before an extraordinary pick-up shot over deep midwicket left a few jaws on the floor. On the last ball of the over, a picture perfect cover-drive provided some tough competition. When Rana came on, he was given the same treatment as Parag first whipped him over the deep square-leg boundary, and then a sort and wide one was guided to the point boundary. But chasing a tall total allows no chance to take a breath. Parag had to keep going, and an ungainly heave brought about his downfall, but not before providing some more evidence of what he is capable of.

Harshit Rana, who struck twice off his first two, back into the attack. He's done an excellent job with the ball and kept the required rate on the higher side. 

Chakravarthy gets the reward for it off the next over as Ravi Ashwin goes for a heave down mid wicket and is caught by the fence. Rajasthan lose a fifth wicket. And before you know, another one bites the dust. It's sticking into the wicket and Shimron Hetmyer is removed off a soft dismissal. Caught by Shreyas Iyer inside the circle. SRK is on his feet, so is the rest of Eden. Chakravarthy on a hattrick! Denied by Rovman Powell. Bit of breather for the visitors after the over. Strategic timeout.

Varun Chakravarthy into the attack. Took quite a while to introduce him tonight, didn't they? But then again, the wickets have come for the home team nevertheless. The dot balls are creeping up as the pressure mounts on Buttler. Ashwin takes a considerable risk but it's called for at this juncture. Clears his front leg and attempts a hoists over mid wicket but it catches a thick edge and runs down short third for four. 115/4 after 11 overs.

Mitchell Starc steams in for his third over. Angles one away from Jos Buttler, fuller one, slanted down wide long off for four. He's winning this contest today. But KKR are still the one winning on required rate count. 109/4 after 10 overs.

Dhruv Jurel joins Jos Buttler in the middle. 100 up for the Royals. Sunil Narine into his second over, has flushed one onto Jurel's pads. No interest shown by the umpire but Narine has convinced Shreyas Iyer and KKR go upstairs. This could be big for KKR. Buttler is running out of partners and the lower middle order isn't best known for outscoring the top order in a stern chase. IT'S GONE! Narine strikes with the bat, Narine strikes with the ball. KKR nab a fourth wicket. 

Harshit Rana into his second over, and he's got another one!

Parag starts off his over with 10 off the first two - a six and a four. But Rana has the last laugh, takes the pace off and Parag's attempted loft down the ground is miscued and Andre Russell takes a superb catch. Rajasthan lose a third wicket.

Sunil Narine into the attack. He'd starred with the bat, can he do the same with the ball? Buttler and Parag show the veteran due respect but there's enough extras in the over to keep that run rate healthy. Nine off it. 85/2 after seven overs.

Vaibhav Arora into his third over. And it's a big one for the Royals. Riyan Parag kickstarts it, just tugging one on his hips down backward square leg for four. Then, Buttler muscles a full toss down wide long on fence for SIX! Parag ain't done though. Closes the over with a four and a six. RR end the powerplay with 76 runs on the board at the fall of two wickets.

Harshit Rana into the attack as he replaces Mitch Starc. Takes the pace off the ball against Sanju Samson, who miscues an awkward punch to mid on. A second wicket for KKR in the powerplay.

Riyan Parag is the new batter in. A lucky boundary to get off the mark. Harshit Rana cramps him for room down the leg stump, catches a leading edge but it runs down short third, safe and sound for four. 50 up for KKR. 53/1 after five overs.

The Royals showcasing the incredible strength they've boasted through the season so far. It was Jaiswal in the first two overs, Buttler in the previous, now it's Samson. Vaibhav Arora goes full off the first ball and the RR skipper peppers him over mid on for four. The next one is identical in length but this time, Samson shuffles across and whips it squirer for the same result. 46/1 after four overs.

