Follow UsOn the 15th anniversary of the marque T20 league of India, fans couldn’t have got a better match to celebrate. The match between Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders had everything in it. Till the last ball, the excitement was at its maximum level.
One of a kind match
A special day required a blockbuster game and Kolkata and Rajasthan produced one for sure. 15 years ago, on this day, Kolkata lit the stage on fire as Brendon McCullum went berserk and scored an unbeaten 158 against Bangalore in the inaugural match of the IPL.
Today, Buttler set the stage ablaze with a ton in the first innings and Chahal in the second innings took the limelight with a hat-trick and a five-wicket haul. On the 15th anniversary, IPL witnessed its first of a kind match. Across the years, this was the first ever match in which a ton, a hat-trick and a five-wicket haul was involved in the same match.
Jos Buttler set the stage on fire
The Orange Cap donner prior to this match, Jos Buttler, extended his dream run with another century, second of the season and third in the IPL. Not even half the season has been completed and Buttler is almost nearing 400 runs in the season. In six innings, Buttler has scored 139 runs more than the second highest run scorer of this season Shreyas Iyer (236).
By virtue of his third ton for Rajasthan, Buttler now has the most centuries for the franchise in the IPL. Overall in the IPL, only two batsmen, Virat Kohli (5) and Chris Gayle (5) for Royal Challengers Bangalore have more centuries for a single franchise. In addition, Buttler became the first batsman for Rajasthan to register two tons in a season.
Chahal bags a hat-trick
Prior to the start of his fourth over against Kolkata, Yuzvendra Chahal had gone for 38 runs and had bagged one wicket. He started off the over with a wicket and was on a hat-trick on the second ball of the 17th over. But, Sheldon Jackson managed to bail out a googly.
However, in his last three balls, Chahal accomplished a hat-trick when he dismissed Shreyas Iyer (16.4), Shivam Mavi (16.5) and Pat Cummins (16.6). In the IPL, his was the 21st hat-trick and the fifth by a Rajasthan bowler. Interestingly, Shane Watson is the only pacer in the list of five bowlers.
First five-fer for Chahal in IPL and against Kolkata in the IPL
At 178/4, Kolkata were cruising for a win at the end of 16th over. But, Chahal tilted the game towards Rajasthan’s side with a hat-trick in the 17th over, four wickets to be precise.
By picking up four wickets in his last over of the innings, Chahal registered his first ever five-wicket haul in the IPL. His previous best spell of 4/25 in the IPL came against Punjab Kings in 2016. In addition, he also became the first bowler in the IPL to bag a five-for against Kolkata. Until today, Dwayne Smith (4/8) for Gujarat Lions in 2016 held the record for the best spell against Kolkata.
Narine’s unfortunate way to get out
In pursuit of a mammoth total, Kolkata think tank took the right call by sending Sunil Narine as the opener. Moreover, Venkatesh Iyer had been struggling as an opener.
Before Narine could maximize his effects, he was run-out in the first ball of Kolkata’s innings without facing a ball. In the IPL, Narine became the second Kolkata opener after Gautam Gambhir in 2013 against Delhi Capitals, to be dismissed via a run-out without facing a ball.
Highest total after being all-out
Kolkata, on course for their highest successful chase, were derailed by a four-wicket over in the 17th over by Chahal. However, Umesh Yadav kept their hopes alive when he smashed 20 runs in the 18th over against Trent Boult.
But, Prasidh Krishna in the 19th, once again put the brakes on when he conceded only seven runs. With 11 required of six balls, Kolkata lost their last two wickets after scoring three runs in the last over. Eventually, they were all-out for a score of 210, which is the highest score for a team in the IPL after being all-out. Co-incidentally, Kolkata are the only team to score 200+ in the IPL after being all-out. In 2021, they had scored 202 against Chennai Super Kings.
First 15 overs bonanza
More than the last five overs, the first 15 overs of the innings backed a punch, in respect to batting teams. Rajasthan in their first innings scored 163 runs in the first 15 overs, which was the highest of this season then.
In reply, Kolkata scored four runs more to end the 15th over at 167/4, which is now the highest first 15 overs score this season. In total, 330 runs were scored in the first 15 overs this game. This is the sixth highest aggregate in the first 15 overs of a match in the IPL. In the game between Delhi (182/3) and Gujarat Lions (164/4) in 2017 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, 346 runs were scored which is the most in the IPL.