Starc continues from the other end. Now it's Buttler who takes over as the aggressor. An overpitched delivery duly punished as its drilled down extra cover for four. As Starc goes back of a length and wide outside off, carved through covers for four. Off the last delivery from over the wicket, Starc finds the outside edge of Samson but it falls just in front of short third man. 36/1 after three overs.

Vaibhav Arora introduced from the other end. Jaiswal crunches his fullish ball, swinging away from the left-hander, over extra cover for SIX!

Then, a flick - mistimed but effective enough - that beats the fielder to wide of mid on for four. Just when it looks like RR have this one under control, with dew to effect much of the innings, Vaibhav swings one away from the southpaw and it catches the outside edge and carries to the first slip. 23/1 after two overs.

Right then, lot drives on Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler as they walk into the middle to commence the chase. Mitchell Starc, who has lately found his juju, with the new ball in hand. Jaiswal takes him on - gets into one shaping away from him, hit through the off side for four. Another cut follows off one closer to the body of the southpaw, runs behind backward point for four. 11/0 after the first over.

Sunil Narine: (If someone had told him at the start of the IPL that he'd be in the running for orange cap) I'd have taken it as a joke because I hadn't opened in a long time. With GG (Gambhir) coming back, he gave me the confidence and assurance that I'll open. I want to give the team a good start in as many of the 14 innings. job is just to give the team a good start and then keep going. We have an understanding that the pitch won't be easy to bowl on, we'll try to get early wickets in the powerplay and try to restrict them.

Kuldeep Sen to close the innings for Rajasthan. Gets rid of Venkatesh Iyer with one wide outside off that's found the fielder at extra cover. Rinku Singh has one last push of the afterburners and clears the deep mid wicket rope with ease. An overall good last over but KKR have done their heavy lifting already. 223/6 is where they finish.

He hasn't had the best of seasons so far, well not nearly as good as the last one. But Rinku Singh finds the gap to give KKR one last push this innings. A six off a slot ball followed by carved stroke down backward point for four. Venkatesh Iyer also rockets a full toss down the same region. 16 off the over!

Trent Boult into his last over the night. Narine reads a back of a length delivery from the left-armer and pounces onto it down mid wicket for four. But off the next ball, a yorker nailed to perfection, he finally misses and gets cleaned up. Boult applauds him as does the entire Eden Gardens. This has been a special knock!

Sandip G: The penultimate ball of his last over, R Ashwin, at his wits’ end having toiled fruitlessly, slipped in a seam-up ball. It would have made any good seamer proud. The seam was vertical and bolt upright, from the master of square-seam, swung in the air and seamed in sharply after landing a trifle wide outside the off-stump on hard length. A bemused Andre Russell coiled to late cut, but the ball hurried him and cramped him for room. All he managed was a bottom edge that hit his pad and fell under the keeper’s boot. The next ball was similar, an inswinger that Russell blocked, as though it were Mohammed Shami nipbacker.

Avesh Khan back into the attack for the death overs. He's stepped in for Sandeep Sharma in that role, and he proves the point once again. First ball to Andre Russell - slower one, back of a length, outside off and Russell is unable to get it off the sweep spot. Caught in the deep by Dhruv Jurel. 

Rinku Singh is the new man in for KKR. Narine though isn't halting any time soon. Pierces a yorker length delivery down backward point for four. 191/4 after 17 overs.

Chahal into his final over of the night. The purple cap holder has gone big tonight. And there's more to come as Sunil Narine takes to the skies once again. Uses his feet to muscle one over long off. Then, rocks deep into his crease to pump one down the ground that splits the long off and long on field for four. Another strike down the ground, this one clears the fence. Sweeps one in front of square and GETS HIS HUNDRED. His first in the IPL. Only the third time a KKR batter has scored in triple figures after Brendon McCullum and Venkatesh Iyer. Standing ovation for the Trinidadian. What an innings this has been! 184/3 after 16 overs.

Kuldeep Sen into his third over. Gifts marginal length to Andre Russell, and it's all he needs as he makes room down the leg to slash one in front of square on the off side for four. An identical delivery, touch fuller, and Russell pierces the field down backward point for another four. Sunil Narine also makes the most of the width outside off, with a cut that takes an outside edge and runs down short third for the same result. After 15 overs, KKR are 161/3.

Andre Russell is the new man in for KKR. But it's Ravichandran Ashwin who helps one down the boundary for the Kolkata Knight Riders. Five wides down the leg to Sunil Narine and KKR will take that. A mighty expensive over that, especially considering the fact that neither Russell nor Narine got one right off the middle of the bat. 146/3 after 14 overs.

Yuzvendra Chahal into his third over. Shreyas Iyer goes after the leggie on the penultimate delivery - floated up outside off, slogged over wide long on for SIX!

Next ball, Iyer goes down on one knee for a slog-sweep but this time, Chahal has him. A googly to undo the KKR captain. Iyer goes for a review, but this one is hitting right on the middle pole. 133/3 after 13 overs.

Sriram Veera: The young Indian batsman is getting the raves and he presented two more moments to savour from the ongoing game. Both came against Yuzvendra Chahal, but both were contrasting. In the 7th over, Chahal had ripped a leg break on a length around middle stump and the tall Raghuvanshi stretched forward and almost ala VVS Laxman wristed it to wide long-on. It didn’t look as if there was much power behind it, but the ball travelled far too quickly for Riyan Parag in the deep. Next moment came in Chahal’s next over and this time he flicked a quickish delivery on the off stump line and Raghuvanshi played it very late, almost off the stumps, and forcefully at that with a deft late cut/chop through backward point boundary. He would fall to the fast bowler Kuldeep Sen, slashing a short ball outside off to third man.

Kuldeep Sen back into the attack. And RR finally get a much needed wicket. Angkrish Raghuvanshi's fine cameo comes to an end as his paddle shot finds the fielder at short third. Narine though continues to find the boundaries. Pumps a short one from Kuldeep dowb extra cover for four. Then launces the assault off Ashwin - a six and two fours. After 12 overs, KKR are 125/2.

Sandip G: R Ashwin had laid the snare against Sunil Narine. He stationed a point and backward point inside the ring, a long-off and sweeper on the cover. He would then toss the ball wide on off-side, tempting the Trinidadian, who has a tendency to throw his hands at the ball, bat far from the body. Narine did exactly that, only that he sweet-spotted the ball so sweetly that it bisected the long-off and sweeper. Ashwin didn’t surrender. The next ball was similar, a touch fuller, slower and not as wide. The response was the same. But this time, Narine lost his shape but there still was adequate impetus and fortune to pierce the space between point and backward point. whose dive ended futilely. It’s the secret of Narine, he trusts his percentage strokes, not bothering about the outcome. A visibly irritated Ashwin flung the next ball flat, which Narine tried to reverse-sweep but failed to connect.

You can't really put a reason to him, can you? Sunil Narine with the bat has been one of the anti-science stories of IPL. At 35, he's still strolling down his crease against some of the very best in the league and clearing the boundary rope as he does against Ravi Ashwin on this occasion to raise his bat as the scorecard reads 50. Gets to it off 29 deliveries. And still, it was only a couple of games ago that you heard Shreyas Iyer suggesting that even if they lose Narine early, there's still a lot of batting depth for them to not worry. Perhaps it's time they put a bigger prize on his wicket, aye? 100/1 after 10 overs.

Yuzi Chahal into his second over. Goes with a quicker leg-break to Angkrish Raghuvanshi to kickstart the over an the right-hander keeps his cool to cut it late down backward point for four. 

Sunil Narine closes the over with tonking one that's in the slot down long on for SIX! 15 from the over. 89/1 after nine overs.

Ravi Ashwin called in from the other end. Sunil Narine riding on his luck as the boundaries continue to flourish. Goes after a couple of wide deliveries outside off, the second of which lands dangerously close to the fielder inside the circle at backward point. 74/1 after eight overs.

After those last two overs, it was only a matter of time before Sanju Samson handed the ball to the purple cap holder. Raghuvanshi lands an early blow to the leggie. Flicked down long on and a fumble from Riyan Parag sees it cross the fence for four. 64/1 after seven overs.

Kuldeep Sen to bowl the last over of the powerplay. It was Raghuvanshi last over, now it's Sunil Narine. KKR have decided to go all out attacking despite the fall of a wicket. A short ball to start off and it deflects off Narine's hip to beat a diving Samson and runs down fine leg for four byes. Another short one towards the end of the over has found the sweet spot of the bat and is pummelled over mid wicket for SIX!

A fuller delivery to close the over from Kuldeep, hit down long on for four. Another good over for KKR. Fifty up as the field restrictions are lifted. 56/1 after six overs.

Trent Boult with a third over on a trot. RR can smell the blood here. KKR though, come out attacking. 

Raghuvanshi dances down the track first ball to flick one down mid wicket for four. Later in the over, goes after one full and wide of the off stump, nudges it behind square on the off side for four. Closes the over with a neatly placed stroke down sweeper cover for four. 14 from the over. 40/1 after five overs.

A BLINDER THAT! A short one from Avesh Khan and Phil Salt goes for flat-batted retaliation but Avesh dives to his left to complete a superb one-handed grab. Avesh is pumped. One of the best caught and bowled catches you will see all season. KKR lose their first wicket.

Angkrish Raghuvanshi is the new man in. Sunil Narine goes for a slice off a full toss and finds the gap down backward point for four. 26/1 after four overs.

Trent Boult to Phil Salt, goes for a pull but top edges it and it falls just in front of Avesh Khan, who was making the run for it down the mid wicket region. A back of a length one to Sunil Narine also falls safe off a miscued flat batted shot. Boult has kept it tight once again barring the one he lands full outside the off stump that's thumped down long off for four. 20/0 after three overs.

This just came up on the broadcast, it's the number one most economical bowling attack in the powerplay against the team that has scored at the most brisk rate with the field restrictions so far this season. Avesh Khan steams in from the other end. Sunil Narine is off the mark and is looking to unleash some boundaries but is beaten with a short ball angling away from the southpaw. There's a slip in place as well. Avesh goes short again but this time, he's got a little bit too much on that and it beats the batter and the keeper for four byes. Then, a fuller one in the slot, and Narine lofts it down long on for four. 10 runs from the over. 12/0 after two, KKR.

Early bit of movement for Boult. Beats the outside edge of Phil Salt on more than one occasion. It's the angular advantage he holds against the right hander that'll have Boult most excited. Just the two runs off the over and KKR are off the mark. 

Shreyas Iyer made it clear at the toss, had he won it, he would've done what Sanju Samson did: opt to chase at Eden. 

The dew comes into play no matter how rich a spin bowling attack you boast, the batters call the shots, as they more often than not do in this format. That being said, it's a clash of top-two teams in the season so far, so if there could be an anomaly to the conditions, it might as well happen tonight. Sunil Narine and Phil Salt walk in to bat. They have been the foundation for KKR, haven't they? Going up against them, is Trent Boult with that new ball. If anyone can get rid of these two early in the game, it's the Kiwi. Vice-versa, the home side's opening pair have the ability to destablize the RR bowling right from the word go. Michael Clarke rings the fabled bell at the venue, one that many revere as the home of Indian cricket. And we're all set for the first ball.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Suyash Sharma, Anukul Roy, Manish Pandey, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Vaibhav Arora

Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Kohler-Cadmore, Shubham Dubey, Navdeep Saini, Nandre Burger

RR: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson(w/c), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Kuldeep Sen, Yuzvendra Chahal

KKR: Philip Salt(w), Sunil Narine, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Shreyas Iyer(c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Varun Chakaravarthy, Harshit Rana

Sanju Samson: We would like to bowl first. Might be better to chase on this. Very much excited to be back in Eden Gardens, there's a great vibe in the stadium. Jos and Ash are available for this game, so they are coming back.

Shreyas Iyer: Would have loved to bowl as well based on the last game, on how the ball moved around. Whenever he (Narine) comes in, he is hard to read and he's got that poker face all throughout, we want him to perform him the way he has. We are playing the same team.

Sanju Samson wins the toss, RR elect to bowl first.

Samuel Badree and Michael Clarke: "There's a disparity of 12 metres square of the wicket - 59m and 71m; down the ground - 75m. Expect the bowlers to be defending on the bigger side. We've seen some contrasting matches here so far - 208 narrowly defended, 161 quite easily chased. I think it (pitch) is pretty similar to what we saw the other day. We thought 190 was par, that was a day game, this is a night game. There's going to be some dew, it's extremely humid out here as well. Both teams will be looking to chase. It's a really good surface. You've got a lightning fast outfield, the boundaries are pretty consistent, nice even pitch, you want to bat at any stage. Maximise the new ball on a surface like this while it's rock hard."

-KKR have the best powerplay batting performance (Avg 47.14/SR 11) while RR have the worst (Avg 30.11/RR 7.53) among all teams in IPL 2024.

-Shimron Hetmyer has the most runs in death overs since IPL 2022, striking at 201.8. Among all the batters Who have faced 100-plus balls in this phase, his strike rate is bettered only by Tim David (213.14) and Dinesh Karthik (209.9).

-Trent Boult, who had five wickets in the powerplay in the first three games of the season, has gone wicketless during this phase in the last three matches.

The sun's down at the Eden Gardens and it's time for the stars to shine. 

Photo from our man on ground, Sayak Dutta.

KKR: Phil Salt, Sunil Narine, Angkrish Raghvanshi, Shreyas Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy

RR: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, R Ashwin, Avesh Khan, Trent Boult, Kuldeep Sen, Yuzvendra Chahal

As if Trent Boult with the new ball wasn't challenging enough, now Rajasthan Royals have another fiery left-arm quick steaming in from the start of the game. Nandre Burger has been an excellent addition to the squad this year. His story, one of a meteoric rise after making his debut for South Africa in last December began with Tennis. 

Nandre Burger didn’t want to become a professional cricketer. The sport for him had been more of a pastime at WITS, while he pursued a degree in sports psychology. Playing what little club cricket he had until that point of time was a soothing comfort after his short romance with Tennis. Harboring ambitions to be on the ATP tour, teenage Nandre would litter the YouTube with searches of Roger Federer’s play compilations. With that and the coaches at his high school, Nandre had developed a nigh unplayable serve. However, it would be the unbecoming of his five-year obsession as the 15-year-old started developing back spasms and was forced into quitting the racquet sport. (Read Rahul Pandey's feature on the Proteas quick HERE)

Another player who has starred for Rajasthan Royals with the bat this year has been Riyan Parag. In race for the orange cap, Parag has taken over the role higher up in the batting order as opposed to the finisher's role he had over the past few years. 

Riyan is only 22. He has yet to feature for the country, and has not been on the fringes of national selection either. Yet he is among the most trolled cricketers in the country, especially during the IPL. Whether his talent is good enough to strike it big, or he’s just hype, has tended to divide opinion. (Read Pratyush Raj's awe-inspiring chat with Parag's father HERE)

One of the key reasons behind RR's success this season has been the form of their skipper. 

Samson’s new-found strength against spin was born in the confines of the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020. It was then that a wiry batter decided to add “muscle mass” to his frame, improving physically to boost his shots. Numbers seem to suggest that it has worked for the Kerala batsman, even though it may have come at the price of somewhat compromising his game against pace. Lalith Kalidas deciphers the transformation in a detailed analysis piece. (READ HERE)